Course 6: Takaka Golf Club

27 January 2010

We took a family holiday to Golden Bay with some of our oldest friends at the end of January and found the great little 9 hole Takaka Golf Course right on the beach.

In the end 3 dads and a number of sons wondered around the 9 holes enjoying the views and hijinks of 5 boys aged 7 or less. In the end my round was very average but it was great to get out again with my son and to have him continue to learn about golf.

The highlight had to be the par 3 9th hole where we let all the boys have a turn. Young James (7 years old) showed everyone up by having a par. Not even us dads could match that!!

My scorecard:



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Course 5: Kapiti Golf Club

6 January 2010

Hiding up behind Paraparaumu is the 9 hole Kapiti Golf Club. I played here a couple of times during January 2010 with my 7.5 year old son who got a set of golf clubs for Christmas.

This round of golf, while fun and enjoyable at the time has greater significance to me know. It turned out to be the last time I would ever play golf with my father, something I have been doing for many years and thought would never end. It was the first and only time that my father, son and I would ever play golf together.

Kapiti is a pretty easy course, as can be seen from my scorecard. We had a lot of fun.

My scorecard:



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Courses 3 & 4: Featherston and Martinborough

The Solstice - That Time Again! 19 June 2010

Twice a year at Solstice time instead of dressing up like a druid I jump into a mini van and head off with 10 other golfing amateurs and play 2 courses in the lower North Island. Grant has been organising this event for the past 11 years and each time it's a surprise where we will end up. It's also a big day away, 36 holes and a long van ride home. This year we played at...

Featherston

The first course after crossing the Rimutaka hill, this is a relatively easy course to play. It's flat and the greens are slow with little break. I've now played Featherston twice and enjoyed very good scores each time (for me). Be careful around the third hole, the course shares a boundary (and aroma) with a pig farm. The pigs also make quite a noise at feeding time!

My scorecard:



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Martinborough

Our second course of the day was the Martinborough Golf Club. This is located on the outskirts of wine country and another relatively flat, tree lined course. You start with two par fives, something a little different, and there are a number of challenging holes on this course. The greens were the exact opposite of Featherston, well formed and fast. I had four 3 putts in this round but still managed to play well.

My scorecard:


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The Solstice is always a long day. 36 holes split with a big lunch and couple of pints. The handicapping is always dubious but aftera 6 year drought I managed to come home with the coveted Brown Jacket. I need to thank Grant for the very generous handicap! I can guarantee having 10-15 strokes taken off my handicap for the summer Solstice to ensure that I don't win again in a hurry - maybe I should offer to drive the van home....