The Yardage Book Podcast (Charlie Mercer)

Hello and welcome to the Yardage Book Podcast! In our first episode we have a great conversation with Leo Barber. Leo is the General Manager and Superintendent of Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, just a 40 minute drive from Wellington.  Paraparaumu is universally considered one of New Zealand's best courses, and one of the best links courses in the southern hemisphere. 

In this episode we talk Leo's Career, we talk in detail about the ever changing landscape of golf courses in NZ, and much more!

Hello and welcome back! For our second episode we talk Royal Wellington with Tony Sharp. Tony is the Golf Operations Manager at the challenging parkland layout. We talk Tony's background, the course, facilities, and plenty more.

Had a great chat with Luke Toomey discussing his journey in golf, his recent dabble in course vlogs with Taco golf and primarily his eclectic 18. Note we were a bit loose with the eclectic 18 rules as we included more than 1 hole per course. Hope you all get amongst!!

Michael Goldstein joins me on the latest episode of The Yardage Book Podcast. Michael famously played a different golf course everyday for a year in 2010. He has a wealth of knowledge on all things golf and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. Give it a hoon 

We are back!! In one of our most interesting podcasts to date I talk to Jim Rohrstaff - the managing director at Te Arai links and one of main drivers behind Tara Iti. Jim talks the two new courses, the facilities at Te Arai, his personal favourite holes and more! 

Welcome all to another episode of the Yardage Book Podcast. We had a great conversation with Tom Long, the Director of Golf at The Kinloch Club, widely regarded as the toughest course in the country. Tom and I cover some good insight into the course, some of his favourite holes and much more. Crack into it

Welcome back to another Episode of The Yardage Book Podcast! In this episode we have a great discussion with Ryan Brandeburg. Ryan is one of the busiest people in NZs golf industry! He is a Director of Golf Tourism NZ, Golf Strategy Group, and has been heavily involved with new projects in Muriwai and Queenstown that are currently under construction.  Crack into it!!!

We are back with a very special episode with golf course architect, Tom Doak.  He is the mastermind behind Cape Kidnappers, Tara iti and Te Arai North. Tom was very generous with his time unpacking the background, the challenges and the highlights of all 3 of his amazing projects here in New Zealand. Sit back and crack into it!

We are back with a very special episode! I was fortunate enough to be joined by David Jones (AKA UK Golf Guy). David was very generous with his time and he recapped his recent golf trip to NZ where he discussed everything from Waverley to Tara iti!

Please check out David's website for detailed write ups of his trip and all the other amazing courses he's seen link: https://www.ukgolfguy.com/new-zealand

Enjoy!!

Welcome back to another episode!! Stoked to of had a great sit down with Cam Harlock, 2022 South Island Strokeplay Champion and currently playing Division 1 college golf out of Boston College in Massachusetts. Cam talked about his journey in top level golf, the challenges that Covid presented during the heart of the pandemic, and he also talked in detail about his favourite courses here in NZ. Enjoy!! 

We are back with another episode!! I was fortunate enough to chat with Doug White, the Director of Golf at Titirangi Golf Club. We talked about Doug's role at the club, the history of the course, recent restoration work and much more! Enjoy!!

We are back with another episode! Absolutely stoked to of had a great conversation with Greg Turner. The former Australasian and European tour winner discussed his playing career, his transition into golf course architecture and much more! Enjoy!!!

We are back with another Episode!! Really enjoyed chatting to Golf Course Photographer, Ricky Robinson. We talked about how Ricky got into shooting Golf Courses, some of his favourite courses he's worked with, and a lot about his work at Te Arai links. Enjoy and check out Ricky's IG for a look at his amazing work

We are back with one of the best episodes to date!! 2 time Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Murray joins the pod and talks us through his journey into golf, playing out at Tieke Golf Estate, some of his favourite courses, and much more! Enjoy and get amongst!

