Reporoa (Waiotapu Valley)

Reporoa Golf Club got its start in 1960, the story goes, from an idea hatched over beer between local farmers and a tavern publican. Originally called Waiotapu Valley Golf Club and built on rough land opposite thermal pools and the Waiotapu Tavern, it later moved south to its present site near Reporoa township. The course runs across flat farmland dotted with big stands of trees and gullies, and hole 10 - a par 5 nicknamed "the donga" - crosses a 30-metre-deep ravine that catches plenty of golf balls. Sheep have historically doubled as the club's groundskeepers.