Cambridge a good test of golf with variety
Cambridge a good test of golf with variety
By Paul Gueorgieff
Excellent.
That was my summation of the course at the Cambridge Golf Club after a round there last month.
Caption: The opening hole at the Cambridge Golf Club is very defined. Don't go left.
The course is a par 72 and measures 5808 metres off the blue tees and is therefore a tough test with a good spread of variety and many of the holes having greenside bunkers.
Some of the holes are well defined, such as the first with trees left and right of the fairway. There is no question where to aim.
Holes two and three are both par fives and the fourth is another well defined hole with a valley-like fairway and trees left and right.
The eighth hole is a good par three with the green on a plateau and therefore requires an accurate tee shot otherwise you will run off the sides.
Moving onto the second nine and the course's toughest hole is No 11, even though it carries a stroke rating of No 2 because the stroke ratings on the second nine are even numbers.
Caption: The 13th hole at Cambridge. It is only 94 metres but is surrounded by bunkers. It could be an easy par three or an easy double bogey five.
The 11th is a dogleg and the green cannot be seen from the tee. Because it measures 371 metres two very good shots would be required to reach the green but I would suggest that would be out of reach for many.
The shortest hole on the course is No 13. It only measures 94 metres but the green is surrounded by bunkers and one of my playing partners said a par three is an easy score but so is a double bogey five.
I played the course with Cambridge members Howard Lake, David Farquhar (who played the first nine only) and Greg Noice (who played the second nine) along with Andy Hamilton who is a fellow member from my Wellington club.
It was good to play with locals as they were able to give us insights to each of the holes and provided great company.
They said the course is sand-based and therefore irrigates well.
Said one: ``We could get four inches of rain in the morning and still play in the afternoon.''
Caption: The 11th green in front of the trees from half-way down the fairway. This is a difficult dogleg where the green cannot be seen from the tee.
There was a good practice area near the first tee, although only irons could be used.
I paid a green fee of $50.
The club is thought to be the oldest in the Waikato.
The club's website states: `` A handful of golfing enthusiasts in the year 1900 arranged, after various meetings, to have the use of a property on the west side of Hamilton Road ... and they set about creating nine holes.
``The club was constituted in 1902. This was very early in New Zealand's golf history when it is realised that the Auckland and Manawatu Golf Clubs had only started four or five years earlier. The original members comprised 28 women and 27 men.
Caption: A pool in front of the tee on the 10th hole at Cambridge with state highway one beyond the trees on the right-hand side.
``It is interesting that par was 46 for nine holes because some of the holes were so long that they deserved a par of six or seven.''
Caption: The fourth at Cambridge is another well defined hole and a must to be down the fairway off the tee.