Gaze in wonder at Tom Doak’s new North Course at Te Arai Links in New Zealand

These photos of the new Tom Doak-designed course at Te Arai Links will leave you dreaming of New Zealand.

Read this story, check out the photos below and then make time to search airfares to New Zealand, because architect Tom Doak’s new North Course at Te Arai Links opened this week.

Doak spent months on the seaside ground about 90 minutes north of Auckland, fashioning a complement to the resort’s highly rated South Course which was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2022. Doak’s routing features seven holes along the Pacific Ocean, with the others flowing into what had been a pine forest on sand dunes high above the beach.

Doak, famous for layouts such as Pacific Dunes at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon and Ballyneal in Colorado among others, also built the ultra-private Tara Iti Golf Club just up the road. By contrast, Te Arai Links offers public-access play as well as private memberships, with private and public play alternating days on the North and South courses.

Doak was hands-on for this project, climbing onto the equipment to shape many of the greens himself during his two-month stay during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. Doak worked with shapers Angela Moser, Clyde Johnson and Brian Slawnik.

“I’m still not that great on the dozer, but I do love it,” Doak said in a media release announcing news of the opening. “Some of the results are pretty wild, like the greens at 7 and 4. Maybe too severe at first glance. But in the end, they looked really cool and we all agreed: Let’s keep that.

“To be honest, for this course to be spoken of equally, alongside the South Course, we felt we had to do more with the golf. This is legitimately great inland terrain – pure sand and dunesy, with big undulations. But we couldn’t rely on that. We agreed that if we’re going to produce something different, we should probably be a bit edgier. The overall shaping, greens and fairways, speak to that, I think.”

Te Arai Links North
No. 11 of the North Course at Te Arai Links in New Zealand (Courtesy of Te Arai Links/Ricky Robinson)

The media release pointed out that Doak created several half-par holes on the 6,931-yard layout.

“At one point, we had the potential of five or six par 5s out there,” Doak said. “The course will play to a par of 71, but the routing does affect difficulty. There are some very strong par 4s on this golf course. Good short ones, too – but some real beasts. The reality is, everything on the North Course remains very close to the ocean. On any given day, each of the 18 holes can play completely differently depending on wind direction. That’s what golf by the sea is all about.”

Doak and the construction team also discovered, preserved and showcased a former Māori fort, a defensive fortification known as a pa, between the fifth tee and sixth green. It’s all part of an effort to make the property have as much of a New Zealand feel as possible.

There are further expansions planned for the resort as well. The members-only Bunker Bar, Ocean Restaurant, North Clubhouse and remaining luxury accommodations are on schedule to be completed by October 2024. The Ocean Restaurant at the South Course will open at the same time. Along with the South Course and its clubhouse, the resort’s Ric’s Pizza Barn and the gigantic putting course named The Playground have been open for a year. The property’s luxurious two-bedroom cottages and suites are set well back in the dunes.

International green fees range from $400 to $650 depending on season, as posted on the resort’s website. Second rounds played on the same day have the fee reduced by half. There are discounted fees for New Zealand residents.

“It’s honestly a dream come true, for our entire team to have all 36 holes in play,” Te Arai Links managing partner Jim Rohrstaff said in the media release. “Tom Doak and Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have each done such incredible jobs designing these two golf courses. Their work has exceeded our expectations. Yet we’re equally proud of the casual, inclusive vibe that prevails here. We wanted Te Arai Links to feel different – to welcome and engage traveling golfers but also non-golfers, spouses and kids. It really does, and that’s rare.”

Check out several photos of the North Course, taken by Ricky Robinson, below.

Watch: Kayak angler at center of epic battle between shark, seal

A kayak angler on Sunday found himself in the middle of an epic battle between a relentless shark and frightened seal off New Zealand’s Eastern Cape.

A kayak angler on Sunday found himself in the middle of a frenetic battle between a relentless shark and frightened seal off New Zealand’s Eastern Cape.

Greg Potter was so close to the action, which he captured on video, that the shark rammed his 12-foot kayak twice as the seal attempted to use the vessel as cover.

“If it had managed to get me out of the kayak, that that could have been a pretty disastrous ending,” Potter told the New Zealand Herald. “I was dressed in full black. I can only imagine what the shark would have made of my legs thrashing around.”

Potter pedaled his kayak closer after spotting a disturbance in the distance. He soon discovered that he was witnessing a predation attempt by what he described as a young white shark.

“I’ve got a juvenile great white shark chasing a seal out here,” he says in the footage. “It’s unreal.”

