Popularly known as Otatara Links to the locals, the Invercargill Golf Club course is uniquely set in the southernmost city of New Zealand- Invercargill, and it was established in 1922. A short entrance drive will lead you to a gravelled parking bay. There is an aging clubhouse, and well catered for pine trees that will dominate your first impression. With superb landforms, the place is clearly suited for this great game: golf.

The course has 18 holes and is set on a relatively flat terrain that is easy to walk on. An odd phenomenon for a suburb golf course of this vintage, there are quite large corridors between the holes. Strategic removal of trees would preserve and enhance the woodland nature of the place and create some impressive longer holes too. Between the adjacent holes in places, you will find 40- to 50-metre spaces as well as dozens of evergreen towering pines. There is no doubt that shorter gambling holes would immensely benefit if selective trees are removed. Of course, not all the holes are affected by vegetation. Those unaffected include the par five 8th and the par three 4th.

You can walk around the golf course at any time of the day. Tired of walking? You can hire a golf cart; they are there in plenty. Whether you’re visiting the place on a weekend or a weekday, it is recommended that you book ahead of time; you just don’t want to miss a thing; tee-time, blah-blah.

The Invercargill Golf Club course is a solid ground for any golf enthusiast; no doubt. This natural ground is excellent and deserves to produce New Zealand’s finest golfers. However, there is still room for improvement. If the club can put in place a proper tree management program, then the sky is the limit.