Exploring in a motorhome or caravan is not just about watching a wonderful world go by or lounging in a deck chair gazing at mesmerising views. RVers like to interact with the environment by biking, hiking, walking, swimming, boating and kayaking. And then there is golf. Jill Malcolm reports.
Many nomads have as much passion for tee time as they do for a beer or wine at happy hour. This is not surprising. Golf is the highest participation sport in New Zealand. Around seven million rounds are played each year, and we have about 390 golf clubs and courses, placing the country second in the world for the number of courses per capita.
If you’re in the game, it’s apparent that increasing numbers have found that motorhoming and golfing go hand-in-glove. I discovered this myself, when 10 years ago husband Bill and I joined an RV golf safari in the upper half of the North Island. The group ranged from rookies to champions and the number of people wanting to join the safari were so many that there was a list of people who didn’t make the cut. The weather didn’t always play ball, but we enjoyed some interesting country courses and wonderful camaraderie.
Shortly after, we again joined a group of RVers who’d teamed up for a golf safari in the lower half of the South Island. We have joined several others since. When divots, driving, putting, bunkers and birdies are not the topics of conversation, interior layouts, water tanks, batteries, engine performance, travel and park-up places take over.
A long history
The first recorded game of golf in New Zealand was in Dunedin in 1871. In the 1880s and 90s, when New Zealand colonial communities were beginning to emerge from of the relentless slog of pioneering, the establishment of golf as a fashionable sport was being earnestly discussed throughout the country.
In 1895, one group of enthusiasts in Palmerston North formed a club and called it Manawatū. For one reason or another, most sites in New Zealand that were originally chosen for early golf courses didn’t last. The exception was this acreage at Hokowhitu, which borders the Manawatū River and the city’s Centennial Lagoon. In 1895, it comprised nine holes and then in 1904, the neighbouring polo ground was included to make it 18. The current layout covers 42 hectares that are as inviting as a walk in the park.
This game of club and ball, however, is never a walk in the park. And the tree-lined, benign-looking course with its beautifully manicured fairways pocked with over 50 challenging white-sand bunkers is a stern test of golfing ability.
As a teenager, I joined this sport of boundless optimism at the high-ranking Hastings Golf Club that was created in 1898. What I most remember about it is the presentation of the only golf ‘trophy’ I ever won – a raw chicken the size of a turkey.
Later, I belonged to the Huapai Golf Club at Riverhead near Auckland. This undulating course was a wonderful place to blow away the city’s cobwebs, but mostly I think back on the many courses I played while on the road in a motorhome or caravan.
Not far north of Auckland is a lovely 18-hole parkland course spreading across a gently undulating landscape that once provided fertile pastureland for cattle and sheep. The Helensville District Golf Club course is situated 12 kilometres outside Helensville village and some wit has suggested it would be better named ‘The-Nowhere Near Helensville’ golf course. During the 1930s, getting to this nine-hole course on a local farm had a dampening effect on players’ enthusiasm. The clubhouse was in the woolshed and seating on wool bales. Eventually, the club bought its own property, and members began transforming farmland into the present 18-hole parkland golf course. It’s an easy walk but a steady swing is needed to negotiate the tree-lined fairways, lakes and streams.
If you’ve never heard of Walton, you’re likely not alone. The tiny village set among the bucolic landscape between Morrinsville and Matamata has all but disappeared, save a compact red brick church, a school and a hall. What keeps Walton on the map is its golf course. It’s one of those friendly institutions you sometimes trip over on the road, where the spirit of hospitality is very much alive. On the table in the Walton Club’s café sat a huge bowl of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers for the taking, donated by local gardeners.
Years ago, on our first venture to the South Island in a caravan, I joined the ladies’ day golf meet at the Takaka Golf Club overlooking Golden Bay. I had dressed in my best golf gear. It was satisfying to at least look like a golfer. When I caught the local ladies conveyed disapproval with their rigid little smiles, I was perplexed. At the end of the round, we gathered for muffins and coffee. Feeling ostracised, I confided in a friendly looking woman, called Catherine. “Well,” she said, “It’s what your wearing, you’re far too toffy for Takaka.”
