New Zealand
Golf Courses:
Arikikapakapa Golf Club - Rotorua

This course is set in the heart of Rotorua in the picturesque Whakarewarewa thermal region. Arikikapakapa is an all-weather links-style and 'thermal' golf course with an excellent golfing layout. The main features of this unique course, are the bubbling mud pools and steam vents that surround it. Several holes play across or alongside a lake, and apart from the added danger of water, the sight on a chilly winter's morning of steam rising from the lake is something to behold.

The entire course was rebuilt in 1996, with new bunkers and large undulating greens, so the benefits of that development are now becoming effective. Don't be deceived by the apparent shortness of the course, it will not surrender to par unless you hit every fairway and every green in regulation.

The course is an easy walking course with good paths. The most feared hole in many minds is the bunkerless fifth, with out of bounds down the right, a monster tree on the left and a bubbling steaming creek just in front of the tee that demands good straight shots. The shallow green is easier to hold for your second with a wedge in your hand, than with a 5 iron so it's a good test of nerves too.

This is one of those unforgettable courses the surroundings and natural features are one of a kind!