If you are looking for a breathtaking location with views to die for, you’ve found it.
A friendly man in the clubhouse gave me good instructions about the course layout. I had played Te Anau Golf Club some 20 years ago – before the accident. *
I could not remember the hole by hole layout but I’ll never forget the views. It is situated at the bottom of Lake Te Anau -or is it the top of the lake, surely the lake is flat and doesn’t have a top or bottom?
The 1st is a par 5 on the lakeside, a flat sweeping hole. I lost sight of my ball as I drove off the first tee. I was mesmerized by lake Te Anau. There are 2 fairway bunkers to catch that first mistimed tee shot of the day.
I had not a care in the world where my ball went as I drunk in the hot mesmerising landscapes all around.
Interestingly, the 2nd is also a par 5 along the lakeside. I was glad to see the back of 2 long holes this early and good to play them when my fitness is still in check.
2 par 5’s and a short par 3 3rd was a good opportunity to score well early. A great front nine is completed when you stand up on the 10th tee heading back to the clubhouse. A shorter than short par 5 at 386 metres and surely it is birdie time. The views from the tee across Lake Te Anau and out at the tip of the Fiordland National Park are the highlight of this course. The Murchison Mountains and Mount Luxmore dominate the skyline.
Number 10 isn’t as easy as the card suggests, stroke hole 18, with a tight fairway and even tighter approach to the raised green. Miss on either side and you will be glad of a solid par. This would be my hole of the day and onto the best golf holes in New Zealand list.
The 12th is a cracking hole, Te Anau is not the manicured course it may have been in the past, but the 12th shows off the location which is the USP for this course. Although I say that, every hole has a little bit of magic, with Lake Te Anua on the doorstep.
I’m a fan of a tee box back in the trees, even better if it is up a hill into the back of the trees. It is nice to leave your bag down below and push on up the hill with a driver in your hand.
Do you take a spare ball or mid-iron just case? You could find out of bounds or maybe the drive looks dangerous and you waive the white flag with an iron? I usually sneak another ball in my pocket and grab the 6 iron. ( with no actual intention of using it)
I tend to perform well from these situations, is it the extra oxygen fired into your ventricles as you suck in some big gulps up the hill? When you get to the top, are you on an adrenaline high, putting extra metres on your drive?
On the 13th tee, marvelling at the vista, blood pumping through my chest and arms. I was coiled like a spring on a cold morning, I unleashed the drive of the day. No need for the extra ball!
Te Anau Golf Club should be on every man and woman’s golfing radar. The course is in okay condition, well presented but in need of a little extra love. BUT location location location is the winner here. You will not be disappointed to spend 4 hours of your golfing life on this golf course. It will appear comfortably in New Zealand’s Top Golf Courses thanks to the part of the world into sits in.
*the birth of my kids*