The north's top golf clubs: Mangawhai Golf Club

By BOB PEARCE

The Mangawhai Golf Club boasts a helicopter pad if that's your choice of transport to the Northland coast. The quality of the course matches that image, but the playing costs are much more modest.

Established in 1979 as a nine-hole layout and increased to the full 18 for the past 15 years, Mangawhai at one stage was officially rated the most difficult in the country from its championship tees.

Secretary-manager Dave Barlow says the course remains a challenge for the best players, despite losing the "most difficult" tag. Yet it is a rewarding experience for the average golfer.

And word has got around about this rural gem. Membership is over 800 and it pays to book a tee time.

Sited around 800m from the coast, the Mangawhai course is best described as "semi-links". It is close to an estuary and is wholly sand-based on undulating land.

Barlow nominates the second hole, a par four of 387m off the blue tees, as his favourite. It's the number one stroke hole, dog-legged to the right, with a swamp on the left. Miss the fairway to the right and you're amidst the manuka on the dunes.

A strong hitter is tempted to cut the corner to tackle the elevated green, which is bunker-free, but has its own challenges.

The legendary Ted McDougall, winner of two national amateur championships in 1957 and 1970, has been professional at the club for the past nine years and is always ready to share his vast knowledge of the game and the courses.

He says the difficulty off the blue tees is the result of subtle penalties rather than extreme length. He cites the example of a young pro playing in a pro-am last March.

On the par-five first, he drove far enough to take a five-iron for his second to the green. The ball failed to hold the green and from a downhill lie he hit his third into a drain close to the green. He took a penalty, hit his fifth over the green, chipped back and three-putted for a nine.

Not all the pros have suffered such indignity. The course record of five-under-par 67 was set by Stu Malcolmson. McDougall, who does not play much these days, has a best of 69.

The big Scots-born professional says the 5466m course for the average golfer is very fair and offers an enjoyable experience. It is dry-foot golf with big greens, which can be very fast.