Talk about a game of two halves. When we awoke, our car was sitting kaput in the Bridge Pa carpark, the logistics of the next few days sitting finely in the balance. I didn??t know how the day was going to pan out, and to be honest was a little nervous. Munro kindly ran us out to the golf club, to give it one last crack before the cavalry were called in. The car was unresponsive. Jason from Ansin Monteith mechanics turned up not long after, and uttered those hair raising words, ??I??m towing ya?. [Expletive]. The little hand had ticked past 10 at this time, and we were due 45 minutes down the road at 12. It was getting tight.
Neither Mike nor I are mechanically gifted; in fact I??d go as far as saying we are hopeless. So sitting in the garage waiting (semi-)patiently we had no idea what we were in for. A hundred? Six hundred? Thankfully, the proprietor, Murray, did us a firesale price. Wholesale part price and about a third of Jason??s labour. Lucky boys indeed. Fifteen minutes beforehand, we didn??t know whether we??d be getting out of Hawke??s Bay that day, or whether we??d have to sell an organ to pay the bill; fifteen minutes after we were on the road, and the relentless downpour looked to be easing.
A quick farewell to our lovely host, Gayle, and we beelined it for Waipukurau. The drive was pleasant, albeit wet. A massive wind farm was probably the scenic highlight (and I don??t mean that as a slant on the countryside ?? those turbines are quite spectacular sitting there on the horizon). ??Waipuk?? is a quiant wee town on the highway, which I imagine serves primarily as a service town for the surrounding farmers. The golf club sits on the south side of town, and if you blink you??ll miss it (the sign is directly opposite the entrance, so you??ve got to be expecting it).
Upon arrival we were greeted by Sandy, a club member. Sandy had the unenviable task on the day of catering for a hundred wedding guests (the reception was in the clubhouse; the bride being the daughter of a committee member). We were also joined, per chance, by the Kights ?? Ed and Jen, the parents of a friend of ours ?? whom we had met the previous day at Bridge Pa. They had stopped in on the off chance of catching us (maybe not off chance, the course is pretty compact). It was nice to see them again, and hear tales about the night before (a few of the Grizzlies had taken the evening from the clubhouse to their place). A bit dusty. Ed introduced us to his cousin, John, a local lawyer ?? who just happened to be there, again by chance.
As it turned out, John walked the front 9 with us, which most certainly enriched the game (and probably saved us a couple of shots). Mike and I were both keen to hear John??s reflections on rural practice, and life up here in general. He??d left the buzz of Wellington not long after getting married ?? originally to play rugby ?? and got stuck. From his words we took the lifestyle in these parts to be more balanced vis-à-vis city life. Perhaps not altogether surprising, but that didn??t make it any less interesting digesting John??s wisdom. He was great company, and if he hadn??t joined us Mike and I would probably have just zipped round as quickly as possible back to shelter (the rain was constant).
We probably didn??t see Waikpuk on its best day, but enjoyed it nonetheless. It??s a short course, which would play even shorter were it not for it being so wet underfoot. Mike, to my amusement, hit a couple of 40 foot putts through puddles that ended up 30 feet short ?? hilarious. Considering there is only 1 paid greenkeeper, aided by a core of retired locals on Mondays, the course is in good nick. And there are certainly interesting features (like gravel banks) to keep the golfer interested. It kept us non-golfers interested too. A good country club supported by ?? in our brief experience ?? a fine bunch of members.
Thanks to Waipuk for hosting us; to John for walking with us in the rain; and to Murray at Ansin Monteith (in Hastings) for cutting us a sharp deal. What could have been a frustrating day turned out to be a fantastic one. Our good fortune continued into the evening too ?? previous accommodation arrangements had fallen through, at the eleventh hour, but our friend James and his folks kindly put us up at their place (5 days before they are putting on a wedding there for James?? older sister, no less). James is a good friend, and the third member of the newly formed golf widows flat in Wellington. We are indebted to him for accommodating us in our time of need, and for cooking us bacon and eggs this morning to start the day. Thanks James. And all the best to Alice and Fraser ?? the bride and groom ?? for this week.
Off to play a wee coastal 9 holer now, by the name of Riversdale Beach. Hope the wind stays down...
Peace, JP
P.S. Score now 11-5 to JP. Both doing our best to lose each day, but Michael is clearly trying harder.
Posting comments has been disabled.
No one has commented on this page yet.
Chisholm Park
12 holes bart cape kidnappers christchurch christmas doak ed bayley hawke's bay heretaunga jane poole napier golf club new zealand puregolf2010 rangiora rarangi gc royal royal wellington the first tee the interislander waiohiki
