I was blessed to be hosted by Richard Pennell at New Zealand Golf Club last week. It was a real lesson in what can be made of a flat site that doesn’t appear to me to have been screaming “turn me into a golf course” since the dawn of time.
The subtle movement was well used, as were the few greens that tilted from front to back, such as the par 5 14th, where the modest hole distance tempts you to have a dig from 200 out, but the slope of the green sends anything that lands on the putting surface to the rough at the back.
Here are a few pics, but with the quality of images and commentary that already exist on GCA, I will spare you a hole-by-hole run-through. Feel free to PM or email me if you would like to see the other pics.
As Sean Arble so eloquently described in his very thorough NZGC bunkering thread, the bunkering at NZGC is wonderful. To me, it was easy on the eye, perfectly-placed and at times misleading.
These two bunkers short of the 2nd green are a perfect example. On many holes, the result is a 30-45m bunker shot – and is there a more difficult challenge in the game of golf?
Mark Chaplin, who joined me on he course, and I have previously discussed the difficulty of the bunkers at Deal, yet we agreed that NZGC’s bunkers might pose an even more difficult test for how playable they seem.
Where at Deal we are satisfied to remove the ball from the sand in one shot, there were several bunker shots left inches from where they were played at NZ because the apparent ease causes you to get too cute trying to hit the ball close to the pin.
The 4th hole features a bunker short of the green that shouldn’t be in play for either your drive or approach, but what it does do is wreak havoc with your distance perception.
The 7th hole (see next two pics) is a 210yd par three with the ultimate misleading bunker. A running approach to the safe left side seems impossible due to the left-hand trap. It looks for all money from the tee that the bunker adjoins the left front of the green, but as you approach the green, it’s revealed to be a good 30m short. It’s brilliant deception.
As the 8th green site shows, the flow of the bunkers make up for any inadequacies of the flat site, and the beautiful flowers, heather and trees make the walk a truly special one.
The par three 10th, despite being just a wedge for most golfers, is a brilliant hole for its multitude of pin positions on a green that flows subtly, but with as much challenge as any on the course.
From 150 yards, the bunker short of the 11th green looks to be just a sliver of sand, but the below photo shows just how large it reveals itself to be once it’s too late to do anything about it!
When you consider how amazing the bunkering is, and you can be sure Simpson knew it was to be the course’s most famed feature, it would have been easy to over-do, but the short par 4 13th is brilliant for where the bunkers aren’t. This grass ravine that runs from 40m short – where a big hitter could drive the ball – up the right-hand side of the green, makes for a tough approach from the right rough, especially to a right-hand hole position. If it were a bunker, the golfer would be alerted on the tee that it was an area to be avoided.
The par 4 15th – simply beautiful any way you look at it, with a raised lip on the left of he green that helps you run the ball close to the pin when it’s cut behind the short-right bunker.
170yds of this thick heather stands between you and the heavily-bunkered 16th green. It’s a highlight of the rollicking final seven-hole stretch.
NZGC leaves you with a sweet taste in your mouth, courtesy of the 18th green - movement galore that adds some interest to what’s likely to be an approach of 70-100 yards. It’s a feature that is replayed at NZGC, but never better than on this hole.
Thanks once again to Richard for having me, and for the tour of the clubhouse and holes near the clubhouse before we teed off. It added immensely to the experience.