Golf is booming in Tauranga, and Omanu Golf Club is making huge changes to better support its present and future members.

“Omanu Golf Club is very busy from 7.30am until 6pm when we are open,” general manager Neil Weber said.

Its clubhouse is undergoing a makeover inspired by the Sir Bob Charles Golf Centre in Christchurch.

The new driving range bays will look over the first tee, but will be available from only 6pm to 10pm after regular play finishes, says general manager Neil Weber. Photo / Tom Eley

The new facilities include six driving range bays that overlook the first tee and will be avaliable from 6pm to 10pm after regular play finishes, a full-length deck, training rooms, a social deck and a new conference room.

“The new conference room will be called the Deakin Room,” Weber said.

Nori and Ken Deakin had bequeathed to the club a large sum of money after their deaths. The couple left no children. Nori died in 2012, and Ken in 2022.

Omanu Golf Club was earmarked for junior golf because the couple, especially Nori, were instrumental in running the junior golf programme in the 1990s, Weber said.

“A lot of juniors almost referred to her as Mum.”

The club hosted the Deakins Cups in honour of the family in October 2023 with plans to make it an annual event.

It had been postponed this year to coincide with the completion of the clubhouse renovations in the first quarter of 2025, Weber said.

The beginning stages of the new Deakin conference room, which will open in the first quarter of 2025. Photo / Tom Eley

All the changes to the club would make the Deakins proud, office administrator Wy Wyatt said.

“They would be like it because we are looking after the kids,” Wyatt said.

The Deakins always looked forward to the future and were never ones to be stuck in the past.

“They were lovely people,” Wyatt said.

Omanu Golf Club Taylor customer relations manager Rose Perrett (left), general manager Neil Weber and office administrator Wy Wyatt. Photo / Tom Eley

To further facilitate junior golf at the club, the club is working with its new customer relations manager, Taylor Rose Perrett, who co-ordinates the new programme.

Perrett, a club member for 10 years, has been in her role for one month. She aims to develop exceptional golfers while fostering life skills in the juniors she leads.

The new facilities will allow junior golfers to practise with cutting-edge TrackMan and PuttView technology.

TrackMan employs dual radar systems to measure ball and clubhead interactions, providing data that helps golfers and instructors understand swing and shot dynamics.

PuttView uses real-time tracking and 3D-mapped greens to help golfers improve their putting by analysing topography, calculating the ideal set-up line, and projecting a swing guide.

“When I was a junior, if I had that technology, I would have stars in my eyes,” Perrett said.

Weber admits sometimes golfers can be somewhat impatient, and growling at kids learning to play the game can have a detrimental effect.

“The kids are only out there trying to do their best.”

Omanu Golf Club is the second busiest in the country, with Papakura Golf Club in first place, according to Weber.

“We had 67,000 rounds of golf played last year.”

Weber said tee times could be booked eight days in advance, and non-members could phone the golf shop to book a game.

“Ring them up and they’ll get you a game.”

Players might not always have a game to themselves and could be paired with others, but Weber prides Omanu on its friendly atmosphere.

“You’ll always be made to feel welcome,” he said.

- SunLive