Return to New
Zealand and Australia with Pat
Pat and I took the best trip we’ve ever taken to Australia
and New Zealand in early 2012, and have talked about returning ever since. These are two wonderful countries, filled
with great people, incredible scenery…and some damn fabulous golf. Not a bad combination. Yes, far away, but then again, really great
places today tend to be difficult to get to, otherwise they get overrun.
I have had five courses in AUS/NZ on my Top 100 EVER bucket
list for quite some time, and with the release of GD’s 2016 list, two more were
added (one brand new and one about 20 years old). Additionally two other new courses, too new
to make a World 100 yet, are candidates for the World 100 in the next 5 years
or so.
We started planning the trip in November, and ended with an itinerary taking us to New Zealand’s North Island, then South Island, then Melbourne, then Tasmania (including King Island), and concluding on the Big Island of Hawaii. We left on Super Bowl Sunday, and will return to Pinehurst on March 8, a 31-day trip. Believing that Pat’s beloved Pats might go to the Super Bowl, I scheduled our flights to arrive early in LA, and then leave LA for Auckland late the night of February 7. We scheduled a brunch with an old friend of mine, Milt Krisiloff and his wife Flora. Milt and I met in the 8th grade, a mere 58+ years ago, and our friendship survived real crises including listening to the NY Giant-Baltimore Colt NFL championship game on the radio in his bedroom in late December 1958, as our beloved Giants lost in overtime. Milt and Flora have three grown sons and are long time residents of Santa Monica. It was great catching up. Pat and the Krisiloff’s had met some three years during another LA stopover.
After the brunch it was back to LAX, check in, and through
security. We arrived at the airport
lounge and found a perfect media room in which to watch the game. As we sat down, I noticed a guy sitting in
front of us with Pasatiempo golf shirt, and comment on what a great course that
is…and then we realized we had met in summer 2013 when we both played Trump’s
course just north of Aberdeen Scotland…Dr. Joe A (again not revealing last
names) is another Golf Magazine panelist and we had talked for about 5-10
minutes that day three years ago…always a small world. Joe was flying to Australia first and then
heading to New Zealand, ands playing in Tom Doak’s Renaissance Cup at Tara Iti
two weeks hence.
The flight over went well and we landed a little early in
Auckland, got through customs fine (no problem with my month’s supply of Fiber
One), secured our rental car, and headed north about 90 minutes to Tara Iti.
Tara Iti Golf Club February 9-11, 2016: Tara Iti is the much anticipated Tom Doak
private club on the east coast of the North Island, about 90 minutes north of
Auckland. It was conceived and brought
alive by Ric Kayne, an LA based financier with a deep love of the game of
golf. Rick has close friends at my old
NY club, Quaker Ridge, and I was able to arrange to play Tara Iti through those
connections.
Tara Iti opened its full 18 holes in October 2015…too late
for the latest round of World Top 100 lists.
Kayne had purchased a large property sitting right along New Zealand’s
east coast abutting the Pacific Ocean.
See pictures along the beach below:
 |
| Beach Looking South |
 |
| Beach Looking North |
 |
| Beach Looking East |
The property initially purchased consists of about 570
acres, making a second course possible.
The golf course plays like and feels like a true links
course. Totals 6851 yards, par 71, and
about 5 new tees being installed, which I am guessing, will bring it just above
7000 yards. It is firm and fast, and all
of the greens are open in front allowing the player to run shots into the
green. Yes, there are occasional blind
shots, but as the Scots say, “A shot is only blind once.” The setting is simply magnificent, the
clubhouse and other amenities are beautifully done, understated, and blend in
well with the site, and the golf course itself is superb. Officially there are no bunkers on the course,
but the course is filled with well placed “waste areas” that are unraked and
where you can ground your club. The
reality is that wind conditions quickly smooth out footprints etc. I played 54 holes and Pat played 45 and
neither of us were ever in a footprint.
