This concept is nothing new. Several years ago, the exclusive Hutt International joined with its much smaller nine-hole neighbour Boulcott Farms club to become Boulcott Farms Heritage Golf Club.
But it's one pointer to a challenging environment. While clubs are obviously keen to retain their identity, there are smart reasons for joining hands with others located nearby.
"We certainly do [encourage mergers] if it's the right circumstances," NZG general manager Dave Mangan said. "We help facilitate some of these talks. We get asked by a lot of clubs 'how can we go through this, what do we do?'. If it's going to be positive for a new club then we encourage any pooling of resources."
In the case of the Auckland merger, both clubs, situated side by side in South Auckland, have spoken with pride at having an eye on the future.
The Grange chairman Rob Chemaly believes both clubs could have carried on alone for a time, Royal Auckland probably longer than The Grange. But overwhelming support at club meetings indicated the time had come to be smart.
"It's extremely logical," he said.
"History won't be kind to us if we don't do this. Memberships of both clubs have made a very courageous decision because they said 'this is not about us; this is about the future'."
Royal Auckland club captain Craig Sheffield talked about developing the premier club and facility in the region, and being comparable to the best metropolitan clubs in Australasia.
Mangan says New Zealand is second only to Scotland in the number of golf clubs per capita. "Some clubs are in debt, losing members and not as busy as they'd like to be. You've got empty club houses.
"Back when golf was booming you had huge clubhouses and one reason I'd certainly encourage merging is you'd rather have a vibrant clubhouse with hundreds of people in it."
Golf is in a battle both with other sports but also leisure activities for the recreational hour. Fewer people can afford to take five hours out for a round. Nine-hole courses are becoming more popular.
But Mangan disputes that golf is handicapped by being seen as among the more expensive sports or leisure pastimes. "I don't buy into that. More and more clubs are getting smarter and operating tailored memberships."
More judicious use of green fees, or a blend of a membership fee and a green fee, is taking place.
"A guy between say 30-45 who might be starting a family and worrying about money is going to divide his $1500 membership by the number of times he plays golf.
"It might be $100 a round but he knows he can pick up green fees for $30-$40, so he's going to be sensible with his money.
"Back in the day you didn't have to worry about this on a Saturday or Sunday. No one went down to a cafe in Takapuna to have eggs benedict. They went and played golf and had a few beers afterwards.
"Golf has to change so there's more nine-hole, more twilight golf, more fun versions that are going to be played more often."
NZG is taking a proactive stance on membership. Initiatives launched include Love Golf - kickstarted when Lydia Ko announced she was to turn pro, a clever production involving All Black Israel Dagg.
Among its thrusts are making the point golf is affordable to newcomers. Potential golfers can look for a club within say 30km, decide they want to spend perhaps $600-700 and see what options are available.
A new platform, "Get on the Green", has been launched in the past few days. Clubs who sign up can offer a range of deals and special prices to registered players. NZG believes there's around 300,000 players, casual to serious. The hope is that it will give a better understanding of just how many casual players there are.
As an example, a player who plays, say 10 out of 20 rounds a year at a particular club, hands in his or her cards and can receive a package as an incentive to join that club.
Mangan said several years ago NZG realised it could no longer simply be the governing body. "We knew we had to get into the grassroots."
So Kenny Halliday has been hired as national community golf manager. He has Carl Fenton working with Northland, North Harbour and Auckland, and Mark Webb covering Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions.
Their brief is to help clubs be better at their business. It is fully funded by NZG and the aim is to have more people to cover the rest of NZ.
As Mangan put it, it's a case of "working in the trenches to try and stem a negative flow".
Then there is the Ko factor. Lydia Ko's rapid rise has seen a huge jump in young female golfers, right?
Mangan is cautious. There were plenty of teenage girls playing golf before Ko arrived. It's just that she has become the face of the game and is far better than her contemporaries.
He also cited Michael Campbell's US Open victory in 2005. Did that bring an upsurge in young Maori men taking the game up? Did the All Whites making the World Cup finals do big things for junior football numbers? He believes it is hard to quantify.
And finally, what about the top end, those places catering essentially for wealthy overseas visitors?
"Those courses play an incredibly important part in letting the world know what golf is all about. They are our poster clubs. They are the amazing view that Americans see, and they come down and play these courses," Mangan said.
The spinoffs are all positive. Tourism New Zealand has a special golf section for visitors to the country. The Government has put in a significant investment and in Mangan's book "any money spent on golf in New Zealand is very good".
So the last word. How does NZG assess the health of the game right now? "Probably in the last five years we've taken a bit of a hit," he said.
"Now I'd like to say NZG is leading the way with resources we are putting back in." In other words, golf has realised times are changing, and the sport must adapt. Not to do so doesn't bear thinking about.
New Zealand Golf memberships
• 2003: 129,514
• 2008: 128,965
• 2013: 110,776
• Membership comprises between 27-29 per cent women and 73-71 per cent men
• The target for participation is to increase overall participants from 21,539 last year to 79,000 in 2018
• The target for memberships is to increase from the 110,776 affiliated memberships in 2013 to 214,000 by 2018
Green fees
• Kauri Cliffs $272 (for NZ residents)
• Cape Kidnappers $237/$187 (high and low seasons)
• Jacks Point (Queenstown) $175
