Hanmer
Springs Golf Course, North Canterbury, New Zealand
In New Zealand it's not
difficult to locate earthquake fault scarps, but usually there
aren't things built right on top of them. However at the
North Canterbury township of Hanmer Springs
the Hope Fault
passes right through the Hanmer
Springs Golf Course, and parts of the course are built around this
feature. The fault scarp traverses the golf course in an
east-west direction, and is stepped, with the north side of the
scarp being around 10 metres higher than the south side.
Hole 2 ('The Terrace') runs parallel to the scarp on its elevated
northern side. Hole 5 ('The Wrecker') also runs parallel to
the scarp but is built on sloping ground about half way between
the top and bottom of the scarp. I asked a golfer why Hole 5
was nicknamed 'The Wrecker'. They said they really didn't
know but suggested that sloping ground along Hole 5's fairway
meant that it was very easy to make a mistake and to consequently
find one's golf ball rolling to the bottom of the hill. If
one was having a great game up to Hole 5, things could go badly
wrong at Hole 5.
The plan layout of Holes 2 and 5 is
shown in Google
Earth, where one may also observe the continuation of the
Hope Fault across the nearby countryside The view along Hole
5's fairway (as viewed from the Tee-Block) is shown on the left
hand image, and the view from the putting green is shown
right. When the Hope Fault next moves, Hole 5 is likely to
have its geography altered somewhat. The last time this scarp shifted
was probably in 1888,
when an earthquake did considerable damage to the local region.
I'm not a golfer myself but I can see the attraction playing the
game in such a beautiful location as the Hanmer Springs Golf
Course. The folk at the clubhouse were friendly and happy
for me to inspect Hole 5 when I asked their permission. For
those with portable GPS receivers, Hole 5's Tee-Block may be found
at 42.52432°
South, 172.81969°
East, and the putting green 42.52410°
South, 172.81793° East.
EPSO, 2011-09-27