There simply are no so so or average holes on the
course. IMHO, the best holes are:
--#2, a 173
yard par 3, just to the left of a big hill and dune, with a massive “donut”
green, which like #6 at Riviera, has a bunker occupying the donut hole (yup…Ric
Kayne belongs to Riviera and his house sits above #6)…if the pin is left of the
bunker, it is a very difficult tee shot…yielded my first birdie of the trip and
only one in three rounds here;
 |
| #2 from tee |
 |
| Green at #2 with bunker in middle |
--#3, a 446
yard par 4 with a punch bowl green partially hidden on your second shot by a
large mound fronting the green…requires an approach that runs onto the
green…great fun to play;
 |
| #3 fairway...punchbowl green behind mound/dune on left |
--#4, 340 yard
uphill par 4 with a very wide fairway bisected by a bunker at the top of the
crest, in the middle of the fairway; if pin is right, better play up left side
and vice versa as green has some dramatic slopes;
 |
| #4 from tee |
--#6, a
long 461 yard straightaway and uphill par 4 with almost no flat lies and a
semi-hypnotic look off the tee to the green…as wild as the course is, this hole
is almost perfectly symmetrical looking off the tee…and do not be above the pin
(a constant refrain at Tara Iti);
 |
| #6 from tee |
--#7, a
short drivable 292 yard par 4 with a very small green (everything in the world
is relative…my caddy claimed this is Doak’s smallest green anyplace, but it
would be about average size at Brookline…but its mounding makes it very tough
and effectively smaller);
 |
| #7 from tee |
--#8, par
4, 432 yards with waste bunkers jutting into the fairway to “force” player to
be more precise off the tee even with a huge Doak fairway, and a green that
slopes sharply from back right to front left, and whose right side is protected
by a waste bunker (similar to designs throughout The Old Course and Kingston
Heath, here a drive must flirt with the left side jutting in bunker in order to
have a decent angle into the green);
 |
| #8 from fairway |
--#12, par
4 (480 yards) with blind drive over waste area) followed by tough long approach
shot into another canted green:
--#14,
short uphill par 4 (317 yards) to infinity green that requires totally
different approach shots depending on length and direction of drives (which
must avoid fairway bunker in center of huge fairway;
--#17,
short par 3 (160 yds) to smallish green well protected by some very deep waste
bunkers;
 |
| #17 from tee |
--#18, 547
yard par 5 with jutting in bunkers affecting left side of drive zone and right
side for second shot and a raised green.
To be honest, #9, #10, and #15 also deserve praise but my two
fingers got tired of typing.
Fairways are very very wide, and the green complexes tough…very
much a strategic design. Interestingly,
while the greens look like they would produce putts with huge breaks, in
general, putts broke less than expected…and there are a ton a double and triple
breakers. Wind is a constant factor that
adds to the fun of playing this track.
The routing is brilliant…you always know where you are on
the course and the flow of holes is superb.
In summation, step aside Cape Kidnappers, there is a new #1
in New Zealand. This is a must play
course, and the club might be even better.
The accommodations are fabulous, the food divine, the staff superb…all
in all perhaps the most relaxing place I have ever visited. Guaranteed
to make every World 100 when the next editions come out (starting in about 16
months). Other than the above, I have
nothing nice to say about Tara Iti.
Kinloch Golf Club, February 12, 2016: After our round on Thursday at Tara Iti, we
had a long drive south to the Lake Taupo region. Here in a small town called Kinloch, Jack
Nicklaus completed a signature golf course in 2008…right at the start of the
recession…worst timing possible. The
course is very dramatic, surrounded by huge foothills and with beautiful views
of Lake Taupo from several holes.
