Gaylene Eyre
By Gaylene Eyre – Kiwi High Performance Sports Trainer
Cambridge is well known in New Zealand as being the Town of Trees and Champions. We boast a “star-studded†street full of champions. Duke Street in the central business district plays host to a Walk Of Fame featuring 25 athletes who have made their mark in New Zealand sport. To name a few: Mark Todd, Equestrian; Sarah Ulmer, Cycling; Robb Waddel, Rowing; and the Swindell twins-Caroline and Georgina-Evers, Rowing — all Olympic Champions living in Cambridge.
Shopping is great with plenty of antique stores and some fabulous Arts and Crafts shops with the Cambridge Country Store being a well know stop for tourists. Cafes and restaurants are not short in supply so there are lots of great options for an extended stay is this little jewel of the Waikato.
(Be sure to visit the famous pink church in Cambridge for a tasty treat at the family’s Toccata Cafe. Mark Eyre is also known far and wide for providing organ music suitable for pipe organs sourced directly from publishers. Visit www.toccatamusic.co.nz)
Best of all, Cambridge is the perfect spot for a golfer to be. Within a 40km radius there are no less than 16 golf courses to play (36 holes a day if you wish for many are only a stones throw apart), and some great tourist attractions and food and wine to die for – no truly I’m not totally biased about this place!
Something that cannot be missed is the Maungatautari Mountain. This is an internationally significant restoration project. The 3400 hectare forested extinct volcano stands majestically on the landscape in the Waikato Basin framing Cambridge. I would highly recommend the Maungatautari After Dark – Guided Night Walks with dinner at Out in the Synx Guesthouse. For more information visit www.maungatrust.org
There are a number of options for accommodation in Cambridge with motels at each end of the scale. Some stunning 4-Star plus Lodge options and a bed and breakfast option is not hard to come by. For more information than I can cover, visit the Cambridge i site website or contact them directly for help. The team there Jenny, Jenny, Rachel and Maree are great ladies and will certainly be sure to help find the right option for you at www.cambridgeinfo.co.nz. Email info@cambridgeinfo.co.nz
So now to the real stuff — golf!
I am business partners with Marnie McGuire, New Zealand’s most successful Touring Women’s Golf Professional. We run three-day intensive Golfing Boot Camps. They are a very holistic approach to golf and we cover all aspects of the game with a strong focus on the short game. This was Marnie’s strength on tour.
Marnie McGuire and Gaylene Eyre - Photo by Ann Huston
The Boot Camps are enormous fun and plenty of hard work, however, it is all about you and your golf. Groups are no more than eight and we often run camps at Te Awamutu Golf Club which is 20 minutes from Cambridge. So combining a holiday in New Zealand with three days of work on the golf aint half bad, they say.
Cambridge is a great layout carved out of the ground by the Waikato River over the previous 15,000 years. The course offers some strong challenges with the greens running rather fast at times – definitely not for the faint-hearted. My favourite is the fourth. After teeing off you walk down into the fairway which is laid inside a large riverbed; you’re flanked by the large walls as you play the hole–quite an airy feeling.
A superb 18-hole experience with well-kept fairways and great greens. There is real variety in this course with my favourite being No. 11 — the par three over the entrance path to the clubhouse. On the elevated tee block the distance to reach the green is very deceptive. While in this part of the Waikato I would suggest lunch at Workmans Café. It’s something that can’t be missed and gives you a real sense of New Zealand. While in Matamata you are in the town of Hobbiton of Lord of the Rings fame and you can visit the Hobbiton set. The other option is to soak in a hot pool right next door to the Golf Club.
This course is a little off the beaten track however the scenery on the drive there is true Waikato rolling dairy land and the course reflects this. You can play on Walton and feel like there is no one else in the world. The course is in great nick especially considering there are so few doing to work.
This course is slightly outside the 40km radius, however well worth the trip. It’s a unique experience with sheep on the course for 12 holes, something I’m not sure you’d find outside of New Zealand. And although the course is a bit of a walk in terms of ups and downs, there’s a great opportunity to relax in Raglan, have a bite to eat in one of the little cafes then spend a couple of peaceful hours along the volcanic black sand beach at Whale Bay watching the surfers — certainly something special. On the way back to base at Cambridge, be sure to stop for a walk through awesome New Zealand bush to view the stunningly beautiful Bridal Falls.
Quite a unique par 72, 18-hole course, Pirongia is built in and around a race course. If you’re in the Waikato around Christmas, forget the golf and visit the race track for the Boxing Day races – a great day out.
This is a little par 72, 9-hole course with fairway watering that has the course in good nick throughout the year — definitely worth a visit as Ngahinepouri has plenty to offer all players and the greens are good.
Copyright Gaylene Eyre 2008
More news to follow on Te Awamutu, Waitomo, Morrinsville, Stewart Alexander, Okoroire, Ngaruawahia, Tirau, Lochiel, Narrows, Hamilton Golf Club, Putaruru.
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