The Moutere Links course near Levin with the snow-capped Tararua Range as a backdrop.
Is golf the perfect prescription for a myriad of modern ailments? Could whacking a ball through a forest with a stick be a stress vaccine? Horowhenua Chronicle reporter Paul Williams headed to the Levin Golf Course to find out why more people are playing golf.
The secret is out. Golf is booming in New Zealand. It's our biggest sport now - a billion-dollar industry - with a 10 per cent increase in membership and an estimated 40 per cent increase in casual games since Covid-19 first forced us indoors.
Horowhenua is blessed with courses for all budgets and abilities, too, from Shannon to Paraparaumu, and local clubs were keen to catch the popularity wave knowing the region's appeal as a golfing destination.
It's hard to find a bigger advocate for the social benefits of golf than Levin Golf Club captain Tony Newling. He said it gets people outdoors, moving, meeting people and having fun, the very reasons people flocked to golf after lockdowns.
"There are 16,000 steps to a game of golf," he said.
Newling was introduced to golf at a young age by his grandfather. Golf's a bit like that. Koro can play with their mokopuna, grandmothers with their grandchildren. It's a game for all people and all generations. The club had senior members in their 90s.
Which is why Newling was applauding initiatives from Golf NZ aimed at removing barriers to the sport. Not everyone's grandfather plays golf. He said the Levin club jumped at the chance to implement the new programmes targeting new and younger players.
"Golf NZ is doing a fantastic job with its participation approaches. It's aimed at removing psychological barriers and introducing new people to golf," he said.
"It hasn't really been exploited in the past. We want to be part of that. We want to help whole families get started in the game."
The new initiatives were called She Loves Golf and Futures, and would involve a complete introduction to the game at entry level for anyone.
Newling said there was a conscious effort to do away with some "fussy" old traditions, like tapping someone on the shoulder for wearing a hat inside the clubrooms. Sure, there is a need for golf etiquette, but it can be learned on the journey.
An "it's okay" mantra was being adopted, to let newcomers and youngsters know it's not the end of world if they were to, say, be seen to tee the ball up in the middle of the fairway.
"It's okay to have fun. We want to show young people just how much fun it can be. If your pathway is to be a professional one day, that's great. If it's to have a hack and a laugh, that's fantastic too," he said.
"There are some rules that are non-negotiable, though. Respect is important. It's not okay to talk when someone else is hitting, for example, but we're saying let's be open to everybody's journey."
A twilight nine-hole competition on a Monday night during summer had proved popular with businesses and social groups that might not have a chance to play weekends. It was about adapting to accommodate everyone who wanted to play.
"The other thing is golf is seen as a long game. We can look to make it less time-consuming, where people might want to play three holes, or just play for an hour and then stop, to give people the opportunity to try it out."
Newling said another aspect of golf was that, through the handicap system, a crack golfer could have an exciting round against a newcomer, rather than other sports like tennis where it wouldn't be much fun for a novice playing a top seed.
At the heart of it all, golf was still a competition. A game of skill with winners and losers. And the cream could rise to the top.
The opportunities for talent were there. A future world champion could come from a course just like Levin, he said. Golf NZ had clearly defined pathways to make sure potential was identified and given every chance to flourish.
Newling said the club was excited about a new partnership it has formed with OnPar - Golf Marketing and Signage that he said would allow the club to build a stronger connection with the local business community, providing more opportunities to use the club and promote their businesses.
The partnership with OnPar extended further than just upgrading hole signage, and covered the distribution of fortnightly newsletters and a range of other initiatives adding value to the sponsorship dollar, like a website revamp with detailed hole imagery and pro tips.
From a sponsorship perspective, the potential was huge, especially given the surge in the popularity of golf. The season before Covid-19 arrived, Levin had 14,174 scorecards handed in, while the following season there were 15,544 - not counting casual rounds.
This year the club was expecting 25,000 rounds of golf. Incredibly, there were an estimated 7 million rounds played in New Zealand last year by almost 500,000 people.
Newling said there was scope for even more members and more casual players and the club's committee was committed to growing the game and growing membership, to the point where it could employ a professional to run the pro shop and take lessons, like some of the more larger clubs in the lower North Island.
"We have a beautiful facility here and it's still not used as much as it should be. It's an under-utilised asset and a high-quality course," he said.
"The potential for golf tourism in this area is huge. We're excited."
The Levin club was formed in 1911 and played at various locations before volunteers turned what was scrubland into a bespoke 18-hole links course near Moutere Hill west of town, opening in 1952.
The course record stands at 63, set by Tyler Hodge in 2009, and equalled by Kim Ballantyne in 2013. Prior to that, Graham Ellis shot a 64 in 1994, and before that Neil Gaskin carded a 65 in 1979.
So, whether the aspiration was to be the club champion or the next Tiger Woods or Michael Campbell, at the very least the goal might be to find some peace of mind.