Kinloch stretches to 7363 yards and is, to say the least, very very
tough. Some websites refer to this place
as a true links course and it is everything but…no way to run it in on most
holes as mounds and deep bunkers protect the front of virtually very green. You better hit it high and land it soft. Three greens (2, 14 and 16) were being
rebuilt to reduce some of the contours, which were too extreme. Although I am in general not a big fan of
JWN’s architecture, in this case, I think Jack did a superb job designing
exactly what the owner wanted…as tough a course as possible. Only problem is, not many players can
possibly play it (there haven’t been too many Jack Nicklaus’ created), the
recession killed the exclusive club concept, and hence five different owners (and
probably more restructurings) over the past 8 years or so. Yes, there is nothing wrong with building a
very difficult course…but be prepared for players not wanting to return.
It is very dramatic and the player feels very very small on
this course (much like the Black at Bethpage)…surrounded by massive foothills
and the beautiful Lake Taupo in the distance.
Pictured here are holes #10 and #17…I should have taken more, but you
blog readers get what you pay for J
 |
| Kinloch #10 from tee |
 |
| Kinloch #17 from tee |
Kinloch was rated #94 on the Golf Architects survey about 4
years ago, and playing it allowed me to complete this World Top 100 (one of my
7 sources on the World 100 EVER bucket list).
Also, on the Top100golfcourses.co.uk website, it was rated #80 in 2009
and #98 in 2011. My sense is that it is
now probably the 3rd best in NZ, but on a fun scale, much lower.
Cape Kidnappers February 13 and 14: After a nice lunch we drove south to the
Hawke’s Bay region of the North Island…a big vineyard area with topography,
climate, vegetation, etc. very similar to Northern California’s. We rented a house here very close to the one
we rented 4 years ago (which was already reserved). This is really an incredibly beautiful
area…not as dramatic as the South Island (Queenstown, etc.) as mountains are more
dramatic than foothills, but peaceful and beautiful...but Cape Kidnappers is
very dramatic. Wonderful to return.
Pat and I played here 2x in 2012. Cape Kidnappers was the second upscale resort
built by Julian Robertson in NZ (the first being Kauri Cliffs, located about 3
hours north of Auckland…which we played 1x in 2012). Completed in 2004, CK is generally perceived
to be a better course than KC. CK was
designed by Tom Doak, plays from 7187 yards (par 71) and sits on top of cliffs
overlooking the Hawke’s Bay on the east coast of NZ’s North Island. It has been on 22 of 35 of the World Top 100
lists tracked by moi, having missed out on all 13 of the Golf Magazine lists
published in 2003 and earlier (before its opening). Highest rating anyplace was #16 on the
current Golf Digest list published last month…highest on Golf Magazine was #27
for its debut in 2005 (currently #40 on GM).
Incredible location and very different feel than one gets
looking at their ads. Yes, there are
lots of “fingers” of land with fairways running down them…but except for the
par 5 15th (650 yards), the fairways are very wide and there is
plenty of room (but, of course, depending on pin placement, location off the
tee is critical for a decent angle into the green). The overhead shots make it look like every hole
is tight off the tee…not true, just #15.
Strategic golf on wide fairways is just like pool…it is all about angles
and you play a shot basically to set up an easy next shot. The terrain moves all over the place
(attention non-golfers…that is a compliment).
And the layout makes brilliant use of the terrain. As with Tara Iti, simply no weak holes. My two rounds were fortunate in that I had
different winds both days, so I got to play two very different courses (as much
as 6 clubs difference for approach shots after good drives on the same
hole). Had an 82 and a 78…the latter
being my first round in the 70’s on the trip…playing from 6242 yards. Big deal was that I birdied #9 both
days…first time sinking a 12 footer (after hitting a 9 iron in) and then Sunday
hitting a 3 utility to 20 inches. Great
way to finish (we started on #1 but skipped #9 to get around two slow foursomes
and then went back to 9 after playing #18, to complete the round).
Best holes are #4, 6, 7, 9 (of course!), and virtually the entire
back nine…where the wind can really howl.
