[MikeClayton]

Mark
Portsea has several small greens -generally way smaller than Paraparaumu- and a decent number of rounds. The turf handles it all well because the surface is firm and everyboby wears softspikes.
They have never had a problem with compaction and there are a couple of greens where the pin doesnt move around any more than 6 or 8 at Paraparaumu.
There isn't much room to do much with the sixth green there and but it has never been my favourite. The eighth green is terrific and to make it bigger would hurt the hole.
Portsea's first hole is named after Sloan Morpeth but the ninth is named after Jack Howard , the superintendant who built the course.
We moved the tee left and when Jack saw it he said 'this was where I always wanted to put it but I lost the argument with Sloan'
Jack had fantastic greens and it was after he retired that the greens went to the pack.
Turner has sold up in London but will still play all the European events in Australasia and the middle east plus the best ones in Europe.
He will be a more than worthwhile addition to the design world down there.

[Mike_Duffy]

Mark,

My observation over the years has been that if poa annua is present in the fairways, then it is a losing battle to keep it off the greens.

My home club here in Melbourne is an example of that. About 12 years ago it embarked upon a programme in tandem with an outside consultant to rid the greens of poa annua.

After virorous rooting out of the poa and the consequent severe disruption to the members' enjoyment over three years, the greens were beginning to show signs of improvement in regards to bent coverage.

At the time, (and still), poa is omnipresent on the fairways, and I clearly remember the consultant remarking that if the fairways weren't rid of poa, then it was losing battle.

Shortly thereafter he was sacked, and the greens returned to their  poa characteristics. Now eveyone putts through the "flower beds", however, there are those who think the greens are "great".

POA IN GENERAL IN NZ
Off the top of my head Mark, I can't think of any course in NZ, with the exception of Gulf Harbour, that doesn't have poa greens. It seems almost a natural grass in NZ. It is about four years since I played Gulf Harbour, so maybe that layout is now infested with the species as well. At time of playing GH(about a week before the World Cup was held there), I was of the opinion that they were amongst the best greens I had ever played on. I might be wrong but I think they were Egmont Bent??

PORTSEA
I was a member there for some time Mark in the 1960s and early 1970s. At that time the greens were hard bent greens making it very difficult to stop the balls on the surface.

One of the founders of the club, Val Peddle, a Melbourne wholesale butcher, insisted on bent greens and he got them, and they were amongst the best in Melbourne, even if they were frustrating in trying to stop the ball on them.

I haven't been down there since Mike C and his team have been looking after the lovely Peninsula layout, but from all reports it would seem they have been returned to their glory days.

Sloan Morpeth during the 1960s would occasionally come down to Portsea and play a round of golf and suggest a few improvements to Val Peddle, the greens committee and the superintendent, but the club had a small membership, didn't have proper clubhouse and was hamstrung with a low dollar turnover, so other things took priority over the course during those years.

It was after Val Peddle became ill, and the superintendent retired, that the the course went backwards, however, the fortunes of the Portsea Golf Club have been revived, which is good news to anyone who loves a seaside course.

NZ
I will be over in Wellington in April Mark, and I wouldn't mind meeting up with you for a beer and a round at "Pram".

[Mark_Huxford]

Mike D, I would enjoy that. I could probably invite Mr Patterson to join us so the two of you could share your thoughts on Alex Russell together. PB's historian Jim Wallace, would make an excellent fourth should you be travelling alone.

[Mike_Duffy]

Mark,

that is certainly a foursome that I would look forward to playing with.

I will be travelling with She Who Must Be Obeyed who is a non-golfer, so maybe I can leave her to trawl the shops of Lambton Quay and Willis Street whilst we enjoy ourselves on the links of Paraparaumu..

I will email you closer to the time of our arrival next year.

Also Mark, as I'm travelling to Napier, are there any courses you could recommend in the area apart from Bridge Pa, which I have played, and didn't particularly like (maybe that is unfair as the region was suffering from the effects of a drought at the time)? Pity Cape Kidnappers won't be open when I visit!

[Mark_Huxford]

I don't think the region has a "better" course than Bridge Pa but that's not very helpful. The awful routing ruins what is otherwise a very nice 250 acre property with some nice elevation change. The way you have to walk past the CH again after the 3rd hole is silly. So is the 16th/17th arrangement.

Hawkes Bay Golf Club (Flaxmere), Valentine Road, is just over the fence from Bridge Pa. You can see the 3rd hole from the 17th tee at Bridge Pa. I've only played the front nine there and although I remember having fun I don't recall too many of the holes. I think it could be worth playing though if you can join up with some of the locals. Last month the former Manager - Walter Blackburn -  told me the club was in danger of becoming a vineyard at one stage recently so the conditioning may not be too flash.

The Napier Golf Club (Waiohiki) suffers from the usual NZ problems, narrow FWs, heavy tree-lining and poor routing, plus the fact you have to cross a country highway a couple of times. It's a really friendly Club though and there are some excellent holes on both nines and some boldly contoured greens.

Marainui is the course next to Marine Parade, Napier, over the railway lines. On the par five 7th hole there about ten years ago I suddenly decided to quit golf. This was during a Shand Cup match for Wellington against Hawkes Bay. I finished my match and played another the following day, then I didn't touch a club for three years. I haven't been back since but I imagine it's still a dreadful place. Interestingly at that time I recall the Clubhouse having an excellent old photo collection on display. At some point Gary Player, Peter Thomson, Kel and others played there.
 
I'd say give Waiohiki a try Mike and if you have time for a second game, pull into Flaxmere and take a look. If it's obviously in bad shape Bridge Pa is only a couple of minutes away.

[Mike_Duffy]

Thanks Mark. I have noted your recommendations and will try at least two of them.

As an aside, may I ask why you suddenly decided to give golf away whilst playing the 7th hole?

As you were obviously playing inter-provincial golf, it goes without saying that you were (and probably still are) a most talented young man.

Did something cataclysmic happen on that hole on that particular day that resulted in you not touching a golf stick for three years?

I'm intrigued!

[Mike_Duffy]

;)Mark,

Thanks for your reply. I was out of town yesterday and as I was driving around I was trying to figure out what would have caused you to make such as sudden decision to quit golf, particularly a talented young golfer such as yourself.

I think the name of the coach would have been Mal Tongue, who I know is highly regarded in New Zealand.

I can relate to the yips with the full shots Mark.

I friend of mine, who is a club maker (that really should be club assembler, as they don't make clubs these days), talked me into discarding my trusty old McGregor persimmon driver which I had kept in my bag and which had been a faithful servant since about 1901.

He assembled for me a titanium space age driver, which was so light after my D6 McGregor driver, that I couldn't use the damn thing.

In the end I was "worm-raping" every tee shot, so I went back to McGregor, which felt like a sledghammer after the space age technology that I had been using. I then had the "driver yips" with that as well.

My enjoyment decreased markedly, until my mate made me a another space age wiz stick, which suited me a lot better and I have used ever since.

I know some of the tracks that you speak of Mark, and they certainly reflect the propsensity of New Zealanders to inflict upon their courses just about every type of exotic tree available to them.

I worked for a time at one of Wellington's daily newspapers about two centuries ago, and a group of us would play the Hutt Valley courses and "Royal Berhamphore".

The only thing that I garnered from those days in Windy Wellington, was to learn to hit the ball reasonably straight.

The Melbourne Sand Belt courses are wide open spaces by comparison with the "rifle ranges" of NZ, although Huntingdale often reminds of the tightness that confronts the golfer on a trip to NZ.

I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying your golf again Mark.

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