Rotorua (Arikikapakapa)

Is there anywhere else in the world where golf is played over thermal lakes and streams?

Rotorua Golf Club is also known as Arikikapakapa, a Māori name meaning "the gentle sound of plopping mud". That can indeed be heard as players head from the 18th tee.

We were staying in one of New Zealand’s key tourism centres to experience some traditional culture and the region's outstanding geological features.

By happy coincidence, friends from home were there at the same time, so it seemed an opportunity too good to miss: teaming up for a round on a New Zealand top 100 course.

The club was established more than 100 years ago, and photos of its founders capture stern-looking men in suits. Nowadays, it is much more informal, with players in T-shirts allowed to enjoy their rounds.

We were charged the equivalent of just £40 each by the jovial chap in the pro shop before taking to the fairway. 

The clubhouse was not yet open on the morning we played, so, after a practice putt, it was straight to the first tee.

 I have to be honest and say the first couple of holes are a gentle introduction—relatively straight par-fours that run parallel to one another.

Straight drives will avoid the trees, and decent hits from the undulating fairways should find the targets.

However, the greens at Rotorua are tricky; my first nine holes were beset with missed opportunities because I could judge neither pace nor line.

Our first encounter with the local geology was on the third hole, where a thermal stream meanders across the fairway. I tested its temperature and confirmed it was pleasantly lukewarm. 

The fourth draws from right to left, but a copse acts like a magnet for straight drives.

Three of our four found the trees and were consequently blocked from attacking a green defended by a right-side bunker.

Some attractive homes (New Zealanders like bungalows) border the right of the fifth, a par-four which is reachable in two but again features a cunning green.

There is also an out-of-bounds fence dividing the course from a busy road on the par-five seventh, where I failed to take a chance for three points yet again.

In my opinion, the course really comes into its own from the ninth hole onwards.

The latter is a sublime par-three over a deep, grassy chasm that leads into what appears to be the residue of a defunct geyser below the right side of the green.

I was thrilled to crack my ball over all of this to the back of the target.

It was the beginning of a resurgence for my pal’s wife and me, after being behind for most of our match against Mrs W and my mate.

Steam was rising from the lake behind the green of the 11th as we tackled the doable par-four. 

Taking a photo of the ladies on the seats of their trundlers (trolleys) with the thermal backdrop was a must.

The tight drive on the short, dogleg par-four 13th needs to be accurate to avoid trees on either side. If this can be accomplished, a good score is likely.

It leads golfers into a superb run of holes to complete the round.

The 14th is arguably the best at Rotorua—a long par-three over thermal waters into a perched green with a copse on the right.

I can attest that finding the green does not guarantee par, because the surface falls so sharply from back to front. 

The lake also encroaches from the right on the 15th, forcing the player to shoot further left than they might like on this par-four. Bunkers on the front left of the green make for a very tricky angle of attack.

The 16th is a corking hole as it curves around the lake to the right between trees. A bunker on the left threatens those who bail out. I was delighted to find the back of the green in two and narrowly missed my birdie.

We had snatched the lead by this stage, and it was reinforced on the 17th—a par-three with a multi-tiered green and sand traps left and right.

I found the sand, but my partner steered her tee shot to 15 feet and kept us two Stableford points up going into the par-four 18th.

With mud plopping in the crater to our right, we launched drives that needed to avoid being blocked by the trees.

My putt, which would have assured victory, rolled around the cup, but my pal followed suit, and the game was ours with the last shot on the last hole.

It had been a blast, and the cost did not offend our respective bank managers.