It’s been 9 months since our last Golfing holiday. Fully due to the Covid pandemic which has made holidays a distant memory or a far off dream.
This year in New Zealand Easter has landed a week earlier than the ANZAC (Australia, New Zealand Armed Corps) day commemoration. This means in simple terms that taking 4 days annual leave gives us 11 days of golfing opportunity. A chance not to be wasted.
Since my last post (June 2021) my handicap has come down by 5 points and I now play off a 13. Although it’s very satisfying to have achieved this level it also comes with more pressure to play well every round. I now understand my husband’s frequent frustration (he plays off an 8) when you do something stupid or worse you get an unlucky bounce and one hole now ruins your card. This has not diminished the enjoyment of the game but rather added a dimension of focus that I have not always adopted.
On that note our first round of 8 across the next 10 days is the new Tieke Golf Estate in Hamilton.
Day 1- Tieke Golf Estate-Hamilton NZ
15kilometres south of Hamilton bordering the Waikato river is the new Tieke Golf Estate. “Tieke” the te reo name for the North Island Saddleback belongs to New Zealand’s unique wattle bird family, an ancient group which includes the endangered Kokako and extinct Huia.
Tieke Golf Estate built on the site that used to be Lochiel Golf Course uses the riverbed sand as it’s main feature and is a well thought through design that is interesting to play and visually rewarding. Sitting high on the banks of the river it is gently rolling and an easy walk. No need for carts on this course.
Our tee time of 9.12am meant we had time for a quick breakfast at our hotel before the 15minute drive to the course. Being Good Friday the bookings were full and we were joined by a couple of members for the round which is always helpful when navigating a new course. Being mid-April and south of Auckland the morning temperature was a brisk 6degrees celsius but warmed as we started to walk and never got to the stifling heat we have been experiencing at home.
The clubhouse & Pro shop are modern and comfortable with a fantastic covered walkway and entrance to the facilities.
The practice green was indeed representative of the quality of the greens on course. Smooth surfaces with a very true run. All large with plenty of landing room, but if you take advantage of this you may find your putts needing to travel some distance.
Practice Green looking to #1 Tee and the 10th fairway.
Weather
Clear blue skies, temperature around 6 degrees C when we started our round. No wind and once the sun was above us the temperature settled at a very enjoyable 20 degrees C.
The Course
I would not describe the scenery that surrounds Tieke as interesting, there are no mountain ranges or coastal vistas and the holes along the river are so high above that you really need to stand on the edge and look down to see the mighty Waikato. But the course itself is very pretty and you hardly notice that there are no “signature” holes.
Fairway watering means that if you keep to the fairways they are green and well looked after resulting in a very pretty contrast to the tussock and riverbed sand waste areas. I’m told they are not bunkers and in fact this is the “signature” of Tieke. You will not find a rake anywhere. If you are unlucky enough to end up in any of the waste areas you are allowed clean and place. Sadly it did not help me and in two of the waste areas I landed in it took me two shots to get safely out. The riverbed sand is not the nice soft fluffy sand we expect in bunkers. You need to hit the ball cleanly as if you were playing from a fairway, no getting under. Beware the scuffing you sustain on your clubs. Motivation to stay out of these areas.
Although the course was full of players it is laid out in a way that we hardly came across the other groups and did not have to give way to players on the wrong fairways etc. The pace was flowing and we only waited on the four in front a couple of times so kudos to the designers.
There’s only one water hazard and it’s barely a consideration. A holding pond running along the left side of #10. You need to be aware of it because the landing area short of the green narrows with a hill on the right but the men in my group could all reach the green from tee as it’s a very short par4.
This is an 18hole, Par72 course with 5 tee positions to choose from. I played off the Redwoods, slope 120 (vs 119 at home), 4972metres (5437yards). Scott played off the Kanuka Tees, slope 128 (vs 124 at home), 6101metres (6672yards.
All in all this was a very enjoyable golf course.
Best holes?
In all honesty I think I’d need to play it again to work this out. As mentioned there are no signature holes and the design is interesting from hole #1 to hole # 18 so I would say that there was no hole that truly stood out as a Best hole.
Conversely there was no hole that stood out as nonsense either so that really sums up the day. 18 holes of playable interest.
The 18th is a nice way to finish. Par 5 up to the clubhouse. Plenty of fairway but narrowing on the approach to the green, guarded by bunkers on the right and behind.
Post round clubhouse
The clubhouse is very modern (new) and had plenty of space without feeling cavernous. We sat outside where from our table we could see action on six different holes. The menu for lunch was a step up from basic golf club fare and the food when it came was tasty and enjoyable. The staff were friendly.
The summary – 46/50
