Tournament: ISPS Handa New Zealand Open, Clearwater GC, Christchurch
Date: Feb 8th - 10th 2013
We had an early start on Monday 4th, a 90 minute train to Brisbane to catch our flight to Christchurch.
This week I was in Private Housing, where members of the club volunteer to look after some of the players. I stayed with a lovely couple, Martin and Lucy, who had recently moved into their new house on Clearwater Golf Course. They made me feel so welcome, I had my own ensuite room, they cooked me the most wonderful dinners, baked me scrumptious cakes and spoiled me rotten. I felt like the Queen! I didn't want to leave.
The golf course was great too, it reminded me a lot of home. The greens were more like what I'm used to so I found it easier to visualise chips and putts. They tend to get strong winds at Clearwater, which makes it a good test.
On Thursday, after a bit of practice, Sahra and I decided to go for a bike ride up to the river, it was very picturesque. We were cycling for about 90 mins on a route that was supposed to take 50 mins! Needless to say, we got a bit lost, finding ourselves at the other end of the golf course on some guys farm! Oops!
During the first round the wind was very strong, sometimes a 3 club wind. It was a real battle and it took me 9 holes to find any momentum, which was a shame. It's hard work when you don't make any birdies! I certainly had my work cut out for round 2.
That afternoon, I had arranged to meet up with my Great Aunt and 2nd cousins, I hadn't seen them in 12 years! It was amazing to see them all, and great to be able to spend time catching up and reminiscing.
Round 2 I played much better, I hit more greens and finally after 27 holes of trying, found my 1st birdie! Martin and Lucy were my #1 fans all week, so it was nice to give them something to cheer about.
Another Sunday off gave me the opportunity to work more on my game. I was a little dejected that I hadn't managed to get a result from the last 2 weeks. I had one more chance to get something out of the trip and I was determined to take it.
Before leaving Christchurch, I was keen to see the effect the earthquake had had on the city. My hosts were kind enough to give me a tour. It was quite hard hitting to see the disruption and a lot of the streets were still closed off. Many houses were derelict and were soon to be demolished. There were sad reminders of that day nearly everywhere you looked. It was eerily quiet and made you feel quite unsettled. However, it was amazing to see the way they had built a temporary shopping centre out of hundreds of different coloured containers, it was really creative and inspiring.
I had an absolutely awesome time in NZ, it's such a beautiful place. One of my favourite weeks on tour so far. It was sad to leave my hosts, but I shall definitely look forward to returning.
Date: Feb 8th - 10th 2013
We had an early start on Monday 4th, a 90 minute train to Brisbane to catch our flight to Christchurch.
This week I was in Private Housing, where members of the club volunteer to look after some of the players. I stayed with a lovely couple, Martin and Lucy, who had recently moved into their new house on Clearwater Golf Course. They made me feel so welcome, I had my own ensuite room, they cooked me the most wonderful dinners, baked me scrumptious cakes and spoiled me rotten. I felt like the Queen! I didn't want to leave.
The golf course was great too, it reminded me a lot of home. The greens were more like what I'm used to so I found it easier to visualise chips and putts. They tend to get strong winds at Clearwater, which makes it a good test.
On Thursday, after a bit of practice, Sahra and I decided to go for a bike ride up to the river, it was very picturesque. We were cycling for about 90 mins on a route that was supposed to take 50 mins! Needless to say, we got a bit lost, finding ourselves at the other end of the golf course on some guys farm! Oops!
During the first round the wind was very strong, sometimes a 3 club wind. It was a real battle and it took me 9 holes to find any momentum, which was a shame. It's hard work when you don't make any birdies! I certainly had my work cut out for round 2.
That afternoon, I had arranged to meet up with my Great Aunt and 2nd cousins, I hadn't seen them in 12 years! It was amazing to see them all, and great to be able to spend time catching up and reminiscing.
Round 2 I played much better, I hit more greens and finally after 27 holes of trying, found my 1st birdie! Martin and Lucy were my #1 fans all week, so it was nice to give them something to cheer about.
Another Sunday off gave me the opportunity to work more on my game. I was a little dejected that I hadn't managed to get a result from the last 2 weeks. I had one more chance to get something out of the trip and I was determined to take it.
Before leaving Christchurch, I was keen to see the effect the earthquake had had on the city. My hosts were kind enough to give me a tour. It was quite hard hitting to see the disruption and a lot of the streets were still closed off. Many houses were derelict and were soon to be demolished. There were sad reminders of that day nearly everywhere you looked. It was eerily quiet and made you feel quite unsettled. However, it was amazing to see the way they had built a temporary shopping centre out of hundreds of different coloured containers, it was really creative and inspiring.
I had an absolutely awesome time in NZ, it's such a beautiful place. One of my favourite weeks on tour so far. It was sad to leave my hosts, but I shall definitely look forward to returning.
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