Playing Golf in Taupo (Wairakei Resort Golf Course) – Day 303, Part 1

Today we are purely relaxing and that is starting with a round of golf.

We just met up with one of my friends, Casey, which is taking us down the Taupo to the cheapest golf course around. it’s only 15 bucks. So we’re spending the morning shooting rounds? I think that’s what you say.

Do you know your golf terminology?

But Laura is a professional. So I think…

I can teach you a thing or two.

She can teach me.

So today we’re golfing at the Wairakei Resort Golf Course. It is part of the Wairakei Resort but anyone can get there if you have 15 bucks to your name cos that’s what it costs for a 9-hole round of golf there. It’s probably the cheapest one in the whole country.

The Wairakei Resort Golf Course is situated only about 5 minutes drive out of Taupo town centre in the Wairakei tourist Park.

We’re joining our friend Casey who is teaching us all the basics because when we did it in the South Island we were doing it all wrong.

Over here.

Ok.

All these things we did not know when we tried to golf in Cromwell.

It goes without saying but we are complete beginners when it comes to golf except for obviously we’re awesome at mini golf.

Yay! Only 10.

Yep, you heard it right, it took us 10 tries to actually put the ball in the hole on the first hole it’s absolutely incredible how bad we are at golfing and our friend Casey is gonna have to be patient.

Come on. Oo. That’s different. It went further than yours so you can laugh Laura.

So right now we know the courtesy rule that if you actually make a big hole when trying to shoot the ball you’ve got to put the grass back where it was before. And honestly, this is something we really need to know because oh my God, almost every single time I try to hit the ball I dig a trench.

But enough about how terrible we are at golf, let’s atal about this golf course. It’s a par 34 course covering 1941m and the longest hole in the whole course is actually 366m.

My friend Casey tells us that this is actually not the easiest and not the hardest golf course in the area, it’s perfect for people which are just beginning and want a bit of a challenge.

And Casey is in the trees.

The Wairakei Resort Golf Course is actually a really nice environment to be in it’s surrounded by all these trees yet it still gets plenty of sun so it’s nice and warm. And I’m the first on the green.

What we love the most about this golf course though is that fact that it’s a pretty casual one. You don’t need to stress too much about wearing the right clothes or being completely strict with the rules, but it’s one that you can just be social with your friends and just have a good time.

Nevertheless, you still need to adhere to the basic etiquette of golfing which we are learning a lot from Casey along the way. it’s stuff that we really wish we knew earlier on in our trip.

Ok, I’m that one so Laura you’re this one.

The more holes we play the more fierce the competition gets and we’re really getting into it.

Half swing Robin.

So when you ask people what kind of sport do people play in New Zealand everybody always mentions rugby. if you ask people what New Zealanders are good at, everybody mentions rugby, but in fact the highest participation rate in New Zealand is actually golf. In fact, there is over 7 million rounds of golf which are played in the country every single year. So in short, everybody is better than Laura and I.

Boo. That was sheep.

And this is because golf is so popular in New Zealand that we included it in our relaxing day in Taupo. It’s definitely the Kiwi thing to do when you have a bit of free time and you want to enjoy the sun. Golfing allows you to go at your own pace and that’s definitely what we are going this morning we have planned to do more stuff this afternoon which is going to be even more relaxing we’re taking you just next door to the awesome Wairakei Terraces, which is one of the more premium hot pools in the whole Taupo area.

But as the day progress we progress as well we find out that we’re getting much better at making sure balls go in the right direction most of the time.

Oh. Sheep.

The Wairakei Golf Course is a bit of an oddity in comparison to other golf courses found in New Zealand. Most of the golf courses are 18 hole par 72 courses and that would take, well, especially for Robin and I, a long time to play so we are super happy that this is just a 9-hole course.

However if you do want to check out more golf courses around New Zealand see the link in the description below linking to 21 Best Golf Courses in New Zealand.

However the Wairakei Golf Course definitely tops the list for being the most budget friendly golf course and a really good one for travellers if you are just passing through the Taupo area we absolutely love this course.

On top of that, the golf course is impeccably well maintained or at least it was before Robin and I butchered it with our golf clubs.

Luckily Casey’s got our back.

Woohoo!

Although we might not be the best at golfing we actually realise why Kiwis love this sport so much being in the outdoors and just hanging out with friends is a really awesome pastime even if we’re not ready to join the pros.

Woohoo!

We haven’t counted the score just yet, but I have a feeling that Laura didn’t do that well. Her last par was 17 so we were there for over half an hour that was pretty pitiful.

Next time on New Zealand’s Biggest Gap year day 303, part 2 we’re taking you to the beautiful Wairakei Terraces which is probably the most popular hot pools in the Taupo area this is an amazing place with stunning waters and geothermal features and if you guys don’t want to miss out on anything about New Zealand’s biggest gap year where we’re challenging ourselves to tackle 365 activities in only 365 days make sure to hit that subscribe button so you get a notification every single time we release one of our awesome episodes of our adventures.