There is a new leader in the race for the best nine holes in New Zealand.
I had a lucky discovery in the countryside and the course makes it to the best courses in the land list.
A storm blows me into a rustic beauty in Shannon.
There are many golf courses in this land of the small white ball. 393 in fact, some of them will take your life savings for the privilege of teeing up. But my focus has moved to the lifeblood of New Zealand golf and those courses in the countryside feeding our communities.
Country courses can be all rustic – sheep, fenced greens and honesty boxes. Some are more angled towards country community affairs, a home for social gathering. Most are in quiet parts of our land giving you time to hear the wildlife, see the trees and listen to yourself muttering over missed putts.
My recent travels started at the king of rustic courses. Hawkes Bay is an area of New Zealand that can claim to have a true international golfing attraction in Cape Kidnappers. But I was there to play Te Pohue Golf Club.
Where? Taupo to Napier is a nice drive touching the southern point of the mighty Kaingaroa Forrest. It climbs up to the summit of the Turangakuma ranges and once you cross the bridge over the Mohaka river, you rise again to get up over the Titiokura Saddle. One of the great New Zealand road trips to be ticked off. 30 minutes short of Napier is this nine-hole golf course. Proper rustic with sheep in the fairways and sheep tee markers. Oh and nobody else on the course.
I played this course in a wind that was part of a weather bomb heading up New Zealand. It made for a perfectly wild day on a course that has a charm all of its own and should be a must stop if in the area.
At the start of this Rustic Tour of New Zealand, I was well organised. My wallet was filled with cash to feed the honesty boxes. I mentally prepared myself to share the course with wildlife. I mentally prepared for the various greens I would encounter. I downloaded an audiobook to focus on my putting prowess.
There is a man called Dr. Bob Rotella, a golf coach guru. I listened to his “Putting out of Your Mind” audiobook on the road. This has changed my life, both the audiobook thing and the lessons learned in less than an hour.
If you need any improvement on the greens I’d advise downloading the short audiobook. Audible gives you a free book when you sign up, so I challenge you to listen and not gain the confidence over a putt that I have now, thanks to Dr. Bob. Click the pic and tell me I am wrong.
The day after Te Pohue, I headed to the legendary 12 holes at Takapau Golf club, born in 1898. The weather bomb was severe and it wouldn’t let me out of the car to find out why there was a legendary attached to my description. I had to drive off.
It took 2 hours of navigating the storm to find a break at Shannon and I was blown through the 2 farm gates of Buckley Golf Club.
In the hospitality world, you use phrases such as, ‘we under-promise and over-deliver’. Buckley didn’t make any false promises, but my expectations were easily beaten by this little country course. Some sheep early on, but some cool hole designs lurking behind the clubhouse.
“Pond” “Hazard” and “Drop Shot” are worth the green fee alone. The club has been around since 1919, so it knows what it is doing.
The Best Nine Holes in the Land (so far)
The morning after a storm is always calm, I found a cracker clear day in Titahi Bay in Wellington. Titahi Golf Club is where Michael Campbell started his rather splendid career. This course is 9 holes and following the day out here it went straight to the top of my best nine holes in the country list.
A remarkable course on sweeping undulating slopes with brilliant risk and reward holes. Understated but not unnoticed. I’m glad I missed Titahi in a storm, my impression may have been somewhat different.
I once played Tokanui Golf Course in a breeze that was much stronger than stiff. I was actually very pleased to be playing the Southernmost golf course on the mainland with a Foveaux straight wind belting across the course. It made the whole course make sense, you don’t go to a water park and not expect to get wet.
Country golf courses struggle to get recognition, people don’t go country very often, the greens staff are usual one, with volunteers keeping these place in good order. That is why I was surprised to find Walton Golf Club. Following a closed sign at Tirau Golf Club due to the dreaded coring season, I stumbled up the treelined Walton driveway. In the Waikato countryside near Cambridge, this is a real hidden gem.
I didn’t expect it would end up on my top NZ golf course list. It slowly grew on me as I walked the fairways of this top-class country golf course. The layout, the location, the well looked after greens and fairways and the beautiful TREES. Like being on a garden tour it was a well thought out and a great place to play golf.
If you want to get lost in rustic whilst in the Waikato, there are many choices. “The best 9 holes in the Waikato” according to the team at Hukanui Golf Club is found 30 minutes north of Hamilton. Hard to disagree with that sentiment, the bar was open, the welcome friendly, the variety of challenges across the 2 hours was remarkable.
“Canyon” the signature hole across a small canyon was fun. The last green on the course is nearly in the clubhouse, “Walnuts” is a great finishing hole.
If this isn’t rustic enough for you, get in the car and find Waiterimu Golf Club. Proper electric fences and a flock of green keepers to manage the fairways. Somewhere near Huntly, you’ll enjoy the solitude of the country here.
An excellent collection of rural golf courses in New Zealand, and only a little slice of what is out there. When you come to plan a wee golf trip, don’t rush passed a small rural offering in favour of the big names out in the press. Save yourself a dollar and play a course that will give you some real character and might even surprise you just a wee bit.