THE CLUB

MEMBERSHIPS: Membership is limited to a maximum of 555 “shares” which are bought and sold for $25,000. Members who reside within 200km are considered locals and pay $10,300 a year of which $2,750 is a spend for food, drinks, golf club, balls, equipment, all golf expenses outside range balls and golf carts, which are free.

Locals represent 46 percent of membership. The rest come from Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Japan, and elsewhere, and pay $5,350 annually, of which $1,700 is for food and beverage, balls, etc. Once in the club you don’t use money. It’s all on the account.

They don’t have Pro Ams, social play, corporate days or trade days. Members can play every day of the year bar Christmas Day and walk straight onto the 1st or 10th tee.

“You can decide at 11:30 on a Saturday that you want a game, turn up at midday and play,” says Golf Operations manager Ossie Moore.

But what if everyone turns up wanting to play at 11:18? Moore says they’ll send players off to whichever holes are free. And there are always holes free.

Moore says the model succeeds because they stick to it. “When someone comes here they know that’s how it’s going to be.”