Clearwater Golf Resort

Not far from Christchurch airport is one of New Zealand's finest courses. It has a great balance of difficulty in a beautiful setting.

Clearwater is more enjoyable in light (or no) wind. It's a course that is achievable for the average golfer playing on the white tees (I shot 47 on the front 9 & 52 on the back after losing 5 balls in the water).

Play sensible shots that avoid trouble and you will be rewarded. The par 5's are achievable if played with 3 up the middle. The par 3's all play across water, so take an extra club to ensure you carry the water.

Enjoy the great facilities at the club house afterwards. The pro shop is well stocked and the Course Marshall will sell you drinks & nibbles on the course.

Check out their website & pay attention to the strict dress code at www.clearwaternz.com

How to drop 16 strokes

On Friday I played a round of golf and scored 110 gross. On Sunday I shot 94 gross.

What do I credit the difference with? My top 2 inches.

I played smarter shots. I was confident with my pitches. I took care over the putts. I thought about my tee shots. I often took 2 irons to get to the green rather than pushing the limits with my woods.

Hopefully I can continue to play smarter!

The best golf course in the world

England's Daily Telegraph has rated Cape Kidnapper's the best golf course in the world.

Having played this course I can understand why. It is set in an amazing cliff-top location with dramatic views of the east coast.

From the moment I arrived at the gate and drove up the sweeping driveway, I knew this was going to be a special day.

The club house was opulent & the pro shop had everything required. The practice range had courtesy balls piled in pyramids for players to warm up. The practice green gave me a taste of the incredible greens.

We were given some tips for putting:

• Light green is fast.
• Dark green is slow.
• The ball tends to roll towards Napier's port.

We were advised to play from the green tees if we wanted to enjoy our round & this turned out to be good advice for all but the top golfers.

The course itself was challenging and rewarding. If you ever get a chance, make sure you play this amazing course.

My favourite ball

I have recently invested in some new balls - Maxfli Revolution Distance.

I've been impressed that they do actually go straighter & less likely to spin sideways on landing.

My handicap has dropped to 21.7 and I credit this to a few changes including my new Maxfli balls, so i went out & bought 3 dozen which will hopefully last a few rounds if I don't lose them!