The Grange is one of Auckland’s premier golf clubs, its immaculately manicured playing surfaces hosting some of the game’s best ball-strikers of the past 40 years. British Open champions Kel Nagle, Bob Charles and Nick Price have won tournaments here, as have such quality hitters as Peter O’Malley, David Smail, Jack Newton and Rodger Davis. All those mentioned have a common strength: the ability to hit clean, crisp iron shots, of varying shot shapes, that garner plenty of birdies. It’s the type of game well suited to scoring low at The Grange.
While The Grange is an easy-walking journey, there is enough undulation along its tree-lined fairways to make for some interesting holes. The key is accuracy, not length, with native and exotic trees encroaching on the playing lines and well-placed bunkers poised to punish mishits or poor strategy.
Tight hitting lines are the norm from early in your round. The 2nd hole, a 370-metre par-four, offers a slim driving area wedged between a lake on the left and tall cypress pines to the right. Trouble is not confined to the tee, either. Behind the putting surface, which sits at right angles to your approach shot, is out of bounds.
The following hole is one of several altered in recent years as part of a substantial redesign. In November 2006 club members voted in favour of a development plan that will see greens and tees replaced to meet US Golf Association specifications. A spare hole has already been constructed and fairway irrigation installed throughout. The bunkers and putting surfaces will also be modified, although the layout’s woodland characteristics are to remain intact.
The 369-metre, dogleg-right 3rd was one of the first holes Auckland-based course designer Chris Pitman changed. It calls for a drive across a scrub-filled water hazard to find the fairway, which slopes downhill from left to right. This leaves a deceptively long approach shot to a heavily slanted green, guarded in front by a lone bunker.
Pitman’s redesign work at the 7th is superb. This 362-metre par-four, known as ‘Nemesis’, is among The Grange’s best and most challenging holes. Your tee shot must be hit across a new lake, lying to the left of a fairway that slopes steeply down to the water’s edge. The camber of the fairway dictates that the ideal playing line is to the right, or high side, of the short grass. The hole then veers left and your approach shot has to clear a gully to get to the green. Lurking right and left are a couple of deep bunkers, ready to punish any hint of waywardness.
Nowhere is the tight nature of the layout more pronounced than on the closing hole. Any drive missing the fairway of this 400-metre par-four will almost certainly result in a bogey or worse. Huge pines flank both sides of the driving zone and are particularly dense to the right. The rough bordering the fairway is thick and wiry, making escape with any club longer than a six-iron nigh on impossible. The green is well bunkered to the front and out-of-bounds markers can be seen a few metres from the back. It’s a tough closer, one worthy of the drama that’s been stirred on the 72nd hole of big championships staged here over the past four decades.
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MEMORABLE HOLES 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 9th, 12th and 18th WHERE TO GO 2 Grange Rd, Papatoetoe, Manukau BOOK A ROUND (09) 278 9777, www.grangegolfclub.co.nz OTHER 120 GREAT COURSES NEARBY Royal Auckland (3.5 km), Titirangi (23.3 km), Muriwai (56.2 km) WHERE TO STAY Mt Richmond Hotel & Conference Centre is 5 km away in Otahuhu East. It has suites, apartments and a wide range of other facilities. BEFORE/AFTER YOUR ROUND Spend some time on Auckland’s harbour exploring the Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World. Get up close with penguins or walk through a glass tunnel where you will come face to face with sharks. |