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Rory McIlroy has called his golfing adventure in New Zealand the “trip of a lifetime,” having played at some of the country’s most prestigious courses.
The Northern Irish golfing star spent time with friends exploring renowned courses located north of Auckland, including spots near Mangawhai, Tara Iti, and Te Ara.
“I’ve wanted to play Tara Iti golf club for many years and I finally had the chance to do it this week,” McIlroy said on Instagram.
“It exceeded expectations and so did the beauty of New Zealand. It truly was the trip of a lifetime.”
He played alongside Ryan Fox and his manager, Sean O’Flaherty, after crossing paths with them at tournaments earlier this year on both the PGA and European tours.
McIlroy said: “I can’t wait to come back again soon!”
Jim Rohrstaff, the managing director at Te Arai Links, told the Herald, “It’s so incredible to get two guys like Foxy and Rory together to play at your home club. Was pretty spectacular just to watch those guys, play the game the way they do, which is not human-like.
“To see Rory who, who might be the best driver of the golf ball in the history of the game, hit some tee shots, take lines out there, pretty unbelievable to watch. And the biggest takeaway for me, is Rory is exactly what you see.
“He is the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. Very humble, very understated. No sense of entitlement. Just a wonderful person. Exactly what you would think. That was great to see from one of the great athletes of our time.
“He’s wanted to come down and experience Tara Iti and Te Arai Links and the fact that he did this in his downtime just shows you that a) he does actually love the game of golf but b) that he genuinely wanted to get down here,” Rohrstaff added.
Fox, a Te Arai member, told Stuff they played four balls and managed to win.
“It’s awesome that he has come down. I’ve played a bit with Rory the last few years, he’s a great guy,” Fox said.
“We’ve got daughters about the same age, they get along really well at child care. He’s just down on holiday with mates playing and I was lucky enough to get the invite.
