To set the scene for this post, understand that the children made me bring our sticks all the way from Colorado, and then Jen begged me to get an annual membership at the local golf club, Wanganui Golf Club (their telling of this story might be slightly different.) Despite being, ahh, forced to play golf, I have already played seven times. The first time I was rained out after three holes, but I went back the next day and played the full course. I have played the 18 three more times, and the past two weekends, Jen and I played 7 holes (a circuit that starts and ends at the clubhouse) and I also played three holes with Kendra once.
It is a very casual club, made up of towns people who are all golf nuts. Indeed, NZ is known as a golf crazed country, with more golf courses per capita than any country in the world. My playing partners have been a mix of farmers, doctors, accountants, mechanics, policemen and shop owners. And the attire has been downright casual (blue jeans, a wool sweater, and then a barn jacket, for instance, or maybe a pair of cargos with a polo not tucked in)
It is the most laid back course I have ever been to. You don't really check in so much as you just mill about the putting green and pair up and play. The course is open all day I think, but it seems like the proper thing to do is play in the day's match, and so everyone shows up at the same time, around 11 AM in winter, pairs up into foursomes and plays in one large Stableford match. Everyone must have a handicap, and plays the same set of tees (white for gentleman, yellow for ladies.) The scoring system used is the Stableford, where you get points for your birdies, pars and bogies, based off your handicap for each hole. The matches are fun, intense, businesslike and casual all at the same time.
I learned you have to putt every ball out over here. Absolutely no gimmes, ever. The first round I played I had a 10 footer for par on one hole, came up a few inches short ("hit it!") and so walked up in disgust and picked up my ball, then turned to see my playing partners all gawking at me. "I should have putt that one out, huh?" They all laughed kind of uneasily, and told me they would give me that one "just the once." Later in the round, I hit my best approach of the day on a blind uphill approach, and was lucky to settle in about 6 inches from the cup. My playing partners, some of whom were already up by the green, told me what a great shot i had, indicated that it was within a foot, and then quickly reminded me to putt it out. Dead center.
Everyone walks. Fast. The pace of play is unbelievable. Hit and walk. Repeat. I have seen a cart once, but I am pretty sure the guy was well over 80 years old (most of the players in the mid-week foursomes are into their sixties, but I am pretty sure I am the slowest walker in the group.) The course is easy to walk in terms of the distance between green and the next tee, but is also long and very hilly. I am the only person I have seen who really carries my own clubs. Everyone else has a "trundler." We would call these things "push carts" only that would not do them proper justice. These things are awesome. No two seem to be alike. They are kind of boxy, as wide as they are deep and tall. Lots are mechanized. All seem to have been personalized and have enhancements. I have already lined up a trundler from my last playing partner, Randy, and another for Jen or the girls from the club secretary.
The course is totally different to what I was used to. At first glance I didn't really get it, and was also not very impressed visually with the upkeep of the course, which is sub-par by US standards. However, having now played it numerous times, I love it.
The land is very shire-like, green with rolling hills, swales and bumps, and all the grass is fescue. The design is links but with a few trees, lots of thickets of "bush" and with lots of blind shots. On a couple holes you putt out on a green, walk back 15 meters and then tee off directly over the previous green for the next shot. There is a burn (creek) on one hole but otherwise there aren't any water hazards. It actually appears fairly wide open and forgiving, but the defense of the course is the wind (always a one to two club wind in some direction) and the firmness and slopes of the fairways and greens. There are four holes I would say that not making par would be disappointing. The other 14 all require seriously good shots to par. The course has three par 3s and two par fives and, doing the math, 13 par fours.
Here is a pic or three of my favorite holes. The tenth is 380 meters, plays uphill 20 meters or so, over a hill about 150 meters from the tee box, to a fairway you cannot see, with hills and bumps everywhere, and then the fairway runs downhill, with the green probably 30 meters down from the crest of that hill. The green is very contoured and with sand traps left and right. The hole plays generally cross or down-wind. Awesome golf hole. This is a pic from behind the green looking back down the fairway.
The next pic is looking back down the 3rd hole from behind the green. The 3rd is a 360 meter down-wind and downhill hole that has a very lumpy fairway and then a green framed by bunkers front left and right, with mounding all sides of the green. Another cool golf hole. If you land the ball anywhere on the green, good luck keeping it on the green, it is so firm and plays downwind, so it is tough to keep spin on the ball. A good shot is usually run in there about ten meters short of the green and then releases to the hole.
And, last, here is a picture of Jen playing her approach to the 1st hole, an uphill par four that always seems to play into a nasty cross wind (note the flag flapping in the picture.) But forget the golf hole...this is my favorite picture because of the player in the foreground...
I hope to post tomorrow about the girls trip to a part of Middle Earth this past weekend, please check back!
Peter
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