Latest news with #TakapunaGolfClub
RNZ News
07-07-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Supporters holding out hope for Takapuna Golf Course
A popular North Shore golf course is holding out hope it can survive council plans to turn it into a flood catchment. Auckland Council has confirmed the Takapuna Golf Course will become a permanent wetland that has the capacity to soak up more than half a million litres of water or the equivialent of 220 olympic size swiming pools in a flood. Supporters of the course have strongly opposed the plan and offered up alternative solutions. However, today the council confirmed that 18 hole golf course is no longer possible and it can't guarantee a nine hole course, that's up to the local board to decide. Spokesperson for Takapuna Golf Club Phil Jaggard spoke to Lisa Owen. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Auckland Council plan to use Takapuna Golf Course to prevent flooding risks 'hurts the game'
Ryan Fox of New Zealand lifts the championship trophy after winning the Canadian Open, 2025. Photo: Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox is lending his support to the campaign to save the Takapuna Golf Course on Auckland's North Shore, saying it is a true community asset. Auckland Council was proposing converting half the course into a flood catchment and recreational area to to deal with potential flooding, after the area suffered badly in the 2023 Auckland Anniversary storm. Council head of sustainable partnerships Tom Mansell said in a statement earlier this year that a wide range of flood mitigation options had been considered. "A comprehensive range of interventions have been considered with the goal of delivering maximum flood reduction benefits in both the short and long-term. One of the proposed options includes developing AF Thomas Park, the site of the Takapuna golf course, into a recreational flood storage wetland." The proposal was to use the land to capture about 550,000 litres of water during a storm, reducing the flood risk to 10 hectares of homes, nearby schools and North Shore Hospital. The council was also working with Takapuna Golf Club to assess an alternative proposal, which would retain the 18-hole golf course while also acting as a flood catchment. New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox said public, cheap golf courses such as Takapuna's were critical to the sport. "You can literally just rock up at Takapuna, pay a green fee and go and play. If you go with a family, if you compare it to going to a rugby game or whatever it's a pretty comparable cost in that respect for four hours of family fun at a public golf course. "New Zealand is considered really, really cheap for golf and if we lose a place like Takapuna we lose some of that, and I think it hurts the game a lot recreationally." Fox was backing the golf club's alternative proposal to retain the golf course while also acting as a flood catchment, as was Golf NZ. If Auckland Council's plan goes ahead, this 10th tee would no longer exist Photo: Davina Zimmer Golf NZ chief executive Jeff Latch said converting half of the course into a stormwater reservoir would be a missed opportunity. "Golf in New Zealand is on an absolute high - the growth that's taken place in terms of golf club membership has been 50 percent in the last five years. If you think about that for a mature sport like golf, that is just colossal growth. "Auckland's got a real issue - there's this massive growth in demand and people wanting to play golf but we don't have enough golf courses, and so public golf courses like Takapuna are absolutely critical to enable golfers to actually go out and have a hit." In a statement, Auckland Council said it would not prioritise golf enthusiasts over the need to protect people's lives and properties from extreme flooding. It said the golf club's alternative proposal was unfeasible due to cost and maintenance factors. The council was now assessing Takapuna Golf Club's revised design and said it should be closer to a decision in the next couple of weeks. Construction on any approved plan for the flood catchment at the golf course was not expected to begin until 2027. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
28-06-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Ryan Fox, Auckland MPs support proposal to retain Takapuna Golf Club while resolving flood vulnerability
Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox has thrown his support behind saving Auckland's Takapuna Golf Club, saying the facility provides great service to the sport in New Zealand. The two-time PGA Tour winner says the club provides affordable access to the game for people who would not have the chance to play
RNZ News
23-06-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Golf NZ rejects council plan to halve Takapuna course for use as flood catchment
The 10th tee at the Takapuna Golf Course. Photo: Davina Zimmer Golf NZ says converting half of a prominent Auckland golf course into a stormwater reservoir would be a missed opportunity. Auckland Council was in the early stages of comparing two plans to incorporate a flood catchment into the Takapuna Golf Course, including its proposal to convert half of the course into a flood catchment and recreational area. The council's proposal was to use the land to capture about 550,000 litres of water during a storm, reducing the flood risk to 10 hectares of homes, nearby schools and North Shore Hospital. Council was working with Takapuna Golf Club to assess the feasibility of an alternative proposal for flood catchment that would retain the 18-hole golf course. The Wairau catchment was one of the most severely flooded areas during the 2023 Auckland Anniversary floods and two lives were lost in the area. More than 100 homes in the nearby suburb Milford have so far been condemned due to the flooding as part of the council's buy-out scheme - the most of any suburb in Auckland. Golf NZ chief executive Jeff Latch was not in favour of converting half of the golf course into a stormwater reservoir. Golf NZ chief executive Jeff Latch does not want half of Takapuna Golf Course to be converted into a stormwater reservoir. Photo: Supplied "Golf in New Zealand is on an absolute high, the growth that's taken place in terms of golf club membership has been 50 percent in the last five years. "If you think about that for a mature sport like golf, that is just colossal growth," he said. "Auckland's got a real issue, there's this massive growth in demand and people wanting to play golf but we don't have enough golf courses and so public golf courses like Takapuna are absolutely critical to enable golfers to actually go out and have a hit." Latch said Golf NZ was backing an alternative proposal to keep all of the course's 18 holes but use some of the land for dry-basin flood management. "We absolutely need a solution here that enables the golf course to stay and for the flood protection issue to be addressed, and we believe there is a solution that does both of those things. "By redesigning the existing course there's the opportunity to preserve Takapuna as an 18-hole golf course while also providing the area required for flood protection." He said cutting the course in half would be wasting a valuable asset. "From a golfing perspective [it would be] incredibly detrimental to enabling people in Auckland to play the game they love. "As the population of Auckland continues to grow, land is obviously at a real premium and particularly land for recreational facilities. So green spaces like the Takapuna Golf Course are absolutely critical for the future." "I think as a green space in Auckland where we're really pushed for land it's critical that it's maintained." Harbour Sport chief executive Mike Bishop agreed the North Shore needed more golf facilities, not fewer. "This is a public course with reasonable fees that anyone can book. During weekends and evenings, you'll see people walking the course just for exercise, it's a public asset with significant community value and we cannot lose it. "During Covid this space was a lifeline for physical activity. It's a green area used by thousands every month." Council was still considering the feasibility of the two options and construction on any approved plan for the flood catchment at the golf course was not expected to begin until 2027. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
