Getting into the swing of golf

By HEATHER RAMSEY

A small crowd had gathered on a rocky knoll and was watching our golfing party with interest. It was quiet, with the stillness of the countryside interrupted only by the murmured advice of my experienced companions and an occasional outburst from the watchers on the hill.

I stepped on to the tee and addressed the ball, musing inwardly on whether this golfing term had its origins with novices like me stating their thoughts aloud.

"Please, ball, please go exactly where I want you to go."

As advised, I concentrated on blocking out all external distractions and let the swirl of golfing tips in my head take shape - correct stance, keep your head down, watch the ball, relax, follow through.

Easier said than done. When it's your turn to tee off, everyone is deadly quiet and you're the centre of attention. I felt an urge to swing around and check whether the players behind me were doubled over in silent laughter at my antics, and I was conscious of the hillside crowd at the periphery of my vision. I hoped I wouldn't hit one of them with a wayward ball.

I should have banished that thought entirely, because I would soon learn that golf can be a game of reverse psychology. Every time I hoped I wouldn't do something, I did it, and every time I hoped I would do something, I did the opposite.

Milliseconds after my wood thwacked the ball with a satisfying crack, the crowd scattered and ran bleating anxiously down the fairway.

The ball had gone in a different direction than I'd intended and landed just a few metres from the now abandoned hillock. But I had sent it a creditable distance and avoided that scourge of the beginning golfer, the dreaded air shot - for now.

My companions commented favourably, making me feel guilty for thinking that they had been ridiculing me behind my back. Golfers are generous with tips and praise because even experienced golfers know that their next duff shot could be only a stroke away. And the fate of the crowd on the hill? After the close shave with my tee shot they all ran away and settled down to graze on the fairway until another errant ball came their way.

Yes, graze. We were playing at Tumahu Golf Club in Taranaki, one of dozens of country golf courses around the country where sheep replace a mower as a cost-effective way of keeping the course tidy. This particular lot of spectators wouldn't be repeating the story of the near-miss with a beginning golfer over their dinner conversation, and it's just as well that sheep can't talk, because if they could, they would have had fine fodder for hilarious anecdotes that day!

Hook, shank, slice and duff are the first words that beginner golfers learn, and they all became very familiar as our party crept around nine holes. My scorecard looked more like a good cricket innings than a golf score, but unfortunately a century in golf is not a good thing.

It didn't matter though. The company was good, the exercise was invigorating, the air was fresh and the scenery was magnificent. Tumahu is hidden on a country road just below the fringes of Egmont National Park where the mass of Mt Taranaki looms majestically over the almost fluorescent greenness of the Taranaki pastureland.

Such inspiring scenery is a distraction in itself, and anyone needing more excuses for a poor golfing performance could blame the cute, early season lambs that frisk and frolic everywhere. Cynics might even blame the unmentionables stuck to their shoes or the fact that they have to avoid electric fences around the greens as they chip and putt - country golf produces some truly shocking games!

It's not all sheep and shanks in Taranaki. Golf courses range from sheep-grazed courses like Tumahu, to the immaculate pohutukawa-studded championship course at Ngamotu, home of the New Plymouth Golf Club, with other courses falling somewhere in between.

Golfing facilities in the province mirror those found around the country, and Taranaki doesn't have the monopoly on superb scenery either, although the view down the fairway at the Mountain View Driving Range is hard to beat. Golf courses always seem to occupy prime sites - on a seaside clifftop, under a mountain range, beside a lake.

My round at Tumahu was so enjoyable that when my playing companions asked if I wanted to play another nine holes, the possibility of an embarrassing double century didn't cross my mind. My reply showed scant regard for the sensibilities of the course's animal caretakers.

"Why not? May as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb!"

A quick course for the novice

* Green fees

Casual green fees range from $5 at a sheep-grazed country course to $400 at a top resort. The average is around $20. Members of NZGA-affiliated clubs usually pay lower green fees.

* Club hire

Club hire is around $20 for clubs and trundler. Small courses may not offer this facility. Players provide their own balls and tees.

* Driving ranges

Driving ranges charge $5 to $10 for a bucket of 50 balls.

* Lessons

Many clubs employ a professional golfer recognised by the NZ Professional Golf Association (NZPGA). Individual lessons start at $30 for 30 minutes and there are usually packages for a series of lessons and clinics for groups.

Beginners' guide to golf etiquette

Novice golfers are welcome on many courses, but no matter how casual your group may be, the rules of golf should be followed and basic course etiquette observed.

* Wear tidy dress and suitable footwear.

* Maintain a quiet demeanour.

* Each player should have a set of clubs.

* Four is the accepted maximum in a group.

* Check local rules on the scorecard.

* Check the timing of club days and tournaments and avoid these times.

* Wait until the group in front has moved out of the way before playing your stroke.

* Remain silent and still while others play their strokes.

* Play shots as quickly as possible and leave the green immediately after all players in the group have holed out.

* If your group is slow, let groups behind you play through.

* Replace divots and rake bunkers.

* Don't step on the line of another player's putt.

* Don't drop clubs on the green.

* Replace the flag.

CASE NOTES

* Getting there

Air New Zealand and Origin Pacific have several daily fights from Auckland to New Plymouth, which take 50 minutes. Intercity and Dalroy provide a daily coach service, which takes 5 1/2 hours.

* Clubs

Tumahu Golf Club: Puniho Rd, Okato, Taranaki (30 minutes drive from New Plymouth). Green fees $5. Honesty box system. No club hire available. Twilight golf throughout summer welcomes non-golfers. Contact Bruce Sim (06 752 4482).

New Plymouth Golf Club: Ngamotu Golf Links, Devon Rd, New Plymouth (ph 06 755 1349 or 755 0424). Green fees $40 casual, $25 NZGA affiliate. Par 72 Championship course. Club hire: $20 (clubs & trundler). Professional lessons: $30 for 30 minutes.

Mountain View Driving Range: Henwood Rd, Bell Block, New Plymouth (ph 06 755 4218). Driving Range: $6 for bucket 50 balls, club hire $1. Nine-hole Pitch & Putt course: $6 with free club hire. Professional lessons: $30 for 30 minutes.

* Golf throughout New Zealand

More than 125,000 New Zealanders are members of golf clubs, with another 300,000 playing the odd social game each year.

Many people find that the only chance they have to play golf is when they are on holiday, and most of the 400 golf clubs affiliated to the New Zealand Golf Association allow casual players to pay green fees and use the course.

Golf courses and other golfing facilities are usually listed in the local Yellow Pages, and Visitor Information Centres should know the locations of local courses. In busy centres and at peak times it is advisable to book a tee-off time.

* Further information

The official website of the New Zealand Golf Association.

This website links to Golfing, an excellent resource which has details of all NZGA-affiliated clubs in New Zealand, as well as the rules of golf and a beginners' guide to golf.

A handy book is the New Zealand Golf Guide, published by Competency Consultants (ph 0508 694653), which is also found on the web at Golf Guide. If you are looking for a packaged golfing holiday, check out the listings from Tourism New Zealand at PureNZ.