WAVERLEY GOLF CLUB - 14 POINTS

For many golfers, Tom Doak’s Confidential Guide has been something of a bible. While it’s interesting to know how he rates one top course versus another, it’s even more interesting when it brings a generally unknown course to a wider audience. The Himalayan in Nepal is one, and Waverley - north of Wellington in New Zealand - is another. I doubt very much if I would have made it to Waverley without the Confidential Guide. But I headed two hours north of Paraparaumu Beach on his advice.

Doak describes Waverley as rough and rugged and it is hard to argue with that. It costs NZ$20 to play - that’s less than 10 of our British pounds - and you put your cash in the honesty box in the clubhouse porch! When I played there was only one other person on the course for a few holes, and a lot of sheep!

Waverley is built on sandy ground and has some fantastic contours and green sites. The ground is constantly moving, up and down and side to side, and you will find some wonderfully exciting holes.

In some ways it’s a very relaxing place to play golf. In other ways it’s deeply unsettling! There are more blind shots than I have ever known - you will rarely see a drive land.

The conditioning is definitely raw. The tees and greens are mown - but the fairways don’t get too much attention. This was a bit annoying if truth be told, since the contours were great and it would have been lovely to run the ball. I even lost a couple on the thick carpeted ‘fairways’. The greens were very well tended though, if at times strewn with a few too many sheep droppings!

But it’s easy to forgive all of that due to the design of the course. There are some fun holes on the front nine which starts with an excellent par 5 along a ridge before a great stretch of holes that go downhill, uphill and around the corner!

The highlights come on the back nine though. The twelfth, ‘Tom Thumb’, is a short par 4 with a tiny green, and the par 5s at fourteen and fifteen are truly special - the chute off the tee at fifteen is a joy to play.

There’s tons to like at Waverley, and it is probably churlish to go on about the conditioning, but it was hard not to yearn for better conditions to enjoy the design of the course a little more. There is only one greenkeeper and he had the greens in great shape. Unfortunately the sheep don’t do a great job of keeping the grass short on the fairway. It would have been wonderful to have played it with the ball moving on the ground a bit. But it was a diversion worth making and if you have the time, and NZ$20 in your pocket, it’s well worth heading up.

BOOKING THE COURSE

This an easy one! Just turn up and put your $20 into an envelope outside the clubhouse. There was one other person playing the day I was there so you’ll always get out. You can even pay online if you’re out of cash!

TOUR TIPS

Waverley is about 2 1/2 hours drive north of Paraparaumu. It’s not particularly convenient for any of the big names in New Zealand golf, and it’s a bit of a pain to get to as you can’t drive very fast on these roads.

I stayed in Whanganui which is 40 minutes drive to the south. There are a few motel options (New Zealand does love a motel) but eat early - it’s not a late night town!

From there I drove across the island to Napier which took about 4 hours. New Zealand golf is generally pretty spread out!

CONTACT DETAILS

Waverley Golf Club
155 Ihupuku Road
Waverley 4591
New Zealand

Phone - +64 210 550 631
Web - https://www.facebook.com/WaverleyNZ/

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