Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club

Tiende golfbaan van mijn reis door Nieuw Zeeland. Paraparaumu golfcourse made my day!! Toen ik deze baan boekte als onderdeel van mijn reis kreeg ik al snel een emial van hun of het ok was of mijn starttijd verzet kon worden omdat ik anders midden in het veld van de Nieuw Zeelands senior open (noorder eiland) zou starten. Ik terug gemaild dat het uiteraard geen probleem zou zijn. Kom ik aan bleek ik gewoon aan het veld toegevoegd te zijn. Ik kon gewoon meespelen. Nu was dit een toernooi over twee dagen en aan gezien ik al verplichtingen had de volgende dag had zou ik meedoen voor spek en bonen. Was geen probleem ik werd gewoon toegevoegd aan het startveld. Had gelijk ook het volgende voordeel. De greenfee was gelijk een stuk minder en ik kon zelfs na afloop blijven eten. Kijk dat is nog eens gastvrijheid. Na analyse van het startveld had ik al gauw door dat ik niet mee ging doen om de prijzen en mezelf en het zeeuwse golf een plezier zou doen als ik mezelf niet ten schande zou maken. Meer dan driekwart van het veld was handicap scratch of in ieder geval vele malen lager dan ik. Na een veelbelovend begin waar mijn mede flightgenoten misschien na een paar holes nog even dachten dat ik een concurent zou zijn werd halverwege snel duidelijk dat ik geen gevaar voor ze betekende. Ondanks dat toch meer dan behoorlijk gespeeld en dicht tegen mijn eigen handicap aangespeeld. Na afloop mijn medeflightgenoten veel succes gewenst de volgende dag en nog een lekker drankje gedaan! De baan zelf was natuurlijk goed geprepareerd. Vooral de greens zijn tricky en het helpt zeker als je weet waar je moet missen om een realistische kans te hebben op een goede up and down als je de green mist. Onze speeldag was het ook relatief windstil maar als hier de wind waait dan zal deze baan gelijk een stuk lastiger worden voor veel spelers. Het is open links baan zonder veel beschutting. Op de fairways zijn weinig vlakke stukken te vinden. Dus een bal beneden of boven je voeten is meer regelmaat dan uitzondering. Paraparaumu bedankt voor de fantastische gastvrijheid en een onvergetelijke golfdag!

Paraparaumu Beach was bustling with both members and visitors on the Saturday we visited. The club was also busy preparing for the New Zealand PGA Championship, which was the first tour event since the 2002 New Zealand Open, when Tiger Woods famously headlined the field. Nevertheless, the welcome was warm, the pre-round ginger cake was lovely, and my practice on the putting green was determined, given the short game wobbles I’d experienced on this trip. Sadly, I quickly proved that I needed more than just a little self-adjustment. The two main surprises of the course were its relative shortness and the total lack of sea views. However, there is plenty to keep one occupied, as the undulations and green run-offs are incredibly dramatic. These bumps and hollows are evident from the first hole, where the group ahead of us fired drives into the grassy dunes flanking the left of the fairway. The fifth is a short par-three with no bunkers, but its “pulpit” green sits atop steep drop-offs. Mrs W found the target and secured a comfortable par. I ended up in the left swale and tried to putt up the hill; a bogey ensued. Two weeks later, for the New Zealand PGA, the wind blew so strongly that a five was commonplace and even an eight was recorded! The eighth encapsulated the fun of the course for me. It’s a short, bending par-four with out-of-bounds stakes guarding properties on the left. I was left with only 110 yards into the sunken green, but the pitch was blind, and I landed three yards short. Modern golf may be obsessed with power, but it was a rare pleasure to play a course that poses questions of strategy rather than just distance. Alex Russell’s design is clever because it offers players of all abilities a chance to score well while remaining a stern test for those who are inaccurate with their yardage or angles. The 13th is acclaimed by some as the world’s best bunkerless hole. The ground rises and falls repeatedly; it would be gorgeous even without the Tararua Mountain Range as a backdrop. The 17th is another widely acclaimed hole. From the tee, one can choose the wider left-side route or the narrower, shorter right side. The drop-off to the left of the green is fiendish. Anyone can play Paraparaumu without feeling intimidated, and I heartily recommend it.

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Accueil très convivial mais greenfees élevés

Pas de driving range

Parcours très vallonné, assez technique, plutôt venté. Aucun arbre. Bunkers profonds

Fairways, greens très bien entretenus.

I have played Paraparaum on 17th April 2019 at 7.30am as part of my NZ golfing trip.

When you arrive on the parking lot, the clubhouse doesn't look like much, it does not have the grand entrance like Tara Iti or Cape Kidnappers, the newer additions to the NZ golf course selection, it does however, have nice views of the mountains and sense that the GC has been there long before the surrounding "modern" buildings.

The reception was warm and friendly, we quickly agreed on what tee I should start in order to have a fast round (I was playing the Royal Wellington in the afternoon,45 minutes drive away) and not lose to much time behind four balls, and there were quite a few on that day.

Given the early tee time, the grass was still quite moist and there was a lot of dew on the greens. Even though, I will remember this course most for how surprised I was of the incredibly fast greens, very well maintained, but still incredibly fast, even the dew seemed not to have any effect on the ball speed. That being said, the the greens are not to hard to read, not unlike the fairways, which on some holes become quite tricky, I would guess if you play the course more than once, you can have a lot of fun on them, with the hidden slopes and greens around the corners and in the little valleys. the general impression on the maintenance was really good, especially given the obviously high playing frequency (I only saw a higher on at the Royal Wellington), and it was in the noon time in the middle of the week, so I can only imagine how busy it gets over the weekends. it took me about 2.5 hours to walk the course. So it's not terribly long nor physically demanding, after all, it is located next to the ocean and the beach, accordingly, it is relatively flat with just enough humps and bums to make it fun to play. I can easily imagine why it was the home of the NZ open for so many years, if you are the are, definitely worth the visit.