LPGA World No1 women's golfer, Lydia Ko, during her visit to Windross Farm Golf Club. Photo / Brett Phibbs.
LPGA World No1 women's golfer, Lydia Ko, during her visit to Windross Farm Golf Club. Photo / Brett Phibbs.
Only a chosen few get to turn paddocks of corn and potatoes into professional golf courses.
Brett Thomson, with assistance from former New Zealand pro Phil Tataurangi and half-a-million tonnes of clay, can list that claim on his CV after developing Windross Farm.
The course sits at Ardmore, half anhour south of Auckland's CBD (on a good day). Its genesis came when the Manukau Golf Club, originally situated in Takanini, relocated after selling to developers.
Windross Farm hosts the McKayson New Zealand women's open from September 28-October 1. The tournament doubles as a stop on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour.
Thomson helped design Clearwater Resort in Christchurch, and Jacks Point and The Hills near Queenstown. It took six years to develop his latest landscape, split evenly between planning and construction.
The course is based inland but has a links feel because of what Thomson described as "effectively a flood plain". Drainage was required with stormwater flowing through, resulting in a number of burns, five hectares of wetlands and native plantings of "50,000 grasses and 600 totara and kahikatea". The course varies from 3961m (red tees) to 5898m (black tees). A drop of 6m across the course means it's easy to walk.
Photo / Photosport
However, Thomson is not prepared to label his design the St Andrews of the South Pacific yet.
"When you come out and it's cropped with corn and potatoes, the sky's the limit. That was the challenge; every square metre had to be modified, unlike The Hills and Jack's Point.
"This is probably the toughest project I've worked on."
Central to the design was the idea members would be challenged by the prevailing south-westerly wind. Thomson wanted to strike a balance between heroic, penal and strategic hole designs.
"Heroic" holes tend to have two alternatives for reaching the green in regulation, but one will provide a player with a superior position if they take a risk, like hitting over water.
"Penal" holes require the execution of at least one shot that will result in a hazard penalty if miscued. Fairways tend to be tight and trapped on either side.
"Strategic" holes provide a route for reaching the green in regulation with minimal risk of a penalty for duff shots.
Photo / Photosport
"It's a bit like a Scottish or Irish links," Thomson said. "There are few trees, ridges run through the course and rough fescue grasses give an aged and weathered look.
"Wind will be a big component; it will change a lot of holes in September [at the LPGA tournament] particularly if it's from the southwest. Players may not want to play lofted shots into the greens. I wanted pin placement to be as important as length off the tees."
The verdict from those playing the course on Thursday was that some surface water was prevalent on the fairways - indicating the drainage might need a tweak - but the browntop-grassed greens earned approval.
And does Thomson have a signature hole?
"I quite enjoy the par three No.3 [78m from the red tees, 174m from the black tees] playing back towards the south-west. It's all about trying to perceive the right line into the green."
LPGA World No1 women's golfer, Lydia Ko, during her visit to Windross Farm Golf Club. Photo / Brett Phibbs.
Thomson was surprised the course was chosen to host an LPGA event in its infancy.
"I thought 'Are you serious?' This is set up as a member course. Then, when Phil ran me through the fact [the LPGA] don't necessarily require the yardage and want to expand the game into the Pacific region, I could understand the rationale.
"Lydia [Ko] is the world No.1 so it makes sense she should have a tournament in her home country and in Auckland it's difficult to find a course that is weatherproofed. The turnaround from big rain here is 24 hours.
"Tournament organisers have the ability on a daily basis to change the length of holes by up to 50m. Even on par threes, players won't get comfortable with club selection. Once the rough grows and starts moving in the wind it'll be something to celebrate."
