Photo: Tuaine Marsters contemplates a challenging putt on her way to a team gold medal at the Pacific Games golf tournament. 09092765
Golf reporter Gray Clapham stumbles his way round our international course
It’s every golfer’s dream to be able to play a round at Augusta the day after the conclusion of the US Open.
As an average keen Saturday golfer I’ll probably never realise that fantasy. But I did get to try out the Rarotonga course the day after the PMG golf tournament had wound up.
A quick double bogey, triple bogey, double bogey start squashed any rumour that I was here to hustle the locals and blitz the 9-hole course.
Blame the hired clubs, blame the heat, blame the night before’s vodka cocktails. I was going to have to dig deep to not totally embarrass myself in front of my playing partners Jimmy Teokotai, Temu Okotai and Taiora Henry.
A couple of standard bogeys on four and five settled me down as I worked out the irons. I remembered Tereapii Viking’s advice to his double gold medal winning daughter Elmay during the PMG play off to “be patient and it will come”. Sure enough, with this in mind I posted my first par on the 427 metre par 5 sixth.
I ran into women’s team gold medalist Maara Kenning on the course and was cheeky enough to ask her what club I should play out of a bunker at the side of the 8th up to the raise 5th green.
Maara was still wearing her Cook Islands team shirt and I jokingly asked if she’d worn it to bed.
“Yep,” she said. “I can’t take it off.”
I tried the eight iron Maara had advised, hit the very top of the steep side of the embankment and to my dismay it bounced backwards and rolled down back to the fairway.
By this time the compact nature of the golf course was becoming evident as we dodged incoming and outgoing and cross-flying balls as we made our way over the middle of the course. After a series of climbs to the second, sixth and ninth tees, the course didn’t feel as short as it looked. The great views from the hilltop tees were a bonus.
The course looked great. The Rarotonga Golf Club had spent over 18 months preparing the course for the Pacific Mini Games, countless volunteer man-hours and over $200,000 of its own money, so I’m told.
Over the last few weeks, head greenkeeper and Cook Islands golf team gold medalist and individual bronze medalist Sonny Karati and his team had groomed the fairways and the greens ready for the international tournament.
Tournament starter Bruce Graham told me that he had received no bad comments about the course during the tournament.
“They probably thought they were coming to a tropical goat track but they were all surprised at the professional way the course was presented,” he said.
Talking about Sonny Karati, he was out again on Saturday playing with youngster William Howard who is home from Rotorua High School, the nursery for young golfers in New Zealand. They both shot a couple of great rounds with three-under par 67s.
Meanwhile I was gutted at my first nine 48, jealously eyeing the 39 posted by the lady in our four, Taiora Henry, who was obviously a very competent golfer.
My marker Jim had a creditable 43.
I had nine holes left to redeem myself. Two pars in a row got my juices flowing but the glory was short-lived after a drive off 14 disappeared into the Rarotonga sky never to be seen again. The only other highlight was one more par and a drive off the 18th which beat the ladies’ longest drive by five metres.
I ended up with a second nine of 44 for a forgettable 92 of a 13 handicap. My marker Jim had a solid 86 off his 15 handicap.
New golfer to the club Walter Tangata won the Saturday stableford with a solid 46 points off a 22 handicap.
Things get back to normal, if that’s the word, at the Rarotonga Golf Club this week with Tuesday vets and ladies mid-week play tomorrow afternoon, the 9-hole ‘Chicken Run’ on Wednesday and then the local club championships get underway at the weekend which will take place over the next few weeks.
One thing’s for sure, those who were lucky to witness the history-making gold medal winning performances by Kirk Tuaiti and Elmay Viking and the Cook Islands men’s and ladies’ teams will have a legendary story to remember and recount in the Rarotonga clubhouse as the years roll on. - Gray Clapham: Cook Islands News
Last Modified on 30/09/2009 07:33