The north's top golf clubs: Ohope International Golf Club

By BOB PEARCE

Ohope International Golf Club is the official title, but don't be put off by this flight of fancy. This is a friendly club with modest fees on a fabulous site with a course that deserves to be better-known.

Ohope Beach over the hill from Whakatane has long been a holidaymakers' paradise with its spacious beach opening on to the beautiful Bay of Plenty.

The golf course is at the end of the spit of sand that skirts the ocean and provides the western side of the entrance to Ohiwa Harbour.

The views are spectacular, the sand base provides true links golf and, with water on three sides, there is always plenty of challenge.

The 300 members share their prize with many green-fee players visiting the area over the summer holidays.

And it has gained recognition among the country's top amateur players. In October, teams from Northland, Bay of Plenty, Auckland and Waikato played their long-running round-robin there for the Garrard Shield and the course was widely praised.

For most of its 25 years of existence, the club has had the full 18 holes. Members dispute which are the best holes, but on a wet Wednesday offered these two. The 17th is a par three of 155m. It has a backdrop of White Island fit to grace a tourist brochure, but when the sea breeze blows the teeshot may be anything from a seven-iron to a three-wood.

The 371m seventh is a par four with a sting in the tail. About 30m in front of the green is a large pond and, if you don't catch your drive well, you may find yourself laying for the second shot.

Another trap for the unwary is the size of the greens, which are in superb condition. They range in size from huge to small targets.

The 11th, for example, is close to 40m from front to back. Finding the putting surface is only the first part of the battle.

Ohope has tended to be overshadowed by the neighbouring Whakatane Golf Club, a championship layout 5km north of the town, which hosts the Bay of Plenty Open each year. Further down the coast, Opotiki Golf Club is handy to the township.

* This is the final in our series on the north's top golf clubs.