www.capekidnappers.com
Cape Kidnappers is a Tom Doak designed course built in 2003 at the behest of American billionaire Julian Robertson. Robertson already had made a name for himself with the stunning Kauri Cliffs www.kauricliffs.com in the northern part of NZ, and wanted to follow that up with another masterpiece. As you will see from the photos and videos the setting is unparalled, and the course plays very well within the geography.
Our ride to the course saw us link up with the previously mentioned Gannet safari bus which was headed to the breeding ground, but dropped us off on the way. It is an 8km drive from the front gate through forest and over beautiful rolling hills just to get back to the course. The clubhouse is designed to look like an old sheep shearing barn, and is very understated, but gorgeous inside. A couple of minutes spent on the practice tee after checking in and we were off, carry bag on my shoulder and my trusty caddy Michelle "trooper" Gilbert manning the yadage book.
Par 71. 7100yds. 76.2/148
The opening tee shot requires the golfer to avoid going right as a canyon awaits any pushed shot. Well, wouldn't you know that's exactly where we went. No worries, first hole so I was using my mulligan and pressed on. The first five or six holes were a bit of a struggle as I only brought 6 balls and I was quickly reduced to 3 or 4 after further miscues, so needless to say I was playing defensively. My trusty caddy jumped to the recue quickly finding 2 new pro v-1s and we were ready to get back on track.
I began to settle down after the fear of running out of balls was now gone and hit some great approach shots on 2, 4, 5 and 8.
Unfortunately, my driving up to this point was total shit, so often times I was just stuggling to make bogey. Other than some beautiful scenery and a bit of a primer in how to chip and putt these greens, the front nine was chalked up as a warm up and we were ready to start anew on the back. 47.
A bit of a hold up making the turn as the group we were following chose to park their carts in front of the green giving the illusion that they were actually in the middle of the fairway. Once they got into their carts we realized what had transpired and Michelle handed me the 3 wood and said let's get one in the fairway for goodness sake. Finally, a drive worth writing about, pounded dead into the wind, slight draw. I can't tell you how much easier a course like that is when you're playing from the short stuff. This drive set up an approach of 200yds to a front pin into the wind, 3 iron 30' past the hole, 2 putts, par....
Ok, we can do something on this back 9 if I can just keep the ball in play.
Followed up 10 with a bogey on 11 after a nice approach that left me only 20' from the hole and about 8' off the green, but a piss poor chip spelled doom. Driving was superb for the first time all day and irons continued to be very accurate, I just couldn't judge distances well enough to drop any birdies. In spite of that I recorded pars on 12...
...13 and 14. One over after five on the back nine had Michelle and I in great spirits and mix in the most incredible scenery and you've got the recipe for a memorable afternoon.
On the fifteenth hole I hit my first poor drive of the back nine and found trouble on the right and I was left with this 5 wood from 225 yds to have a chance to salvage something.
As we approached the green we could tell there was a serious drop off to the left so we went to check it out...
Bogey on 15 followed by a bogey on reachable par 5 16th and my hopes for an even par back nine were dashed. Had a little fun on the 16th tee...
After missing drives on the last two holes Michelle told me that the best route on 17 was a three wood at the maintenance shed and that would leave me the best shot into the pin. Just as she ordered up, a solid three wood left a pitching wedge approach that went long and left me with a par putt that burned the edge for my thrid bogey in a row. Hey, even Tiger had three bogeys in a row on his back nine Sunday! Not to be discouraged, we were playing golf on the edge of the world, with perfect weather, great company and views that rival anything out there.
The closing hole is a dogleg left then right with the green set well below you. The tee shot demands that you don't go too long if you play to the right, so I took the 5 wood out and kept it down the left setting up an 8 iron approach. Once again we had teamed up to choose the right club and it was tracking right for the pin. When we reached the green it had settled a bit past the hole leaving 20' straight downhill which we made quick work of and called it a round. 40, 87
I hope I haven't bored you with this telling of our adventure on this wonderful day, I just felt that a round at a place like this deserves the full treatment. Also, with my obsession for reading about golf (see Mark Frost: The Greatest Game Ever Played and Grand Slam) I wanted to try my hand at rehashing my round the best I could. Thanks for sticking with me on this one and please feel free to leave your comments below.
Special thanks here to Michelle, who in spite of her ear infection walked the whole 18 and never refused to give a yardage or read a putt.
Evan Gilbert
1 comment:
Brilliant man, I felt like I was playing the course.
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