Peter Williams: Scene is set for Southern Lakes bonanza

Hear about the town with a population of 4000 but with a golf club membership of 1000? Such an extraordinary ratio suggests a place where a considerable number of the citizenry are golf enthusiasts but it's not quite what it seems.

The golf club and the town in question is the booming Southern Lakes resort of Wanaka. Many property owners live elsewhere most of the time and that's had a big impact on the golf club. Over half the members don't actually live in the town full time. Many are country members who only play there when on holiday.

But while the club membership scene across the country is at best static, the situation at Wanaka is quite extraordinary. The golf club has benefited from the explosion in housing development in the last decade to the stage where it's now the second-largest club in Otago and has a membership total many clubs in the main centres would be delighted to accommodate.

The golf course itself is worthy of such success - especially the opening five holes. This is the old part of the course, opened in the 1920s, on a hill above the town and with a view to die for. The layout is a bit on the short side to be considered a championship course but it has natural contours, allows you to hit wedge into a lot of par fours and gives you chances to post a good score. Operations manager Grant Bunting has quite rightly taken the attitude that this is the peak season for course use so it should be in its best condition. Therefore the tees, fairways and greens are beautifully manicured.

But Bunting, who's been in Wanaka for just under a year after being a course superintendent in Hawke's Bay, knows that in the near future his club will be part of an area which is probably going to become the premium golfing destination in New Zealand.

Millbrook near Queenstown was the first golfing resort in the country. It's well established after more than a decade of operation. Jack's Point, another resort course and residential development just south of Queenstown, is due to open for play next year. Michael Hill, jeweller and golfer, has his exclusive and private course - The Hills - nearly ready for play, although public access will be extremely limited.

Just around the lakefront from Wanaka township near Glendhu Bay, another resort development is planned which might be ready for play within five years.

So there could be four modern, resort-style courses in the Southern Lakes region by 2010 and all within an hour's drive of the international airport at Queenstown. No other region in New Zealand would be able to offer such an opportunity.

There are also a cluster of high-quality club courses in the region like Cromwell, Alexandra, Arrowtown and the Queenstown Golf Club itself which offer much lower prices.

It's easy to see the attraction in this part of the country. The air is fresh, the scenery spectacular and the roads are deserted. Until recently I thought that, as in most parts of the country, there were too many golf courses in the Southern Lakes region. But, with the strong tourist and residential growth of the last decade set to continue, it seems the future for the region's golf facilities is looking healthy too.

Wanaka's resident professional Peter Smith, originally from Scotland, resigned this week to return to Europe. His position will be one of the most sought after club jobs offered to PGA members in recent years.