Day 4 Palmerston North – Palmerston North Golf Club
As forecast the weather in Palmerston North was grey and threatening rain so we booked the first tee time of the day, 8.30am. This was Scott’s club when he was at Massey University years ago so he was looking forward to seeing how it was playing and if anything much has changed. It seems nothing very much opens for breakfast, coffee or bakery goods early in Palmerston North and we struggled to get breakfast. In the end we located a supermarket close to the course and bought bananas and dried apricots. We then found coffee a bit further along the road, so saved.
The Course
18hole, Par72 for men & Par73 for women. Ladies yellow tees, slope 119 (vs 119 at home), 5208metres (5696yards). Men’s white tees, slope 117 (vs 124 at home), 5771metres (6311)yards.
The course is a very typical parkland course, tree lined, wide fairways nicely mown and good definition from fairway to rough. It played quite long in the drizzly conditions and after such a wet winter. The course was very green and lush. The greens were the best of the courses so far and felt very similar to our home course in speed and condition.
The course is completely flat. No undulation, no hills. Perfect walking conditions even in the damp.
When we arrived the pro shop was not open and turns out to be closed on Monday’s. However there were very friendly people around who assisted and one man even opened the shop to give us proper cards and sell us a Palmerston North Golf Club ball marker for our collection.
We played the first 3 holes in drizzle and rain but then the morning cleared and became quite humid and hot. We ended up down to shirt sleeves. Although the weather was damp the course drainage was excellent and at no point were we in mud or surface water, which given the flat terrain was a happy surprise.
Is the course exciting? No, it’s not a tourist course with great views or anything entertaining. It’s not a resort or tournament course with bunkers or water hazards placed to challenge. It’s a good solid club course that could go either way on the day.
For me it was good, I struck the ball well, didn’t get into any trouble and carded 5 over my handicap. I was happy with how I played and I think had the course not been so damp I might have shaved those points off easily.
We won’t actually mention Scott’s round. Started bad on 1st strike, ended badly. Enough said.
Best holes?
Not #3, it’s a simple enough Par 5 on the perimeter but I counted 3 signs, in red, warning you to avoid hitting into the houses that line the fairway on the right. For us we find this quite intimidating. Of course it’s fair enough for health and safety etc but it does play on the brain when you are teeing off and the struggle to not over compensate and end up in the trees on the left is great.
Holes 13 through 16 play along the far boundary and have a deep ditch that barely comes into play but adds some interest to the holes.
#13 is a par 3 that you tee off across the ditch which runs along the left side of the hole, with trees close in on the right you need to land on the green to play this hole well. There is no landing area that’s friendly on the approach.
#16 is called the Lagoon, it does have a lagoon but this is out of play on the left unless you manage a very unlucky fade.
The Golf summary – 33/35
Food, beverage, accommodation and other activities
Tonight we ate at Haru Japanese Restaurant on Broadway Avenue. It was really good. It was busy and we were quite lucky to sneak in on the last table. Busy on a Monday night is a great indication of quality.
The service was very friendly and helpful. We ordered the Haru Special main Platter for 2.
It was a really great way to try a selection of their dishes and very generous. Everything was really tasty and cooked perfectly. We can recommend Haru if you are in Palmerston North.
