14 | KinLOCH
Locked on to Kinloch!
By rob Jenkins - www.pitchcare.com.au
taupo is a well known tourist location in the
middle of the north island of new Zealand.
the town is memorable for one rather big
reason, a giant lake! it really is a bloody big
lake, in fact the biggest freshwater lake in
Oceania created some 26,000 years ago
from a huge series of volcano eruptions.
With a perimeter of 193 kilometres and
with a depth of 186 metres in some parts,
once you see it you won’t be forgetting
Lake taupo in a hurry.
not that the town doesn’t have a lot more
going for it; the whole area around Lake
taupo in part of the thermal explorer tourist
route makes it a popular destination for
tourists. As many as 1.2 million people make
the trip every year to visit the region. As
much as i’d like to educate everyone on the
lovely Lake taupo it’s time i got to the point
of this article.
twenty minutes from taupo is a smaller
town Kinloch, also located on the banks of
the stunning Lake taupo. Kinloch is a sleepy
little town that’s barely a blip on the map
next to its big brother. All this is beginning
to change with the help of the town’s
dramatic new golf course, the Kinloch Club.
the Kinloch Club is the only course in new
Zealand designed by world famous golfer
and course architect, Jack nicklaus. Jack and
his Golden Bear brand are famous around
the world and have been behind some
fantastic courses; big Jack won’t go putting
his stamp on just any piece of land. trust me
when i say the Kinloch club is not just any
piece of land. this place is a wonderland
and it would be no be surprise if Alice came
tumbling out of one of the many crevices
in the surrounding picturesque hills. Jack
nicklaus fell in love with new Zealand on
his first visit over 30 years ago, he has since
visited the area numerous times since for
fly fishing and holidaying. so when he
was approached to design this course he
jumped at the chance. Jack nichlaus has
said Kinloch is the best course he has built
and you don’t take that lightly from the
man responsible for courses such as “the
Australian” and “Glen Abbey”
.
Jack has had 63 of his courses featured in
national and international top 100 lists so
it’s a pretty large tag for this club to carry.
not playing down the achievements of Jack
nicklaus and his design company when
i say this but, they had a great canvas to
work with. rolling hills on the edge of a lake
so vast it takes your breath away, natural
undulations that can’t be bought a good
dose of natural wild, rugged and untouched
beauty that new Zealand is so famous for.
On Pitchcare’s recent visit to new Zealand
this course was one on the top of my list to
see, not just for the obvious reasons listed
above but also to have a chat with the guys
looking after the turf. An old friend of mine
had recently taken up the post as the new
Assistant in a re shuffle that also saw Chris
downes take his first superintendent title.
Chris and mark are over seeing a team of 10
full time staff including a full time mechanic.
Over the summer the numbers will increase
to around 13. As the entire course is hand
cut, the numbers are required to keep the
course in premium condition all year round.
Chris has been at Kinloch for about 4 years
pretty much since its beginning. He has
moved up from the irrigation tech then
to Foreman, Assistant and now the top
job. Chris spent time mastering his craft
overseas at ilford Golf Club in London and
also at Chigwell Golf Club were he helped
the course establish during it’s grow
in phase, which turned out to be great
practice for Kinloch.
mark has been at Kinloch for a few years
and moved his way up from his original title
as a senior Greenkeeper. mark also worked
in england on the famous richmond Golf
Club in London and before that in Australia
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