Hawkes Bay Golf Club

Overview: Hawkes Bay Golf Club, formerly Flaxmere Golf Club, is a parkland course on pumice land near Hastings. The official blue course tour lists an 18-hole par 71 layout measuring 5,587 metres. Its character comes from the contrast between relatively broad, gently undulating ground and the strategic work around 37 bunkers and several water hazards. The result is a course that can look approachable while still demanding careful club selection into the greens.

History: The course was developed in 1968 and 1969 on land that had to be cleared and prepared by an enthusiastic local group. Commander John Harris, whose work also includes Wairakei, was the original designer. The club opened in 1969 and later generations continued the hands-on tradition, including member-led green work and tree planting during the 2017–18 redevelopment period.

Did You Know? The founding volunteers had to pick up pumice and carry water to newly planted trees as the course took shape. That detail says something about the property’s origins: the mature parkland feel seen today was not simply inherited, but gradually built on difficult, free-draining ground by the local golfing community.