Golf is a popular sport in Auckland, New Zealand, and for a good reason. Its stunning natural beauty and excellent courses make it the perfect place to enjoy a round of golf. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a beginner, playing golf in Auckland can be a fantastic experience. But if you’re new to the game or the city, you may have questions about getting started.
In this guide, we’ll provide you with all the information you need on how to play golf in Auckland, including where to find courses, how to book tee times, what to wear, and more. By the end of this guide, you’ll be ready to hit the links and enjoy a round of golf in one of New Zealand’s most beautiful cities.
Auckland has numerous public and private golf courses that offer a range of golfing experiences. If you’re looking for where and how to play golf, here are some ways to find courses in Auckland:
Golf is a popular game all over the world. It’s low impact so you can play it regardless of your age, it’s a great way to spend time with friends and family, and it’s a way to enjoy a beautiful sunny day outdoors. Most people don’t realise how challenging of a game it really is until they begin playing – making contact with the ball, and making the ball go in the direction you want it to is not as easy as it looks! Having said that, golf’s challenging nature is also what makes it so fun and keeps people coming back to the course year after year. We put together this guide of basic fundamentals to help you get ready for the golf course!
At the simplest level, golf involves swinging a club and hitting a ball from designated starting points, known as tees, toward various holes on the course. The player who puts their ball in the holes with the fewest amount of swings wins. The most common course lengths are 9-holes and 18-holes.
Your golf posture is important to your overall golf swing. Start by positioning your feet shoulder-width apart, ensuring a stable base. Bend your knees slightly and do not round your back.
Aiming and the direction of your ball depends more on where the golf club face hits the ball, and less on which way your body and posture are facing. The way your club is facing, and where on the club face the ball hits determines what direction the ball will go.
Your grip and how you hold the club are actually more important to your swing and overall golf game than you may think. The four basic fundamentals of your golf swing are your grip, your posture, your stance and your impact position/when you hit the ball.
You will need to find what grip works best for you. Some golf players overlap their hands, some interlock fingers and some use a grip that is similar to holding a baseball bat. You will need to decide what is most comfortable for you and what helps you to make the best contact with the golf ball! No matter what grip you choose, you must have a neutral grip in order to keep the club face straight. You also do not want to hold the club too tightly or too loosely.
Once your grip is set, and you get in the right stance, you are ready to swing. The four steps of the golf swing are the takeaway, the backswing, the downswing and the follow-through.
A golf club and the face of the golf club is designed to get the ball in the air. Still, the golfer has to hit the ball in the right spot on the club face for that to happen. You may have heard some people say you have to get ‘under the ball’ to get the ball in the air. This refers to making contact between the club face and the ball during the downswing, enabling the club to launch the ball higher.
Putting is the final swing for each hole and typically requires a softer, more controlled approach. Although you are closer to the hole, mastering distance control in putting can be challenging. It involves accurately judging the distance between your ball and the hole, and adjusting the strength and power of your stroke accordingly. Keep in mind that every golf course is unique, with subtle slopes and other factors that need to be considered.
A chip shot is when you try to get the ball high in the air, but only want it to travel a short distance. It is commonly used when you are close to the hole but not yet on the putting green.
A bunker in golf is also known as a sand pit. It adds a layer of complexity because it is harder to make contact with the golf ball when it is in sand and not on grass. Also, the bunker is usually like a large ditch, so you need to get the ball airborne enough to get out of the bunker.
For beginners, there are a few tips on how to play golf that are beneficial to help improve your skills in NZ. Here are a few of them.
The New Zealand Open is a professional golf tournament that takes place annually in Auckland, attracting some of the top golfers from around the world. There’s also the North Harbour Open, an amateur golf tournament held at the North Shore Golf Club in Auckland, open to golfers of all skill levels.
If you’re looking for top-tier entertainment, try the Akarana Open, an amateur golf tournament held at the Akarana Golf Club in Auckland and is one of the oldest and most prestigious events in New Zealand. For charity, many golf courses in Auckland host charity golf events throughout the year, which provide an opportunity for golfers to raise money for a good cause while enjoying a round of golf.
To play golf, you will need golf clubs, golf balls, golf shoes and a golf bag. Also, make sure to check if the course you are playing on has any dress-code rules, like requiring collared shirts.
A golf club is what you use to hit a golf ball. Each club has a shaft with a grip at the top for your hands, and a club head at the bottom which is the area used to hit the golf ball.
There are four main types of golf clubs: Putters, Wedges, Woods and Irons. The types of golf clubs are designed to make the golf ball travel different distances, have more or less backspin and get more or less height. You choose which golf club to use for every swing based on how far you want to hit the ball, and whether you are on teeing off, on the putting green or in a bunker.
There are many different types of golf clubs, and you may be overwhelmed when you see someone with 10+ golf clubs in their golf bag. As a beginner, all you need to know is that the most common clubs are the putter, the pitching wedge, the sand wedge, the driver, the three wood, and the three, five, seven and nine irons.
It is really important that you get a golf club that fits your height. However, custom fit clubs also allow you to tailor your golf clubs to help you with other specifications that are suited to how you swing and your golf mechanics.
While all golf balls may appear to look the same on the outside, there are actually four distinct types of golf balls: tour performance, tour value, straight distance and soft distance.
The main difference between these golf balls are the number of layers they have, which affects the ball’s distance and spin. The price point is also different!
There are a few different styles of golf bags to help you carry your clubs around the course.
Golf shoes are designed specifically for the golf course. While you will need to choose the shoe that is most comfortable for you, every golf shoe has wide rubber soles and cleats or spikes. This allows golfers to be comfortable in their stance, and also to grip the grass and not worry about slipping. The spikes and cleats are also designed in a way so they will not damage the green, and will help maintain a beautiful golf course for you to keep playing on.
