Day 43 was a day to be remembered. Not necessarily for the golf, but the physical challenge that we put ourselves through hiking around the Waitakere Golf course.
This course is steep. And I mean really steep. Frequently we stood on the tee block, still out of breath from our walk up the prior fairway. There was no subtlety to the undulations, just brutal hills that decorated most of the holes. At the end of the round our legs were sore, and we needed a recovery session in Auckland harbour to recuperate.
Waitakere golf course is a unique track. Out west from Auckland, the experience begins with a quaint drive in on a road cut through native NZ bush. The entire golf course follows a similar trend as holes around the perimeter of the course are flanked by dense bush.  In an effort to preserve as much of the native land as possible, a number of tee shots on the short par threes are nestled within bush on artificial tees â?? a different experience (and not the best time for JP to hit a block when hitting through a narrow shute!). Some of these holes are so well hidden that a group in front of us missed one altogether (admittedly they had had a few Heinekins).
A number of greens are also nestled within the bush with hazards on all sides. For example there are two reachable par fives, number 3 and 5, where an errant shot into the green on all sides will definitely be a gift to the national parklands. This course has character and plenty of it, and I definitely recommend any Aucklanders to check it out.
The course is good fun to play, and could be a good course to score on once you know your way around it. This is because of the 4 short par fives, and the six par threes which are all no more than a 9 iron. The difficulty factor definitely stems from the bush and managing the undulations and adapting your club selection accordingly.
The hospitality from the staff at Waitakere was first rate, and they gave us heaps of encouragement for our adventure. When we shared with them that we thought it was a pretty long walk around their track, they told us about the troop of 85 year old members that play the course (without carts) every weekend - legends.
We were joined today by Susan Farron who is a AAA rated New Zealand golf professional. I managed to pip Susan in the split sixes comp, but she had the lowest score of the day with a 74 and was accordingly excused from weetbix duty. Apart from hitting a good ball, Susan is an excellent golf coach.  She is ambitious with her coaching career and shared with us some insights into life as a golf coach. It made both Jamie and I think of a good friend of ours, Doug, who will one day become a fine golf coach.
So all in all another good day for puregolf2010, final scores M - 75 (38 points) and J - 83 (31 points).Â
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Chisholm Park
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