Taupo Golf Club (Tauhara)

Overview: Taupo Golf Club’s Tauhara Course is the shorter of the club’s two eighteen-hole layouts, with a parkland character shaped by Taupō’s volcanic surroundings. Current club information lists the course at 5,645 metres and describes it as well suited to social, corporate and junior golf while still offering a complete round. Its shorter scale does not remove the strategic interest: the volcanic ground, trees and changing lies keep the player engaged from the opening tee.

History: Tauhara began as a nine-hole course in 1928 and was extended to eighteen holes in 1954. Club professional E. Southerden designed the second nine, building on the early course created by local volunteers. The layout is therefore the older half of Taupo’s two-course story, a course that grew from a small community project into one of the club’s established full-length routings.

Did You Know? Nine of Tauhara’s current holes occupy land associated with Taupo’s early experimental farming block, where local organisers tested whether grass could grow successfully on pumice. The experiment worked, and the same volcanic ground later became the foundation for a long-running golf course.