Following are pics of #1, 3, 6, (225 yards from tips), #7 and #8, #11
and #12
 |
| CK #1 from fairway |
 |
| CK #3 short par 3 from tee |
 |
| CK #6 long par 3 from tee over gorge |
 |
| CK #7 par 4 from fairway; Par 3 8th in background |
 |
| CK #11 par 3 |
 |
| CK #12 from fairway to infinity green |
After our round we were introduced to another GM panelist,
Tom B. from Los Angeles (LACC). A man
after my own heart…he was on a 4 day trip (including travel time) to NZ…playing
36 at CK on Sunday and then 36 at Tara Iti on Monday.
To my mind, Tara Iti is now the best course in NZ and CK
must be relegated to 2nd place.
One key reason is the use of Fescue on every inch of Tara Iti. Would have been interesting if CK had been
100% Fescue.
Sunday evening we had a wonderful Valentine’s dinner at
Elephant Hill, a vineyard/winery very close to CK. Then had to wake early on Monday for an early
flight to the South Island.
Christchurch & Queenstown and Arrowtown GC February
15-18, 2016: Alarm went off at 4am
but I had been up for 75 minutes L. We arrived
at Napier airport at 5:30 or so for a 6:40 flight. Shortly after we got there Tom B arrived on
his way to Auckland and TI. Compared
some more notes and we took off on our separate flights.
We flew in Christchurch (CHC). You will of course recall that CHC suffered a
huge earthquake five years ago and the rebuilding process has been slow. On top of that, they were hit with a 5.7 quake
the day before (Sunday 4/14). Pat and I
had wanted to see it in 2012 but were told there was nothing to see. I had visited in 1977 and remembered a
beautiful city.
We were met by a friend and young golf nut, Michael G
(“Goldie”). I met Goldie in April 2012,
when he and his fellow young golf nut (Jamie) came through Pinehurst and stayed
at our place. But Pat was in Boston that
week so she had not met Goldie. Goldie
in spending lots of time in Pinehurst preparing for the 1016 NZ Open here (he
is running all of the Tournament’s operations).
Goldie is from CHC and was there last weekend…and had volunteered to do
the driving on our trip from CHC to Queenstown (about 5-6 hours). He also showed us around CHC before we left,
and he had the chance to meet his mom (appropriately, his dad was in NZ on a
golfing vacation…apples never fall far from the tree).
CHC is best described as one huge construction site, but I
think it will take a good 10 years longer (and hopefully that period will be
earthquake free) for its comeback to be complete. I was pleased that I was able to return and
that Pat was able to see it.
The drive from CHC to Queenstown is spectacular. I had forgotten taking this drive in
1977. You drive through all sorts of
different topographies and climates…and half way there you come across two huge
lakes which are the brightest turquoise imaginable.
We arrived around 6pm, and then made our way to our rental
apartment unit. The high of the trip so
far quickly fell with a loud thud. The place
three rooms (a living room/dining room/kitchen area with a glass door to the
outside, and two bedrooms and a bathroom in back…but literally no windows and
no air conditioning. The air was very
stuffy. We suffered through one night
but Goldie was able to find us a nice place at Millbrook Resort about 15 miles
from Q-town for the following two nights.
No refund from the first place but at least we had a comfortable place
for the next two nights.
On Tuesday morning, Pat and I played Arrowtown GC located
about 15 miles east of Q-town. This
place is literally just the opposite of Kinloch. It is short (6000 yards from the regular
tees), fun, interesting and unpredictable.
It started in 1911 as a 6 hole course but the club associated with it
disbanded in 1935 and a new club and course started…originally 9 holes and in
1971 expanded to 18. The front nine is
the original 1935 nine and is more interesting and fun than the back. It features a bunch of blind shots and
rolling fairways. Pat and I both loved
it. It is a World Top 100? No way, but so what? I will say that it is a tough course to play
for the first time…but most interesting courses are…people play The Old Course
dozens of times and still find new ways to approach holes. That, my friends, is the mark of a great
course.
Today (Wednesday) it rained most of the day, which was fine
as this was always to be a day off. I
spent it writing the blog (never a day of rest). Tomorrow we fly to Melbourne for the start of
the Australian portion of the journey.