Welcome back! I'm really excited to share my recent interview with Ray Geffre. Ray is the Director of Golf at Cape Kidnappers and Kauri Cliffs. Ray had some fantastic insight into these two amazing courses, a bit about his career progression to this point and much more! Let's crack into it 

Welcome back!! Really excited to share this recent interview with Michael Wolf!
Michael is an author, sports agent and golfing history enthusiast. Michael is also well known for his involvement in No Laying Up's 'Office Hours' series. 

Michael has recently visited NZ to play many courses in our North Island, which had incredible variety, as detailed in our conversation. Enjoy!!

Michael's recent book - The Golf Courses of Seth Raynor - can be found here: https://back9press.com/pages/raynor

We are back with another episode! I was fortunate enough to catch up with Ben O'keeffe lately to chat about his journey into golf, his favourite courses around the world, and how golf is a welcome release from the high pressure of refereeing. Get amongst and enjoy!

Welcome back to another episode! I am stoked to be able to share my recent conversation with Matt Mollica! Matt is the co-founder of  the 'Australian Golf Passport' Podcast alongside Scott Warren. He has a rich passion for golf in Melbourne, and he has also been featured in No Laying Up's Tourist Sauce seasons in Australia. 

I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Matt, and I would encourage anyone with any interest on Aussie golf and golf courses to check out Australian Golf Passport.

I hope you enjoy

We are back with another Episode! Really excited to share my recent interview with Sam Keats! Sam is the course superintendent at Royal Wellington Golf Club. He's also done stints at Merion, Paraparaumu Beach, and Tara Iti. Was awesome to discuss Sam's career and his vision for Royal Wellington. Enjoy! 

Welcome Back! Really excited to share my recent conversation with Luke Kwon. Luke is currently in the midst of releasing his latest NZ based content with some great videos already released at Te Arai (North and South), Tieke and many more on the horizon. Was great to talk with Luke about his time spent in NZ growing up, the genesis behind wanting to make videos here in NZ and much more. Get amongst 

P.S. This was recorded before Luke announced his departure from Good Good

Lukes Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LukeKwonGolf

Welcome back! Really excited to share my recent conversation with Steve MacDonald. Steve has had a fascinating career in golf so far. He has been the Caddy Master at Tara Iti Golf club, as well as holding a long term caddying role at National Golf Links of America. Steve had many fantastic stories about his career in golf, and gave some amazing insight into what makes a good caddy, and the challenge of setting up the biggest caddying programme in NZ. Enjoy!

Welcome Back! Really excited to share this Episode with Leo Barber (GM and Superintendent at Paraparaumu Beach GC) , who has recently got back from an amazing trip to the Masters. It was fascinating hearing Leo's take on Augusta, the spectator experience, and how the tournament unfolded. Get amongst! 

Welcome Back! Have a great interview lined up this week with Simon Holt. Simon is the former CEO of Top100 golf courses, and has recently taken up a leadership position at 8AM Golf, heading up there golf tourism division. He was also the first Brit to play every course in the top 100.  I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to Simon about his time playing Golf in NZ, and found his thoughts on our golfing landscape to be particularly insightful. Enjoy! 

Welcome back to another episode! This week I was fortunate enough to talk with Mike Clayton. Mike is an ex-tour professional, and current golf course architect. We talked about his memories and impressions of playing golf in NZ, and talked in detail about 7 Mile Beach and what Mike's expectations on how 7 Mile, and how it will change the golfing landscape in Tasmania. Crack into it!!

Hello and Welcome back! I'm really excited to share this week's interview with Erik Anders Lang. Who had an amazing visit to NZ in 2019, and shot some pretty incredible videos at some of our best courses. I had a blast chatting with Erik and I hope you all enjoy!

Hello, and welcome back! I'm really excited to share this weeks interview with Clyde Johnson. Clyde is a Golf Course architect who has worked on courses such as Titrangi, Tara Iti, and Te Arai North in NZ, and many others around the world such as St Patrick's Links and Woodhall Spa. I really enjoyed chatting with Clyde about his time working in NZ and we also discuss what lies beyond the horizon for his career moving forwards. 
Enjoy!

