Whakatane Golf Club: Sheltered from and out of sight of the sea, Whakatane feels and looks more like a parkland layout than a traditional links course - you'll see farmland views rather than sea views from the course. The terrain is very gently undulating, easy walking, with a nice variety of trees and flowers adorning the course - the trees never too dense to make ball-finding difficult. The combination of taller, more mature trees on the back nine, and a more interesting layout gives the back nine the edge over the front in terms of golfing interest and challenge - even though it is a par-34 to the front nine's 36. Straight hitting would definitely help your scoring here, with the first five holes all gun-barrel straight, and several later holes as well. Greenkeeping is generally very good, the greens even-paced and not too slopey, with good bunkering around them.