T A U R A N G A G O L F C L U B
Tauranga Racecourse Reserve | Cameron Road | Greerton | P O Box 3037 | Tauranga 3142 | New Zealand
Phone: 64 7 5788465 | fax: 64 7 5785071 | Cell: 027 2415150 | Email: manager@taurangagolf.co.nz
THE COURSE
The Tauranga Golf Course forms part of the Tauranga Racecourse Reserve, and borders the Bay of Plenty Racing Club on the 11th and 13th Holes. First formed in 1914, the course has a large number of established trees and offers a secluded, parklike environment for the keen golfer.
COURSE HANDICAP CONVERSION TABLES
To view the Handicap Conversion Tables for the various rated courses at Tauranga, click on the links below:-
18 HOLE COURSES Men 1699 Women 1700
COURSE LAYOUT
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The layout of the course has been changed several times over the last 90 years. Initially there were several long holes within the Racecourse oval with fenced greens to keep the cattle off. A hole named "The Drop" was played from near the 7th Tee, over a field of turnips to the present 3rd Green. Many balls were lost in the turnips and this hole was later eliminated. The Signature Hole "The Knoll" on the 12th is now a pleasant, easy hole compared with the original which was played from the same tee, but over a sea of gorse, to a small sloping green with bunkers on all sides and surrounded by knee-high grass.
With its beautiful trees and hundreds of flowering shrubs the course is a lasting tribute to the untiring efforts of the original club members and in particular Mr A J Mirrielees who was Club President in the depression years of the 1930's. Mirrielees used the Government Work Scheme of the time to plant out the 30,000 trees and shrubs, many of which are still in evidence today.
Considered short by some, and strenuous by others because of the undulating terrain, the Tauranga course has earned the respect of top amateurs and professionals alike as an exacting test of shot placement and concentration. The course has interesting topography and variation in holes (it has been described as two courses in one) and its fairways and sand based greens are in beautiful condition as a result of permanent and travelling irrigation systems.
In 2002, with the Clubhouse upgrade complete, the Club embarked on a course modernization programme. Working from a Master Plan drawn up by Alex Glasgow of the NZ Sports Turf Institute in 1994, Club officials drew up a set of modernization priorities, and then engaged the services of Auckland based Golf Course Architect Jeff Asche to plan the detail work. The first priority was the 17th hole and specifically the green, and over the Summer of 2002-2003, a new green was constructed to the left rear of the existing. The new green was opened in mid 2003, and with its undulating topography, mounded surrounds and significant approach bunkering, it has proven a real test for the low handicap golfer. The next priority was to modernize the 10th hole with features that included an extension to the green, revised approach bunkering, removal of the RH fairway bunker and construction of a new back tee that would create a slight dogleg right which would further test the low handicap golfer. Work on this project commenced in mid-2003 under the supervision of Jeff Asche, and was in play by early 2004.
During 2004, construction of a new 7th green, and modernization of the 5th hole was carried out and is now in play and in 2005, the decision was made to convert all fairways to warm season grasses using Windsor Green Couch Grass. By the end of 2008 fairways 2, 6, 8, 11 and 13 will be planted out.
18th Hole - 339m Par 4
6th Hole - 455m Par 5