Hello and welcome back! Really stoked to be able to share my recent conversation with Gary Lane.

Gary is the owner of Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary. He gave some amazing insight into how he came to own the course, how he turned it into a world-leading conservation facility, and much more!

Note for the first few minutes I got to some Q+A questions sent in over the week. Interview with Gary starts at 9:14

Enjoy!

Welcome back to another episode! Really excited to share my recent conversation with Mitchell Newport, Assistant Professional at Millbrook in Queenstown NZ. We chatted about the 2 championship courses on site, a bit about Mitch and how he ended up down at Millbrook and much more - Crack into it!!

Hello and Welcome back! Really stoked to share this episode with Ed Chapman - The CEO of Royal Auckland and The Grange GC here in NZ. Ed and I chatted about his career so far, the 3 nines on site, a history of the facility and much more. Crack into it!

Welcome Back! I'm really excited to debut our new series. '4 Day Weekend' which is looking at the best 4 day/4 course golf trips New Zealand has to offer! To kick things off Mat Perry is running us through the mighty Waikato region. 

Mat is the founder of Golf in New Zealand which is a golf tourism company aiming to showcase NZ's best courses to international visitors. He is a professional golfer, and notably represented New Zealand in the Eisenhower Trophy. 

Below is a link to his website: 

https://www.golfinnewzealand.nz

Welcome back! We have a great episode lined up today, breaking down the voting for the first 9 of our eclectic 18 voting! I was joined by Mitch Powell who has jumped aboard the YB team to help tidy up the socials and talk golf! Enjoy and join us next week for part 2 - The back 9 

Welcome Back! Really pleased to have Luke Toomey back on the podcast this week to discuss his recent trip to Australia with Luke Kwon, Taco golf and Sam Heung-Min. Luke and I also discussed his NZ open performance earlier in the year and his transition into coaching and content creation. Get amongst!!

Welcome Back! I am stoked to have Jim Rohrstaff back on the podcast! Jim is the Managing Director and co-owner of Te Arai Links, and has recently negotiated a new partnership with The Hills GC near Arrowtown. It was great to catch up with Jim to hear about all the latest news at Te Arai links, the details of this new deal and much more! Enjoy 

Welcome Back! It was a privilege to talk with Michael Campbell earlier this week. He talked in detail about his humble beginnings in the game, early life on tour, holding the 54-hole lead at the 1995 Open Championship, and he talked in depth about his historic win at Pinehurst to clinch the 2005 US open. Enjoy!

We are back! Excited to unpack the back 9 of our eclectic 18 voting with Yardage Book contributor Mitch Powell. We unpack the holes that placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd from holes 10-18, that were voted upon by the listeners and followers of The Yardage Book. We also recapped the process and answered a few listener questions. Enjoy!

Welcome back! Stoked to share this weeks episode with Jay Blasi. Jay is a golf course architect based out of California, who came to NZ earlier in 2024 for an amazing golf trip around our North Island. It was great to get Jay's thoughts on our golf here in NZ, and it was great to get a sense of his enthusiasm for New Zealand's golfing landscape. Enjoy!

Jay's Website - http://www.jayblasi.com

Hello and Welcome Back! I am stoked to share this weeks interview with Mac Boucher. Mac is a former golf professional, content creator and shot shaping genius. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Mac about his time in NZ, favourite courses, his favourite shots to hit and much more. Enjoy  

Welcome Back! Really excited to share this week's episode with Sam Heung Min. Sam is a professional golfer, who had a pretty decorated junior and amateur career including taking the under 19 NZ Amateur in 2011. Sam has recently transitioned into content creation alongside Taco, Luke Toomey and Luke Kwon. Sam was open about his struggles with the yips, his professional career, and his favourite golf courses around NZ. Enjoy!

Hello and welcome back! I was fortunate to chat with Michael Donaldson last week to discuss the new book "Sweet Spot" which is a book he wrote alongside Phil Hamilton showcasing 36 of New Zealand's best and most interesting golf courses from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South. 

