Find Full Flight Mode
Golf is meant to be about focus and feeling every shot, but the group chat always seems to cut through the wrong moment. Golf in Taupō is the perfect excuse to leave those messages on read, ditch the device and just play.
Tee off without the noise, just you, the fairways, the elements, and maybe a deer or two passing by in the rough. Plenty of open tee slots down here. You’re up, play when you’re ready.
Play a round at Wairakei Golf + Sanctuary, where the only alerts are native birdsong. Or take on The Kinloch Club, a course designed to demand full concentration, where every shot deserves your full attention. You can't drive while distracted, as the saying goes.
Play at your own pace, enjoy the contours of the fairways and let the round unfold without rush — soak in the solitude. Lose your ball and you might find yourself. If your default mode is getting a cart, try walking for a change, the slower pace might do wonders for your golf!
Wrap up with a slow, unhurried feed under the stars of the Central Plateau — good kai, good chat. Capture the moment without a camera.
Writer's Round: Soaking it in
"For me, golf is pretty much the only time I genuinely get offline. No emails, no calls, no scrolling — just out there, playing.”
“I remember a round at Kinloch, where the evening light softened every fairway and suddenly nothing else mattered. I stopped keeping score halfway round, just hitting shots not counting strokes, talking about things that mattered, and soaking it all in. Golf is the closest I get to a proper offline moment in my screen based-career and I reckon it sticks with you long after the round ends."
Expert Tip: Play a Round, Together
Ditch the scorecard and try playing alternate shot format — or as they call it in the motherland, foursomes. One ball, two players, alternating shots. One tees off, the other plays the next and so on.
It’s stress-free, faster and makes every shot a team effort. If one player is stronger, they can take the tougher recoveries, letting both golfers contribute without pressure. It’s golf at its most fun — shared, strategic and without the usual grind. Couples, see if you can make some pars!
Where to Eat: Stay in the Moment
To keep the off-grid feel alive, opt for dining experiences that keep you out of the town centre and locked into your digital detox experience.
Self-contained accommodation and cooking for yourselves could be one option, or a quiet laid-back fishing lodge serving up great hospitality in a riverside setting. Then again, the Taupō hospitality scene offers plenty of clean-eating casual cafes, boutique burgers and beer and bijou fine dining locales with unpretentious exteriors.
Beyond the always popular — sometimes noisy — waterfront dining establishments, you’ll find plenty of quietly satisfying eating to fuel your weekend whatever your style.
Toggle to Flight Mode & Find Your Taupō Escape
This isn’t about removing technology — it’s about removing the distractions that pull you away from the experience. Whether you’re walking the fairways of Kinloch, or admiring the landscapes and wildlife, you’ll find that the best moments don’t need to be captured — they just need to be experienced. So go on, toggle your phone to Flight Mode and let Taupō take care of the rest.
