There was news of a Life Members sponsored event at Tapora Golf Club. I was excited to get on the road early on a Saturday morning to head north and meet the local people on the Okahukura Penisula, in the Rodney district.
Tapora Golf Club is a coastal country course overlooking the Kaipara Harbour. A marvellous setting for these 9 holes of golf in rural New Zealand.
I took SH16 north, as I drove into the depths of the country I was wary of the weather – rain wouldn’t be my choice of weather event today. There was no wet weather gear in the car.
I had a random daily mix on the stereo and I chuckled to myself as a country singer belted out ” when I’m going to the country, I hope the sun shines on me”. The tune coincided with my windshield showing signs of a drizzly rain shower.
I had hope as the sky had large patches of blue all around. The rain threat subsided as I neared my destination.
It felt like a proper country destination as the road turned to gravel. I love gravel roads it scares off the uncommitted tourist.
The music choices turned rather strange at this point. Frank Zappa’s “Get Whitey” played a 7 minute instrumental of something. I am no music expert but when this tune finished I realised it was a live version. At the finish of the tune, a crowd applauded and applauded a little too much and a little too long. There was maybe something special about this tune to warrant the enthusiasm. It could be that the applause was a relieved outburst – glad that the ensemble was finished after a long 7 minutes.
The gravel continued and so did the odd mix from the car stereo. “Demented” by Erthurt gave me 2 minutes of various jangling and irrelevance. The song finished and so did the gravel. I turned off the stereo.
No more music was required I travelled in silence as I neared Tapora.
Arriving at Tapora Golf Club, a warm welcome and hot cuppa awaited.
The course was established in 1964 and is looked after by the local community, a fantastic labour of love.
I played with 2 life members and the club captain. I was in a privileged group of golfing greats for the day out.
Kia Ora, the opening hole, is a stiff test and a good welcome to the course.
The rolling hillocks of the surroundings meant that a well-placed tee shot would be rewarded, but you needed local knowledge for that. The 3rd claimed to be a shoo-in birdie. My card did not reflect this confidence in the name.
I enjoyed the various challenges going around Tapora Golf Course. The locals kept an eye on my game for me and offered advice when necessary. Some just looked on in wonder.
Woolaway
The 8th is an awesome 155-metre par 3. I thought this could be the best on the course. But the signature hole is the 9th from the top tee. A tricky carry to get onto the fairway and then a good smash is required to get up to the green by the clubhouse. From the top tee, you can see the stretch of avocado orchards all around. The new superfood is a cause for the expansion of this green gold in the area.
Now you would think that in the heart of rural New Zealand that the golfers of this area would be traditionalists. Not so, very progressive people they are. The new rule changes of a flag in option on the putting green had not gone unnoticed. Quickly they have been converted to flag in people in these recent times. I didn’t have the heart to complain that is this new rule was a sad ruination of our game!
What a great day out at Tapora Golf Club. Fantastic people and a magical location. Well worth the drive from Auckland.
I had a great post-match meal and a mixed with the challengers for the trophy. No surprise Wally from our group was the runaway winner. He was expert in his navigation of Tapora Golf Course, he might know his way around here better than most.
As I pulled away from the clubhouse a round of applause rang out in my head, just the right amount of applause too. Well done Wally for winning the trophy and well done Tapora Golf Club for keeping this little slice of golfing New Zealand alive and kicking.
