There were no little white balls, or kevlar clubs, and the 'holes' were elevated baskets.
But the frustrations of traditional golf still persisted as 26 players flicked, tossed and biffed colourful golf discs around the Scion tree nursery at the inaugural Santa Maria Motel Open Disc Golf championships on the weekend.
With cash prizes on offer the tournament, an adjunct to the main national championships, attracted players from the Bay of Plenty, Auckland and King Country.
Organiser Logan Papuni said the success of the tournament boded well for the future.
"We had great response from players and it looks like it will be an annual fixture," he said.
Three rounds of 18 'holes' were played on the weekend, plus a 'Ring of Fire' putting competition.
Blair Joynes finished with best overall score in a "convincing win", Mr Papuni said.
Other highlights included Gemma Sullivan with best ladies score, Jackson Sullivan won closest to the pin.
Chris Geers won the putting competition. Disc golf was established in the 1970s and is similar to standard golf except frisbees are used instead of balls and clubs. Players record the number of throws they have to get the disc into the basket, or hole, on the green.