Golf Tahiti is part of the Tahiti Triumph Trip Report. It covers the following cities:
- NYC JFK
- Dubai, UAE
- Shanghai, China
- Papeete, Tahiti
- Bora Bora, Tahiti
- Moorea, Tahiti
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Hong Kong Island
- Tokyo, Japan
- Dallas, Texas
See the Picture Preview here and see how this $60,000 trip cost $1999 here. Be sure to check out TPOL’s Map, the best feature of the blog.
Golf courses in scenic places are beautiful. Tahiti is beautiful. That doesn’t mean that a golf course in Tahiti would be as well. Golf courses cost a small fortune to maintain and without proper care, they are fields of grass and ditches of sand. Enter the Green Pearl Golf Course in Moorea.
What the Pictures Show
Like the golf advertisements in Nepal (see Rip-off Alert: Golfing in the Himalayas), the pictures of the course in Moorea and the reality of the course are two different things.
Teeing Off
To tee of this review, I have to admit that I booked the round to boast that I golfed in Tahiti.
Fairways
Like the name suggests, the fairways were fair.
Bunkers
The bunkers were solid concrete. As any golf pro would recommend, they should be avoided.
Greens
Without a robust golf membership, private donations, or a thriving golf tourism industry, it was not a surprise that the greens were terrible.
Water Hazard
The water hazard was spectacular. A lot of time must have been spent building it.
Golf Cart
Unlike golfing in Blenheim, New Zealand, at least there was a golf cart (see So I Picked the Wrong Course).
Mulligan
As I have traveled and golfed at better courses (see Golf Course Reviews), the novelty of saying I golfed in an exotic locale is no longer reason enough to golf in those locations. If the course is not up to international standards, it is worth skipping. Rather than forcing myself to golf just to say I golfed, there are much better ways to spend time in these destinations. For example, trekking around Moorea would have been more rewarding, despite this photo which is worthy of Golf Digest’s cover.
Overall
Golf in Tahiti? In the words of Bucho, “Not in this town”.
