Helensville Golf Club – A hidden gem

By Peter Thornton

The classic Father-Son family battle delivers another great day in West Auckland.

It’s always hard to get back into work at the start of the year – time during the summer holidays always seems to go past twice as fast as any other time in the year.

So, to soften the blow we lined up a game at the Helensville Golf Club for the final day of the break. The West Auckland course was a fitting location for several reasons.

Even though it is only 30 minutes’ drive from home on Auckland’s North Shore, I had never played there before, and I had heard nothing but great things.

And more importantly, me and my old man (Richard) and James (Jimmy) Dunlop and his dad (Richard) were due a rematch. We had a great battle with the Dunlops about a year ago now at the Whangaparaoa Golf Club. I made a six-foot putt on the final hole on that occasion to halve the match.

As you’d expect my dad used the same dad joke 12 months later about how he wouldn’t forget Richard’s name (because it was the same as his) and they laughed along, just like the first time.

Time for a rematch

It was a blue-sky day with a hearty wind blowing across the course when we headed to the 10th tee in our carts to begin our round.

The format was simple, teams match play with the best score winning the hole. The losers would buy two rounds of beers.

Richard Dunlop was still getting back to his best after hip surgery, but he has a handy short game, while Jimmy is more than capable of going on a hot run.

From the outset two characteristics were clear about Helensville; the fairways were bone dry in the middle of the summer. If you got a hold of your drive, it would run forever. And the greens were pure. Fast – possibly running around 11 on the stimpmeter – but just a pure putting surface.

The Helensville District Golf Club was established in 1948 and moved to the existing course on Peak Road in 1959. In 2023 the club celebrated their 75th anniversary.

It’s an overused saying but Helensville is a hidden gem. At 5,587m long it seems gettable, but it can play quite tricky. Like most good country courses, the fairways are punctuated by tall mature trees and when the wind gets up, with the pace on the greens, it is a good challenge.

I got off to a ropey start and the Dunlops were 1up after three holes. I managed to win back a couple of holes with a bogey on the long par 3 13th and then a solid par on the par four 14th.

Things were looking up. My old man, who is a handy 20 handicapper was using the round to see if he wanted to join the club. He chimed in with some good shot making. He made a great par on the par five 16th and backed it up with the shot of the day at the 18th.

The 5th at Helensville is a great hole. It’s a short par four at 320m from the white tees and a good birdie opportunity.

The hole is playing shorter at the moment with the tee box under construction. Dad found the right trees with his tee shot and then hit a punch approach onto the green with a double swale. It went up the slope and back down to finish right alongside the hole for a tap-in birdie.

We were 3up at the turn and already talking about what beers we would order at the after match. Before we move onto the back nine, a special mention of the par 3 17th. It is only 130m but it’s a delightful short hole with water down the right and a narrow green.

Coming down the stretch

Onto the back nine, dad and I both make pars on the first hole – it’s a great risk and reward par five down the hill, with out of bounds on the lefthand side of the fairway.

Jimmy and Richard (Dunlop) are in the box seat on the par 3 second. They both have par putts from six feet which lip out and when I make a save from 12 feet for bogey, we halve the hole.

Two holes later, dad and I both make bogeys on the fourth and it is good enough to complete a 6 and 5 win. It is a good margin, but the match was closer than that.

Coming home on the club’s front nine there are several memorable holes. I made a solid par on the 5th – a relatively short par four at 320m, before coming up with a decent recovery on the 6th.

I mishit my rescue into the long par three and it takes a big bounce off the bank to end up in the hazard. I take my drop and hit a pitch shot to a foot to tap-in for bogey.

There is a quiet satisfaction about that bogey as while I was trying to figure out the changeable wind on the sixth tee, Dad is giving me stick, trying to suggest we are hitting with the wind.

– Richard Thornton teeing off. He and Pete Thornton won the father-son battle by 6 and 5.

‘Haven’t you been sailing before’ he says. I am not sure what that means but I was trying to hide my smile when his ball also found the hazard.

– The par five 1st measures 420m from the white tees. It has out of bounds down the lefthand side but it’s a good chance to open with a par or better.

The short par four seventh plays straight into the prevailing wind and has out of bounds all down the left of the fairway. It’s a great hole. Dad gets one back when he makes a 20-foot putt for par.

The best hole on the front nine is the stroke index one. The par 5 8th is 464m off the white tees. It requires a straight drive and then some accurate shot-making to find the green. Jimmy plays his best golf on the 8th. He hits a superb approach shot that finds the dance floor and he made par. He shows what he is capable of and there will be another day.

Enjoying a beer in the sun

The par 3 17th which measures 130m from the white tees is a delightful hole. This is Pete’s putt for bogey.

Sitting on the clubhouse deck, with an ice-cold Liberty Juice Bro Hazy Pale Ale and the sun coming down on the day, there is plenty of banter and laughter. Of course, the beer always tastes sweeter when someone else is paying.

There is no one in the world I enjoy beating more at golf than my old man, but on this rare occasion of playing together, we made a good team.

Richard Dunlop makes a nice swing into the par 3 17th.

We relive some of the best moments and rue the ones that might have been. But all four of us agree, Helensville Golf Club is a great track for the middle handicapper that has unique holes and some of the best greens in the greater Auckland region. We will be back.

It was a great experience and a perfect way to end the holidays.