Taumarunui is a small rural service town situated in the centre of the King Country. It is about 40 minutes from the North Island’s summer and winter playgrounds of Lake Taupo – famous for its trout fishing, and Mount Ruapehu’s Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields. It is also the gateway to the Whanganui National Park. Increasingly the town plays host to visitors enjoying the boom in tourism operations.
Taumarunui’s golf course, ‘Tarrangower’, dates back to the early 1920s and has developed into a very attractive all-weather course featuring 18 holes of undulating fairways of park-like appearance. Each hole represents a different challenge with the tree-lined fairways leading to well-guarded target greens.
Trees in this part of the world grow tall and straight, attesting to the free-draining soils and the lowest wind flow in New Zealand. The huge redwoods watching over the 18th tee are only 70 years old and bear testimony to the district’s moderate climate.
The Clubhouse enjoys magnificent views of the 1st, 8th, 9th, and 18th holes and there can be no better sight than the sun throwing tree shadows against the backdrop hills surrounding Taumarunui.
So many visitors comment that playing Taumarunui has been on their ‘must play’ list – join us for a round and find out why.
photo | Shirley Barton