New Plymouth
Over
100 years ago an enthusiastic band of good residents of the fledgling
centre of New Plymouth decided they would create their own facility to
play the game of golf. Several had a deep knowledge of the sport, having
played it at “home”, and they were able to use this experience
to build a nine hole course near the coastline overlooking what is now
Port Taranaki. Since the view also took in New Plymouth’s well known
offshore islands, it was deemed appropriate that the new course should
be named Ngamotu, a name translated to “The Islands”.
The then Ngamotu Golf Club remained there until early last century, when
it took up a lease on a new property in the New Plymouth suburb of Westown,
land which is now the site of Rugby Park.
That course was generally known as “Whitiora” after the title
of the leased property, but for some years the club held on to the Ngamotu
name.
However it was eventually changed to the New Plymouth Golf Club, and for
a small period the Ngamotu name was lost-both from the club and from the
course.
But an inability to negotiate a long-term lease of the Whitiora property
meant that once again the club had to look for a new home. In 1912 after
an exhaustive search the present property was found and secured and it
once again overlooked the off shore islands. In 1936, after much debate,
the club membership was again able to revive the name Ngamotu for the
18 hole layout.
Since then the course has been improved and modernized- at one stage in
1929 being completely redesigned by renowned golfing architect C. H. Redhead.
Ngamotu is now considered one of the top championship layouts in New Zealand.
Over the years it has been the scene of four New Zealand Opens and several
mens’ and womens’ international, national and interprovincial
amateur events.
All those who play Ngamotu form the same opinion of the course, when there
is no wind and the seas surrounding the offshore islands are calm, it
can be easy to play.
But when the wind gets up, and it often does from the prevailing west,
then it can change into a monster that is extremely difficult to tame.
The New Plymouth Golf Club is not only proud of “Ngamotu”, but
also the hundred plus years of golfing heritage that it represents.
Club Information
Devon Road, Bell Block, New Plymouth
Phone: (06) 755 1349 Fax: (06) 755 1351
npgc@paradise.net.nz
Resident Pro and shop facilities available