I really enjoyed chatting with Michael about all the things that went into making the book, the selection process, and chatting about NZ's golf landscape as a whole.

The book is available from https://sweetspotgolfbook.com/ and listeners can use code YARDAGE10 for 10% off 

Enjoy!

We are back! I was fortunate enough to sit down with Harry Middleton, who has recently been appointed the Course Superintendent at Muriwai Links. Harry and I chatted about his career so far, the changes he's looking to make at the links, some of his favourite holes and more!

Really Excited to share this weeks episode with world-renowned golf-course photographer, Gary Lisbon. Gary shared his thoughts on his time working with courses in NZ, Australia and around the world. He discussed the impact on drone photography, his latest book (Great Golf Courses of the World) and more!

Link to Gary's website: https://www.golfphotos.com.au/
Link to Gary's book: https://www.greatgolfcoursesoftheworld.com/

Really excited to share this week's episode with Sam Pinfold. Sam is the long-time caddie of 2022 Open Champion, Cameron Smith. It was great to chat with Sam on how he started his career, how he started caddying for Cam, his memories of the 2022 Open and much more. Enjoy!

Hello and Welcome back! Really excited to have Doug White back on the podcast this week. Doug is the Director of Golf at Titirangi Golf Club, and has recently been on a trip to the Monterey Peninsula to attend the MacKenzie Gathering at esteemed Cypress Point Golf Club. Doug broke down courses he visited en route, such as Pasatiempo, and Meadow club. He then talked in great detail about his experience at Cypress Point. Including his favourite holes, thoughts on its architectural brilliance and more. Enjoy

Welcome Back! We are really excited to share this week's episode with Angela Moser. Angela is part of the team at Renaissance Golf Design and has worked on projects here in NZ such as shaping the North Course at Te Arai Links, and helping in the restoration project at Cape Kidnappers. Angela also has recently completed her first Lead Associate role on Pinehurst number 10, which opened earlier this year. I thoroughly enjoyed Angela's insight into her work here in NZ and her thoughts on our golf courses. Enjoy! 

Hello and Welcome to a Bonus episode! I was lucky to sit down recently with Ollie Bradshaw, the founder of the Great New Zealand Tee off. The GNTO is a charitable initiative raising funds through the auctioning of tee times for Movember. Over 150 clubs from around the country have donated tee times and bidding has just begun. Ollie gives us a bit of history behind this years event, talks about the courses involved and much more!

Official Website: https://www.greatnzteeoff.co.nz/

Hello and Welcome Back! After a few weeks away on holiday, I am really excited to release this deep dive podcast on the 2002 NZ Open. The 2002 NZ open is famously known for being the year that Tiger Woods came to play at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club. It was a fascinating event for so many reasons, and I was fortunate to sit down with Allan McKay who was the Pro at PBGC at this time, and was instrumental in securing Tiger for the event. I also include audio from Steve Williams and Leo Barber. Enjoy!!

Link to Legends of The Links - Steve Williams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i-6_4nst2c&t=1s

Hello and Welcome Back! Bit of a nostalgic episode this week as we look back at the highlights from Year 1 of the pod. Thanks to everyone who has got behind the podcast this year and a big shout out to all the guests over the first 45 episodes. Hope you all enjoy

Welcome Back! Really excited to share this week's interview with Michael Glading. Michael is the Tournament Director of the NZ open, which continues to be one of the biggest events in the Australasian golfing calendar. Michael discussed how he got involved with the tournament, how the tournament has evolved through the years, and what lies beyond the horizon for future editions of the tournament. Enjoy!

Hello and Welcome Back. I'm very excited to share this week's interview with NZ caddying legend, Steve Williams. Steve talked in depth about how he got started in caddying back in the 1970s at Paraparaumu Beach, his career caddying for some of the world's best golfers such as Greg Norman, Tiger Woods and Adam Scott, and his thoughts on his favourite courses and holes here in New Zealand. 

