| |
|
The course has a spacious valley-parkland layout with the elevation changes
of 20 meter and it winds through a forest set which is surrounded by low-lying
mountains. Strategic bunkering, 108 bunkers in total, forces you to plot
your way precisely. When I played, autumn leaves of the trees in the forest
were truly beautiful, thus you can enjoy seasonal changes of the course.
Scorecard |
| |
|
|
|
A downhill, long par 3. The green slopes from back to front and is double-tiered.
Bunkers are placed on the both sides of the green and beware of the left
bunker as it is deep. |
| |
|
|
| A demanding dogleg to the right. The landing area on the tee
shot is tight Bunkers 220-270 left & right off the tee squeeze the tee
shot. A bunker in middle of the fairway 100 yards in front of the green
might obstruct your second shot and you need to make a decision to hit short
or wide of the bunker. The green is elevated with a bunker on the left. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| A scenic dogleg to the left. The tee shot is tremendously
downhill and a carry of 250 yards is needed to clear the left fairway bunker
or to reach the downhill fairway next to the bunker. The green is steeply
elevated with a well-posited bunker in the front. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
A sharp dogleg to the right, neat hole. Beware a lake on the right off the
tee. The second is across the water. The green is double-tired. |
| |
|
|
|
The wide green is elevated and set into the side of a hill and anything
short will feed into one of 3 bunkers guarding the front of the green. |
| |
|
|
| A slightly dogleg to the right, a very short but tight par
4. An accurate tee shot is required due to the narrow fairway with water
on the right. A creek crosses the hole 240 yards off the tee. Long hitters
are tempted to hit beyond the creek. However, a carry of 240-260 is needed
and any errant shots will end up in ether water hazards, trees, or bunkers
on both sides. When a risky but long drive is successful, you will find
your ball very close to the green, giving you a much higher chance of a
birdie. The green is a little elevated, shallow and split into 2 section,
higher right and lower right |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| An almost straight challenging hole. The fairway is generous
off the tee but beware bunkers left & right. The green is protected
by a large pine short and left often requiring an approach shot to be hit
from right to left. The green is deep and thin with bunkers on both sides. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| A dogleg to the right, signature hole. The trees line the
relatively narrow fairway, so a long & accurate tee shot is needed.
Beware of the fairway bunkers left & right, as well for long hitters.
A tall pine hinders the second shot and you need to make a decision to hit
the left or the right side of the tree with a fade, draw or straight ball.
The third shot is slightly uphill onto a split level kidney shaped green,
which is protected by 2 deep bunkers in the front. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
A beautiful hole with superb backdrop of autumn leaves. The green is wide
and protected by 3 bunkers and a drop-off on the front. |
| |
|
|
| A slight dogleg to the right. The tee shot is downhill with
3 bunkers waiting to catch a errant drive. Beware water on the left and
a bunker in the middle of the hole on the second shot. The green is deep
with bunkers left & right and slopes from back to front. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
It is a 3 hour & half drive from Auckland. a 10-minutes drive from
Taupo and a 20-minutes drive from Taupo Airport by car. Wairakei Resort
Hotel is in its neighbor. The distances are in meters, so I have converted
it into yards.
The course was ranked 1st in the top 25 courses in New Zealand by a panel
of NZPGA Professionals and Golf Travel operators.
The other Peter Thomson, Michael Wolveridge designed course are Christchurch
GC in New Zealand, and are Moonah
Links, Hope
Island GC, Alice Springs GC,Twin Waters GC, Camden
Lakeside GC and Sea Temple G&CC Riverside Oaks GC, CC Tasmania,
etc.
|
2nd Par 3 235 yards