KEY POINTS:
Golf courses are extraordinarily expensive to build. A ball park figure these days is a million dollars a hole. Put in a clubhouse and it'll cost around $20 million.
In this country and in most others, you cannot build a half-decent course and expect a return on investment from memberships and green fees alone. Therefore the only way to pay for a golf course is through a neighbouring residential development.
This concept appears to have angered the only European writer covering the New Zealand Open last weekend. John Huggan, in a quite extraordinary article in the Scotland on Sunday, complained of New Zealand having a succession of communities built around golf courses which are less than splendid.
The main thrust of the article was the burgeoning industry in residential golf communities worldwide, which Huggan said delivered few decent courses because developers' needs always came first. That, sadly, is just a harsh reality of life. There are only so many Julian Robertsons who can build world-rated courses without having to sell real estate, although in time both Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers will surely become expensive real estate developments too.
Huggan seemed to be venting most of his spleen at John Darby, the landscape architect, course designer, multi-millionaire property developer who was the front man for The Hills where the New Zealand Open was played.
Huggan called The Hills picturesque but ultimately desperate. Precisely what he means, I don't know. I'm not saying The Hills is a classic but the players I spoke with seemed genuinely complimentary and looked forward to some fine tuning as the course matures.
The par three 16th did enrage players, especially on the first afternoon when a strong right to left wind meant a difficult shot to a pin cut in the middle of the rock hard, moon shaped green.
Anyway, why do players always have to be able to attack the pin? I saw one that day playing long, away from the narrow part of the green and taking the risk on a two-putt from 15m. Just because the average score on a hole is more than half a stroke over par doesn't mean it's stupid - just difficult. In 2002, the par four 13th at Paraparaumu had an average score of 4.9, and Tiger Woods was playing. Nobody called that hole silly, only really hard.
If Huggan's comments were designed to rile people who enjoyed a magical event in a scenic environment, he's succeeded. I enjoy his company but I wonder if he wants to become to New Zealand golf what Stephen Jones of London's Sunday Times is to New Zealand rugby - loves the place but can't help abusing it.
