Paraparaumu Beach and Wairakei Pg. II
The natural splendor of the Lake Taupo region has lured travelers for decades.
Wairakei, in distinct contrast, is set well inland in a valley in the middle of the North Island with mountains all around. The fairways themselves are generally broad and a level stance more often than not will greet the golfer. It features two par fives of great merit (the third and fourteenth) and a strong collection of long par fours. Stout hitting is required and the golfer is blessed with a first rate environment in which to do it. In fact, the new sole owner Gary Lane of Auckland has gone the unprecedented step of erecting a six foot tall barrier fence around the entire property. Gone soon will be the mice and cats and instead over the next five years, Lane intends to bring back and cultivate only indigenous animals on the property. As part of this long range plan, only indiginous vegetation will be cared for and cultivated on the sprawling 400 acres. Gone is the Scotch broom and in its stead are being planted….
Watching the flight of the ball in the clear valley air against a backdrop including enormous fir tress is not to be missed. Frankly, the small greens of Paraparumu would be completely out of place at Wairakei – they would seem puny and out of character with the scale of the property. As they are now, the holes fit the land and appear comfortable with their environment.
However, the course is not ‘clever’ and lacks the subtle intricacies of Paraparaumu.
Holes to Note
Second hole, 235 yards, Awaawa (Dry Valley); This is a tale of two holes. Played from the back tees, it is a thriller over a dry river bed across crumpled land to a green defended on either side. Played from the forward tees, much of the exhilaration is undermined as the hole becomes more straightforward in nature at the reduced yardage.
As seen from the back markers, the second is a thrilling one shotter played over a deep dry river valley to a distant green.
Third hole, 555 yards, Karapiti (Broken old man); Many golfers will walk away from their round at Wairakei in a better mood than when they showed up. In large part, they will attribute that to the presentation of the course which is free from all outside disturbances and the gorgeous long distance views of the surrounding mountains. However, closer study of the property shows that it is ideally suited for golf with a network of gulleys and valleys running throughout the property.
Fourth hole, 375 yards, Old Oak; True to its name, the hole doglegs around an old oak that makes it quite challenging to find the best angle into the green. Brad Faxon told the author that the best way to make golfers shape shots is with the use of trees. In particular, he was referring to the requirement for shot making at Harbour Town in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The same applies here too at such holes as here, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and seventeenth.
Sixth hole, 480 yards, Rawhiti (Sunrise); The sixth tee is among the exhilarating spot in inland golf – Paraparumu stuggles to compete with the sheer exhilaration of this spot with its ten plus miles of views over a broad landscape. The hole plays as well as the view, with golfers delighting in the sight of their ball chasing past a large fairway bunker and gaining another thirty yards in roll by tumbling down a thirty foot hill.
If the golfer can carry the large bunker in the foreground from the tee, his tee ball will enjoy a huge kick forward and an additional thirty plus yards of roll.
A big drive that tumbles down into the flat of the fairway may leave the golfer only a mid to short iron in on this long two two shotter.
Of course, the bunker central bunker at the base of this plateau green receives a lot of play.
Eighth hole, 385 yards, Farmer’s Folly;
Thirteenth hole, 440 yards; Tongariro (Taken south); Having played the hole five times now, the author has settled on aiming at the large right hand bunker off the tee with the longest club that is guaranteed to stay short of it. From there, it is still a mid-iron into a deep push-up green that is pinched in on both sides by bunkers.
The challenge of the thirteenth is slot one's approach past the tall pine tree on the left and ...
... and find the push-up green. As seen from behind, the green narrows in the back and is pinched in by bunkers left and right.
Fourteenth hole, 600 yards, The Rogue; Two features here can break the golfer: the first is the two hundred foot plus tree found 150 yards from the green and the second is the elevated horseshoe green. Though the tree has garnered most of the attention over the ocurse’s first forty years, that is likely to change as the tree has taken several hits and has been limbed up much higher than in past decades. This may well be for the best anyway but the green itself is the green that sets the speeds for all the others.
This enormous pine in the middle of the fourteenth fairway has been a controversial feature ever since the course opened. Given that it is limbed up so high today, there is no reason for golfers to continue to think ill of this central hazard.
The real showstealer of the hole is its boomerang green, which measures over 50 yards in width.
The vast range in hole locations changes the playing angles of the fourteenth an almost unheard amount.
The knowledgeable golfer can clearly select which course belongs to which era of course design. Paraparaumu Beach features the better architectural elements while the bigger and longer course at Wairakei is unmatched for setting.
The fact that the course that had the big sprawling land was built in the 1970s is good; the fact that the course with the intricate, tumbling links land was built in the 1940s is equally good. The authors cannot help but wonder what the result would have been if the two architects had been given the opposite property?
The finest modern day architects including Tom Doak and Jack Nicklaus are now being brought to New Zealand. Cape Kidnappers and Kinloch are the immediate results and more architects will come – the land is that good. Unfortunately, the ‘name’ local architects like Bob Charles only muddle up the stunning land they are given. Regardless what the future holds, smart golfers will take advantage of both experiences already on offer at Paraparaumu Beach and Waireki.
The End