I am planning to be in Auckland second week of Feb 2020. Thinking I will play Titirangi for sure, then there are some great other suggestions here for me to look into. Thanks guise!
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āHoney, Iām taking a half day on the 11th to play golf with some guy from the internet who wears amazing trousers.ā
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Seems like a perfectly reasonable request to me!!
As for the trousers, they were part of my Ian Poulter fancy dress, but maybe I should put them into the regular rotation!
I have been told I will be staying at the Park Hotel Lambton Quay during my Wellington stay, no idea if that is good for getting around or not?
Your hotel is smack in the middle of the CBD so no worries there. Lambton Quay is the shopping/business part of town but given you can walk from one end of the city to the other in 30 or so minutes, thereās plenty of good eating and drinking within a short walk.
Weāll sort out transport and whatnot closer to the time. I take it youāre bringing clubs?
At the moment I am leaning towards hiring clubs, with the number of flights I have in the 2 weeks travelling, the cost / hassle and risk of damage or loss seem to be outweighed by hiring a set when I get the chance to play.
Gāday,
I am about 3 weeks out from my New Zealand trip and it has changed a bit. After being in Sydney for 3 months, everyone has talked me into spending more time on the South Island. I will have 9 full days in NZ and the one thing that was my goal from the beginning was to play Cape Kidnappers. So the plan is to fly into Auckland Tuesday October 22nd (arrive at 5:20AM). Now from that point on it gets a bit muddy/open to whatever. I will be with my girlfriend so we were thinking of driving from Auckland to Cape Kid that same tuesday and trying to play that late afternoon or Wednesday morning. Then wednesday drive from there down to Wellington, stay the night there and take the ferry to the south island thursday morning. Once there keep driving from there down to Queestown (7 days to make it from the top of the island to QT but obviously I dont plan to make it take that long). I would like to see Mt Cook, Mt Aspiring, Milferd Sound and whatever else.
That being said, would you guys recommend the drive from Auckland to QT or do you think it would be easier to drive from Auckland to Cape K and back to Auckland then to fly to QT and rent another car there.
Was hoping to fit in more North Island golf but that doenst look like it will happen, will have to make sure to come back for more there. As for the south island, I want to play either Arrowtown or Jacks Point. That sound like the right choice?
Iāll reply a bit more comprehensively tomorrow when Iām on a PC but initial thoughts:
- the day you are looking to fly, drive, and play CK will be a long, long day.
- donāt waste time backtracking to Auckland, drive straight from Hawkes Bay to Wellington
- if youāre set on taking the ferry, fine. But itās a 3h crossing then a long, boring drive from Picton to Christchurch
- Iād be tempted to fly from Wellington to Christchurch and rent a car from there
- Jacks Point and Arrowtown are close together so you could feasibly do both. JP is spectacular but has big teeth, especially if the spring winds blow. Check when theyāre coring, itās usually around this time
Hey team
Moving from Wellington to Auckland next month and was wondering if anyone has any thoughts to what courses I should get out and try first for a high handicapper? Have heard the Chamberlain Park muni is quite good value for money along with Howick and Maungakiekie. Membership at the right club could be an option down the track, a welcoming down-to-earth atmosphere is probably more important than the course itself given I want to get out there as often as possible whilst still learning my game.
Cheers
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Yup, what he said.
Hi mate. Where are you going to be living? Plenty of course options around the city and sometimes travel is the best qualifier for where youāll end up. Iām a casual member at Maungakiekie and itās a busy club but very chilled out, the course itself is so so. Chamberlain is a fun course and super casual, probably an ideal environment if youāre getting your game tuned. But yeah, letās figure out where youāll be living first and work backwards from there.
Hopefully have a place lined up in Epsom near Cornwall Park, so Maungakiekie and Akarana being the closest courses. Maungakiekie stood out as being a little more laid-back and perhaps less busy?
Oh sweet, youāre in a good spot for both courses and your assumption is correct, although Akarana is a nice course to play every now and then. The people at Maungakiekie are great and you can get a Golfpoints pay as you play membership which is a good way to test the waters for not having to spend too much money, check it out HERE. Thatās what Iāve been doing and it works well. The only downside is you canāt book Saturday morning tee times till a couple of days before so they can tend to fill up, but if youāre flexible and happy to roll the dice itās all good.
Let me know when youāre up here and settled and we can hit it up for a round one weekend and / or nine after work one day.
Thanks mate, excited to try it out! will give you a bell once Iām all sorted 
Hi gents,
A wellingtonian here but now living in Sydney. Head back once a year or so. I also spent four years in Auckland so happy to make some recommendations there as well.
Has anyone managed to get to Tara Iti yet? I am doing a Queesntown trip in early March and planning on playing Jacks Point, Arrowtown and Queesntown/Cromwell. Anyone played down there?
Cheers
Ian
Hiya - Tara Iti is on the dream list but will be a few years off.
Iāve played most of the Central Otago courses. Arrowtown is freaking cool and might be the best $50 you ever spend. Cromwell was a lot of fun with wide open spaces and some interesting holes, Iād definitely go back.
I Bag Tag Barryād Millbrook and JP in a weekend but played JP first which made Millbrook seem boring af. Itās a perfectly nice layout but doesnāt feel like NZā¦kinda weird. As previously mentioned JP is brilliant and spectacular but shit it can be tough when the wind is up. You have quite a few blind shots especially on the front side as you climb the hill, but itās a great day out.
To my shame Iāve never played Queenstown or Wanaka though. Driving past Wanaka it looked narrow, crowded and unforgiving and given I was swinging like a rusty gate at the time I wanted a quiet rural course where I could shoot a load of shit without embarrassing myself in front of a bunch of strangers (so went to the 9 holer at Hawea). But Iāve heard itās a great track so might be an unfair take.
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Same here mate - thinking of playing once they build the additional two courses.
Thanks for the advice around Queesntown, canāt wait to get down there are have a hit.
Again @sliceroulette is all over it. I played Millbrook a couple of months ago and it was definitely a bit weird. I enjoyed it, was a beautiful bluebird day with snow on the hills, but the whole place felt very US resort transplant style. I found Jacks Point interesting if only because again itās quite far removed from the classic kiwi golf experience Iām used to.
So, if it was me Iād definitely prioritise Arrowtown, mainly because I have yet to play there and have heard excellent things, and have a rip around Jacks Point because itās pretty cool. The food at the clubhouse is berko good too. Lake Hawea nine is the classic time killer for when the mountain is shut for the day. Had plenty of fun there.
Canāt wait for the new Tara Iti to be done, a surf + golf weekend away not far from Auckland sounds pretty perfect to me.
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It got too cold for golf in Chicago so I came down to NZ for a few weeks. Set up a winter HQ in an Airbnb in Paraparaumu Beach where the club graciously set me up with a one-month membership for roughly what Iād pay for 5 rounds of mediocre Chicago public golf. Happy to host anyone here at PBGC this week or next, and also very keen to play at other courses in NZ and travel around a bit. Donāt know a soul down here so hit me up!
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Mate that sounds brilliant, I used to play there a fair bit. If you get the chance have a hit at Otaki, Waikanai, Rangatikei and Manawatu which are all within driving distance.
Hi guys -
Iām heading down from the USA for a short Australia/New Zealand trip in a few weeks. Iām planning on playing Titirangi on Friday, March 6th. Let me know if youāre free to join!