Golf NZ rejects plan to halve course to help prevent floods

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 in New Zealand is on an absolute high, the growth that's taken place in terms of golf club membership has been 50% 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.

rnz.co.nz