The shark seemed unable to immobilize the seal during a chase that lasted more than a minute.

It was not clear if the seal ultimately escaped because Potter smartly pedaled away after the shark began to bump his his kayak.

“When the seal hid under the kayak, the shark came crashing up from underneath and smashed into the bottom of the kayak,” Potter said. “Then they did another few laps around the kayak, and then a second time, the shark again smashed the underside of the kayak.”

As for the shark species, we reached out to California-based white shark expert Chris Lowe and after viewing the footage he doubted it was a white shark.

“There are no black tips on the ventral side of the pectoral fins,” said Lowe, who runs the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach. “It’s kind of hard to see from the video, but from the frames I stopped I couldn’t see distinct black on ventral side of the pects and the body seems pretty thin.”

Regardless, it was a harrowing encounter for Potter, who had been fishing six miles beyond Waihau Bay.

–Image is a video screen grab

The five biggest disappointments of the 2023 Women’s World Cup

Several teams expected to go on deep runs were instead bounced early from the tournament

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has provided fans with plenty of intrigue, giving everyone a reason to tune in at every turn. Whether it was a major upset or a down-to-the-wire finish, almost every game has featured something that every soccer fan could enjoy. It’s part of the reason this World Cup has been so entertaining.

But when there are upsets and close finishes, it also means that some teams inevitably underperform and fail to meet expectations. And while that may be entertaining for the common fan, it’s a massive disappointment for fans of that nation — and there were plenty of teams who fell under this category this year.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five biggest disappointments of this year’s World Cup.

The five most shocking results of the 2023 World Cup (so far)

The World Cup has already seen its share of stunners as we get ready for the quarterfinals

The knockout stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is officially underway, and the tournament is down to eight teams. It’s been a wild ride to get here thus far, with the two top teams (according to the world rankings) having already been eliminated – Germany in the group stage and the United States in the first round of knockouts.

Needless to say, this World Cup has enjoyed its fair share of shocking results, which always makes for great television. It’s always more fun to root for the underdog (unless you’re a fan of the team that’s expected to win).

So, as there are no games to recap today, let’s take a look at five of the most shocking results of the tournament thus far.

2023 Women’s World Cup Day 11 Recap: Colombia stuns Germany

Colombia scored a 97th-minute winner to produce one of the shocks of the tournament so far

There was plenty of action on Day 11 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, as the first group completed its matches and another was shaken up by a huge upset. There were four games on Day 11: South Korea took on Morocco, Norway faced off against the Philippines, Switzerland played New Zealand, and Germany battled against Colombia.

But before we get into the games, here’s your daily reminder that you can keep up with the entire World Cup right here at Pro Soccer Wire! You can get the full TV/streaming schedule, an updated list of the group stage standings, and the rankings in this year’s race for the Golden Boot.

Now, let’s see how the games played out.

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Day 6 Recap: Philippines makes history

The Philippines stunned host nation New Zealand to notch its first ever World Cup win

Another day, another slate of 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup action to unpack. We had three games on Day 6, all of which came with their fair share of intrigue. Colombia faced off against the Korea Republic, New Zealand took on the Philippines, and Switzerland battled it out against Norway.

But as always, before we get into the games, this is your reminder that you can follow the entirety of the World Cup right here at Pro Soccer Wire! Check out the TV/streaming schedule, the updated list of the group stage standings, and the race for the Golden Boot.

Let’s get into the action.

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Day 1 Recap: Host countries get it done

Day 1 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has come and gone, and the host countries took care of business.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is officially underway! The ninth edition of the event, which is being hosted in Australia and New Zealand, got started on Thursday. Both host nations helped kickstart the event, with New Zealand facing off against Norway and Australia taking on the Republic of Ireland.

A quick reminder before we get into the games, you can keep up with the entire World Cup right here at Pro Soccer Wire! You can find the TV/streaming schedule, an updated list of the group stage standings, and the race for the Golden Boot here at all times.

Now, let’s get into the action from Day 1.

Three dead in Auckland shooting on day of Women’s World Cup opener

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said that the tournament would proceed as planned

Three people are dead, including the gunman, after a shooting in downtown Auckland on Thursday, the day the 2023 Women’s World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told the media that a man armed with a “pump-action shotgun” entered a construction site and opened fire, killing two and injuring several others before he was eventually confirmed dead himself.

“Upon reaching the upper levels of the building the man contained himself in an elevator,” Hipkins said. “Shots were fired and he was confirmed dead.”