I'm also excited to announce our partnership with Angus And Grace Go Golfing. Which is a lifestyle and golf brand based out of Paddington in Sydney. They are making some waves in the wholesale space here in NZ, with products at courses such as Arrowtown GC and Te Arai Links. Listeners can get free shipping to NZ at https://www.angusandgracegogolfing.com using code YARDAGEBOOKNZ at checkout. 

Enjoy 

Welcome Back! After the recent Top 40 NZ Golf Course Rankings prompted a lot of discussion from the followers, I was fortunate to discuss the rankings with the ranking co-ordinator Andrew Whiley. Andrew and I discussed the criteria behind the rankings, the panel of selectors and of course, the final results. Enjoy!

Shoutout to our friends at Angus and Grace Go Golfing - where all listeners can use code YARDAGEBOOKNZ at checkout for Free shipping to NZ

Welcome Back! Mitch and I were very fortunate to head up to the Mangawhai Heads Region last weekend to play Tara Iti and the North Course at Te Arai Links. In this episode we give our thoughts on the weekend, our favourite holes, and how the courses exceeded our already lofty expectations. We thank all the people who made the weekend possible and are truly grateful we were given the opportunity. Enjoy!

Hello and Welcome Back! We are digging in to the grass-roots scene this week! I enlisted the help of Phil Hamilton, as we discussed our picks for the best courses in NZ for a Green Fee of less than $100. Phil is the co-author of the book 'Sweet Spot' which explores the best 36 courses NZ has to offer from top to bottom. Was a very fun exercise and I hope you all enjoy. 

Sweet Spot Website: https://sweetspotgolfbook.com/
Listeners can use code YARDAGE10 for 10% off

Support our partners at Angus and Grace Go Golfing: https://www.angusandgracegogolfing.com/
Use code YARDAGEBOOKNZ for Free Shipping to NZ 

Welcome Back! Was great to have Mitch back on the pod this week to discuss his solo golfing adventure around Ireland earlier this year. Mitch talks us through the courses he visited, the resources he used to plan the trip, and gives advice to any Kiwi looking to visit Ireland in the future. On the back-end we also talked about our golf travel ambitions for 2025. Enjoy!

Welcome Back! I was fortunate to recently sit down with Jasper Miners, who is the Content Editor and World Rankings Lead at Top100golfcourses.com - Jasper is fresh off a recent trip to NZ. Where he played a wide range of courses across the North Island. It was great to get Jasper's thoughts on our golfing landscape and he gave some insight into what lies beyond the horizon for Top100. Enjoy!

Happy New Year! We are back to discuss everything that 2025 hopes to offer on the podcast. Mitch and I chat about the courses and topics we are looking to cover in 2025, reflecting on the pods of 2024 and much more! 

Thanks as always to the team at Angus and Grace Go Golfing - Use Code YARDAGEBOOKNZ at checkout at https://www.angusandgracegogolfing.com/ for free shipping to NZ!

Welcome Back! Really excited to share our first interview for the year with Scott Macpherson. Who is a Kiwi Golf Course Architect and Author. He has been the man behind many interesting projects in NZ such as the 2013 Royal Wellington Redesign, the Coronet Course at Millbrook Resort, and has recently been working on the transformation at Miramar Links in Wellington. Scott had such great insight on how to grow the game and how golf courses play on maintaining this growth. Enjoy!

