The first hole here at Te Pohue Golf Club starts from an elevated tee, you get to see around the beautiful golf course and back towards the clubrooms of this rustic charmer. From “Lookout” it looks awesome.
The car park had one only car filling the spaces, mine. We pulled over on the way to Napier to check out this notorious nine-holer. The choice of golf courses in this area is vast. There are 18 courses in Hawkes Bay and this would be my first. I could claim to be heading to Cape Kidnappers but I was getting my rustic rabbling shoes on for this trip.
Back at the first tee, the tempting downhill par 4 perfectly highlights the green below you. With no particular easy or obvious place to lay up it got my blood pumping in the blustery conditions. A boggy stream guards the green so you need to carry the whole 256 metres.
This hole was a sobering introduction to rustic golf in Hawkes Bay. With a solid triple bogey for me and no better off than my partner who lost a ball and then he marched unknowingly through the hidden hairy boggy stream. He was left sporting a muddy pair of white socks for the rest of the round.
It would appear that “Lookout” was referring to the concealed stream and not the view.
The elevation changes throughout the course were good and made for interesting golf. The 2nd was a good driving hole as you head up toward the 2 water tanks behind the plateau green. A 424-metre par 5 called “Putter” who would know why?
The 9 holes here are well thought out, using the landscape that the course was born into. As I stood on the 2nd green eyeing a birdie putt the weather was having a field day.
There was a 100-year weather bomb cutting across NZ – not long before we stopped the wind was moderate and the temperature was 16 degrees when I got out of the car it had plummeted to 6 degrees – the wind was crazy at this point.
I made the putt on the 2nd green for birdie, but no time to celebrate – it was freezing.
It was lambing season – between the wind, all you could hear was the bleating from mother and child trying to find each other. Much better to listen to than inner-city bleating about the traffic on the way to the course for Twighlight. The sheep, the wind, the countryside all seemed to fit the moment.
“Airstrip” and “Donga” were the next 2 holes, followed by “Ridge,” some solid par 4’s in a nice part of the course.
The first par 3 on the course is the 6th, “Paradise” at 173 metres – the hole names here are cool up to this point. I am picking that the name of the 6th has nothing to to do with the toilet facilities located here. The loo was a valuable addition to the course, luckily I didn’t need to go, it appeared to be held down from the wind by a whisp of a wire. Unfortunately, this loo did not make it to the list of top on course toilets.
The greens were ringed with fences that didn’t seem electric but kept the sheep at bay none the less. The soft country greens were mainly in a good flat condition.
My putting has never been anything to write home about – like my mother would want to read about my putting in a letter.
Dear Mum, I three putted the last from 6 feet for a triple, how’s your leg holding up after the fall?
I squeezed in a short game lesson a few weeks back and talked with Ross about what’s on your mind during the art of putting. He put me onto the book by Dr. Bob Rotella called “Putting out of your mind” This was my first chance to get out and test his words of wisdom after I listened to it on a work trip.
The key rationale is that the only thing to think about when about to putt is getting it in, seems simple right? Don’t think to lag it up or avoid 3 putts or get it within 3 feet from here. Just think to get it in.
What better place to test my resolve on some soft country greens. I don’t nail many putts I’ll admit.
But today I slotted 4 solid 10 foot plus putts, 2 for birdie. Not all strokes were a raging success but I certainly stood over each putt with a better mindset. I rolled a few putts well past the hole. But I merely stepped up and knocked in the testing return.
So if you need to sort your putting out try the Audiobook as I did. The Audible app is a cool way to get through books to help you learn. You can listen in the car or on a bus.
Audible offers a free book when you sign up, so listen to Dr. Bob for free and tell me I’m wrong. Click the link and you might find the putting focus you need.
The last three holes were quite delightful in amongst the sheep. The course here at Te Pohue is a credit to the locals. They did resort to a simple finish with the hole names, “Gully” “Willows” and “Pines.” A truly unique rustic experience which is as much part of golf in New Zealand as the lavish spotlight courses like Cape Kidnappers.
The finishing 9th was a 134 metre flip back towards the clubhouse to a 2 tiered green. A nice way to complete your round. I landed on the second tier and had to putt down the extensive slope. I had forgotten my stimpmeter but on a slick green, this would have been unplayable. With my new found putting focus, I finished up with a par.
Glad to be back in the car out of the wind but not glad to be leaving Te Pohue. Enjoy this course if you find yourself driving Taupo to Napier. It won’t take long but it will last long in your your memory.