“Police have contained a serious incident that unfolded at a construction site in Auckland’s CBD this morning,” New Zealand police tweeted. “Multiple injuries have been reported and at this stage we can confirm two people have died. The male offender is also deceased.”

Police said the incident unfolded at around 7:22 a.m., just hours before Auckland was set to host the first game of the World Cup at Eden Park between New Zealand and Norway.

Hipkins said that the tournament would proceed as planned.

“Clearly with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening, there are a lot of eyes on Auckland,” Hipkins said. “The government has spoken to FIFA organizers this morning and the tournament will proceed as planned. I want to reiterate that there is no wider national security threat. This appears to be the action of one individual.”

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told New Zealand public radio RNZ that the shooting was a “dreadful thing to happen in our city at a time when the rest of the world’s watching us over the football.”

U.S. Soccer released a statement shortly after the incident, saying: “All of our players and staff are accounted for and safe. Our security team is in communication with local authorities and we are proceeding with our daily schedule.”

New Zealand Football also released a statement, saying: “New Zealand Football are shocked by the incident in Auckland CBD this morning. We can confirm that all of the Football Ferns team and staff are safe but we will not be able to comment further while details are still emerging.”

“Preparations for the game tonight at Eden Park will continue as planned,” it concluded.

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World Cup 2023: What are the time zone differences in Australia and New Zealand?

A look at the time differences in Australia and New Zealand.

If you’re in the United States and planning to watch the 2023 World Cup over the next few weeks — which, of course you are — one major thing you’ll want to be aware of is the time differences of the host nations.

From the first game on July 20 to the final on August 20, World Cup matches will take place in 10 different stadiums across Australia and New Zealand. And aside from the obvious time difference compared with the U.S., there are also smaller time differences between some of the different venues.

Here’s a quick rundown of those differences, using Eastern Time and Pacific Time as reference points for the four different time zones in which games will occur.

Australian Western Standard Time: Perth Rectangular Stadium (Perth, Australia)

  • 12 hours ahead of ET
  • 15 hours ahead of PT

Australian Central Standard Time: Hindmarsh Stadium (Adelaide, Australia)

  • 13.5 hours ahead of ET
  • 16.5 hours ahead of PT

Australian Eastern Standard Time: Brisbane Stadium (Brisbane, Australia), Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (Melbourne, Australia), Stadium Australia (Sydney, Australia), Sydney Football Stadium (Sydney, Australia)

  • 14 hours ahead of ET
  • 17 hours ahead of PT

New Zealand Standard Time: Dunedin Stadium (Dunedin, New Zealand), Eden Park (Auckland, New Zealand), Waikato Stadium (Hamilton, New Zealand), Wellington Regional Stadium (Wellington, New Zealand)

  • 16 hours ahead of ET
  • 19 hours ahead of PT

MORE WORLD CUP:

Qatar says player accused of racism vs. New Zealand was racially abused himself

Yusuf Abdurisag has said he is the victim, not the perpetrator, of racial abuse

Qatar winger Yusuf Abdurisag has denied using a racial slur in Monday’s friendly against New Zealand, adding that he was actually the victim, not the perpetrator of racial abuse.

New Zealand refused to return for the second half due to claims that Abdurisag had racially abused defender Michael Boxall, who is of Samoan heritage.

“Michael Boxall was racially abused during the first half of the game by a Qatari player,” a statement from New Zealand’s Twitter account read. “No official action was taken so the team have agreed not to come out for the second half of the match.”

The match would be abandoned with New Zealand ahead 1-0.

On Tuesday, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) released a statement supporting Abdurisag and claiming that he was the player racially abused during the match.

“QFA’s player Yusuf Abdurisag Yusuf confirmed an exchange of words with an opponent – in the heat of the moment – shortly before halftime,” it read. “Yusuf stressed that no racial or discriminatory language was used or directed towards any player of the New Zealand team.

“In the contrary, Yusuf stressed that, in fact, he himself was racially abused during the match. In any case, the QFA takes the allegations incredibly seriously and stands against racism in all its forms. The experience of racism should never be trivialized and remains a serious problem within the game. As such, the QFA encourages the international football community to do more to tackle racism and discrimination on and off the pitch.”

Abdurisag was included in Qatar’s roster for the Gold Cup, which kicks off Saturday.

QFA president Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain added in a statement: “Everyone at QFA stands with Yusuf Abdurisag Yusuf and strongly condemns the unwarranted attention he has received in the past 24 hours.”

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