Chasing the game
Motorhomes have been the means by which Bill and I have played many courses around New Zealand, several in Queensland, Scotland and the unique golf course across the Australian Nullarbor Plains.
But our tally is nothing to brag about. A while ago, I met a New Zealand motorhoming couple who’s golfing achievement reduced ours to the size of half a golf ball.
Fourteen years ago, sport-loving, motorhomers, Garth and Karen Taylor, embarked on a quest to play every golf course in New Zealand. In 2004, Garth had bought an old Ford Trader motorhome that was converted from a police communications vehicle as a means of following cricket matches around New Zealand. As they travelled it occurred to them that they should also be playing a sport themselves, and golf was the obvious choice.
“The official number of golf courses in New Zealand is 384,” said Karen, “but there may be more as some are privately owned. We play nine-hole courses twice to make up the 18.”
When I first talked to Garth and Karen two years ago, their tally was 304 and they had upgraded their motorhome to a Ford Transit six-berth that had a lot more room. Back then, their most concentrated golfing spree was in 2021, when during five months in the motorhome, they played 99 golf courses.
“Every year, we join the NZMCA Golf Safari, which involves around 30 motorhomes or caravans,” says Karen. “At the moment we’re also organising another safari called Coastal Safari 2025 in which 45 golfers will play 11 courses around Coromandel area. As well, we follow the New Zealand Vet’s golf circuit that starts in February and runs through until December.” (nzvga.co.nz)
When I met up with them again a few months ago, Karen had just scored her only hole-in-one, which was on the 17th hole at the Feilding Golf Course and their New Zealand tally had moved to 352, which meant they only have 32 more courses remaining to achieve their goal.
They had ticked off all 151 courses in the South Island, missing out the private Michael Hill Course in Arrowtown, which can only be played by invitation.
Right: Karen Taylor is on a quest to play every golf course in New Zealand
Another private course they remember with enthusiasm is Onekaka near Collingwood, Golden Bay. “Players hire the whole six-hole course for the whole day,” Karen said. “The owner guided us around as the flags must be moved to make up 18 holes. Afterwards, lunch and drinks were provided. They were lovely people, and the stunning vista was a unique experience.”
Some of the couple’s other favourites are Waimairi Beach, Kelvin Heights in Queenstown, the Roxburgh course, and Balmacewen in Dunedin.
“We also love the country clubs Like Reefton, Totaradale and Golden Downs,” says Garth. “They are so welcoming and full of character. Despite the downturn in the economy, they are in good heart as many of them are run by volunteers, who take great pride in keeping the courses up to scratch.”
In pursuit of their quest, Garth and Karen have contended with many situations such as sharing small country courses with sheep, which often have electric fences around the greens, negotiating the six-hole Ringa Ringa Heights Golf Course on Stewart Island with its breathtaking scenery and challenging hills, and the Nopera nine-hole course tucked under a steep ridge of the Kenepuru Sound, which they reached by way of water taxi.
Many clubs offer overnight stays. Sometimes there’s a small fee, others are free. This generosity has a two-way benefit. RVers have a place to park up, and vehicles in the course carpark overnight offers the club security. At many clubs, if you are an NZMCA member, you don’t have to be a golfer to stay, and some offer the use of ablutions and others the bar facilities.
One of our own most memorable experiences of staying at a New Zealand Golf course was on the way to Hunterville, at the Rangatira Golf Club overlooking the Mangaweka Gorge and the Rangitikei River. This magnificent shade-dappled course sprawls over three tiers and from the 18th hole on the lowest level, a creaking, electric cable-car takes golfers up a cliff back to the club house.
We imbibed a wine or two in the 19th, where a group of congenial local golfers welcomed us into their orbit. The conversation swirled around birdies, duffs, divots, shanks, slices, and soaring scores and eventually, it turned to motorhomes.
One fellow, small in stature and big on laughs, told me it was his dream to motorhome around New Zealand playing golf. “Yep, I’ll soon be hitting the highways and the fairways,” he grinned. “That’s a gi’me for me and the wife.”
