Kaitāia Golf Club greenkeeper Jason Matthews is delighted the course at Ahipara, right on the seafront, has made a big move in the top 50 courses in NZ rankings, but he’s determined to make it the best links course in the country.
Kaitāia Golf Club greenkeeper Jason Matthews is delighted the course at Ahipara, right on the seafront, has made a big move in the top 50 courses in NZ rankings, but he’s determined to make it the best links course in the country.
Whether you’re a weekend hacker or a seasoned pro, the game of golf is a serious business.
And when it comes to preparing the course for the players, things can be even more competitive, with the top 50 courses in the country recognised by Planet Golf’s Golf Digest.
Northland is well served in the top 50, with eight courses making the list - including Tara Iti in first place and Te Arai South number two - but the biggest mover in the 2023 rankings is the out-of-the-way Kaitāia Golf Club - also known as 90 Mile Beach Golf Links - which has around two kilometres of coastline along the Tasman Sea at Ahipara.
The club has shot up the rankings from 48 the previous year to 24 for 2023 and greenkeeper Jason Matthews couldn’t be happier - but he’s determined to make the course the ‘best true links course in the country’.
Matthews has been greenkeeper there for about 10 years, after earlier working for five years at the Kauri Cliffs course and four years on courses in Australia after getting his turf management qualifications almost 20 years ago.
As an Ahipara lad, the course was where he first started to play golf as a 14-year-old, but when he took over as greenkeeper the course was not in great shape.
He’s spent the time since removing trees - ‘a true links course doesn’t have that many trees’ - removing weeds and replanting, working on the bunkers and reshaping the course to make it more challenging and more like a true links course.
“When I came here 10 years ago it had a lot of weeds and not much grass cover, but it’s been totally transformed with the work we’ve put in. We’ve only got one-and-a-half greenkeepers (Chris Bell is his offsider) whereas bigger courses can have 10 or more at times. It also took a big effort from our members who volunteered many, many hours to help get the course in the shape it is now. That’s part of the reason behind the success, the efforts of the 160 members. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.’’
Being a links course - built on sandy coastland that offers a firmer playing surface than parkland and heathland courses - offers different challenges for Kaitāia Golf Club greenkeeper Jason Matthews, but it’s paying off with the club the biggest mover in the list of top 50 courses in the country.
Matthews - who plays off a three handicap himself - said to move up so many places in the rankings was ‘huge’ and a big testament to all the work put in at the club. But he’s not resting on his laurels and is determined to get even higher up the list, despite many of the courses ahead of Kaitāia having far more members and financial clout.
“The [high placing] is good, but I’ve got big goals. I want us to be the best true links course in the country, and to be recognised as such would be great. It’s a big ask, as there are so many good links courses out there, but you have got to have goals,’’ he said.
“We’re a fairly small and isolated club, and a bit off the beaten path, but whenever pennant players come here from elsewhere they love it.’’
He knows, though, that achieving his goal will require a lot more work on the course, but he’s sure he, Bell and the club’s members are up for it.
Located close to the small town of Ahipara, the fairways of Kaitāia’s 90 Mile Beach Golf Links fan out along the southern shores of a long, sandy coastline, offering golfers some wonderful panoramic views across to Shipwreck Bay and the Tasman Sea beyond.
The 18 holes were designed by Goldie Wardell from Whangārei, who routed the fairways through a rather inhospitable and uninviting area of sand dunes covered in lupins and scrub. After several months of feverish activity shaping the holes, the inaugural golf shot was played from the 1st tee in 1964.
A links golf course requires plenty of attention, with the automatic sprinkler system at Kaitāia Golf Club supplemented by greenkeeper Jason Matthews having to water the greens by hand at the height of summer.
The signature hole is undoubtedly “The Drop”, the 125-yard par three 6th, which plays from an elevated tee position to a green that’s guarded at the front by three deep bunkers. Open to the elements, this hole might require a three wood off the tee, rather than a customary wedge, when the prevailing southwesterly wind gets up.
Matthews left Ahipara to pursue his greenkeeper dream at 19, and his journey has taken him overseas before getting back home. So what’s his advice to anybody interested in getting a turf management qualification?
“You’ve got to have that passion for it, work hard and accept that the majority of the work you do won’t even be noticed by most people as it’s in the background or when the golfers aren’t on the course. There’s a lot of early mornings to get used to and the harder you work the better the course becomes.
“And be prepared for the unexpected. In summer here it’s so dry you have to be out there watering the greens by hand, which is hard when you have a drought.’’