Scott's website:  https://www.scottmacphersongolfdesign.com/

Thanks to our support from Angus and Grace Go Golfing 

https://www.angusandgracegogolfing.com/

Code YARDAGEBOOKNZ for free shipping to NZ

Welcome Back! This week I was fortunate to sit down with Matt Wallbank AKA The Kiwi Caddy for an interview breaking down his amazing year of golf travel in 2024. Matt visited courses such as Cypress Point, Cal Club, Royal Dornoch and Sunningdale to name a few! Matt gave some great insight into how this trip was planned, and also talked about some of the domestic golf travel he is looking to line up in 2025. I want to thank Matt for his time and would encourage everyone to check out all the course write-ups from his trip here: https://www.thekiwicaddy.com/the2024escape

Thanks to our support from Angus and Grace Go Golfing 

https://www.angusandgracegogolfing.com/

Code YARDAGEBOOKNZ for free shipping to NZ

Welcome back! After a few weeks break we have a very special guest for this weeks pod. Phil Tataurangi was very generous with his time to talk over his career in golf. Phil ran us through how he got starting in the game, winning the 92 Eisenhower trophy, and of course his victory in 2002 which gave him access into the 2003 Masters. Phil also talked his career in broadcasting and in course design with his work at Windross Farm and Tieke. Enjoy 

Hello and Welcome Back! We are wading into the unchartered waters of the professional game this week as we preview this week's NZ Open. So many fascinating storylines heading in, with home heroes Daniel Hillier, Sam Jones and Michael Hendry (and many more) flying the NZ flag this week. Plus a great collection of international stars lead by Australian, Lucas Herbert. I was fortunate to be joined by amateur golfing sensation, Cooper Moore. Who is teeing it up this week at the age of 16! It was great to hear his thoughts heading into his first NZ Open. We are looking forward to a great event this week at Millbrook Resort and can't wait for it to get started. Enjoy!

Hello and Welcome Back!

I was thrilled to be able to chat with Reece Haspell recently to discuss his pretty remarkable career so far. Reece has been working as a shaper for Gil Hanse at many interesting places, most recently on the re-design at Royal Sydney which is just about to re-open. Reece has spent a bit of time in NZ over the last year and it was great to get his impressions on some of the courses he has visited, and he gave some great insight on the work that is just beginning at Hogan's Gully which is a new course just outside of Arrowtown here in NZ. 

Enjoy!

Welcome Back!

I was fortunate to sit down earlier in the week with Rick Moe, AKA Rick Golfs. Rick is one of the most prominent contributors to the golf travel space on X/Twitter and it was a great pleasure to get his thoughts on the courses he visited on our North Island here in NZ. Rick visited courses such as Pio Pio Aria, all the way through to our big named courses including Tara Iti. 

Check out Rick here https://x.com/Top100Rick

Welcome Back! We promised that 2025 would see us diving into the more grass-roots elements of our golfing culture, and I am stoked to share this weekend's episode where we are diving into Hokitika GC with course conveyor, Don Hibbs. Don gave some great insight into the history of the club, how the course survives through generous volunteers like himself, and he unpacked the golfing options that the west coast has to offer. Enjoy!

We are back, and very much continuing on our recent mission of unpacking the grass-roots and club aspects of New Zealand Golf. This week Mitch and I sat down to discuss the recent submission from the listeners on the best golf trips that NZ has to offer for a green fee budget of $400 and below. 

We had many great suggestions from the listeners, which spanned the length of the country. Mitch and I broke down the green fee prices in each region and total driving time between the courses to try and uncover the best trip for the listeners in this more affordable price range. 

Thanks to all those who submitted suggestions and we hope you enjoy!

Hello and Welcome back

We are back this week and looking to explore golf through a slightly different lens! I was fortunate to chat with John Irving earlier this week, to explore his amazing work at many of the buildings at Te Arai links. John ran through projects such as the main clubhouse, Ric's Bunker bar and many more

I'd like to thank John for his time and his website can be found below

https://www.studiojohnirving.com/

Enjoy!

Hello and Welcome Back!

I was fortunate to chat with Tim Sudmann from Cheeky Golf Club recently about his whirlwind challenge of playing golf everyday until he made 18 pars in a row. Tim chatted about how the idea was conceived, some of the challenges he faced along the way and the thrill of starting a media business with his two brothers! Tim is half-kiwi and he spent a good chunk of the recent NZ summer here and gave this thoughts on all the courses he played while visiting. Enjoy!

Check out then Cheeky Golf Club website below

https://cheekygolfclub.com/