Christchurch, a city of 330,000 people, situated on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, is the largest city in the province of Canterbury. Just under half a million people live in the greater Canterbury area. The province covers an area of 3.9 million hectares making it slightly smaller in area than the Netherlands. The Canterbury Plains cover a large portion of the Canterbury province, and this splendid combination of a smallish population, good soils, and relatively cheap, plentiful land makes it a great place to build golf courses, something the sporty citizens of Canterbury have been doing with unbounded enthusiasm. This combination makes Canterbury a wonderful place for non-wealthy golfers ('poor' doesn't seem appropriate in this context).

There are over 40 golf courses in Canterbury, and at least three quarters of them are full 18-hole facilities. With the rest, the same nine holes are simply played twice, although a couple are 12 holes, with six of those played twice.

In many of the major golfing parts of the world (the likes of the USA, Europe, South Africa, Asia and in the major Australian cities) the game is a sport for the wealthy. Most members of golf clubs are the well-heeled. The average working man cannot afford to join a club, and if they did join, they'd find it full of elitists wearing pastel coloured clothing and silly hats, where the car parks are full of luxury vehicles with less than 10,000km on the clock.

In the main, that is not the case in Canterbury. Certainly there are one or two clubs with membership stacked with the famously well paid (doctors, lawyers, accountants). The vast majority of clubs in Canterbury are for everyday people who become members because they enjoy playing the game, not because it is the best place in town to make business contacts, and where the annual membership fees can be written off as a tax expense.

Most of the courses are not like those the professional golfers play, with huge tracts of water, and bunkers of a size to suggest there may be a meteorite buried under the sand. Those courses are designed to test players who break 70 more often than not. Those courses say to an average golfer 'you do not belong here. Leave, or my water hazards will swallow all your golf balls'. Most of those courses are not available to be used by the general public anyway. And if the public are allowed to play they need extremely serious money. The courses of Canterbury vary in standard, but the majority are well manicured, and a good test of golf. They cater for a wide range of abilities and most don't have too much in the way of hazards.

The figures below are set out in US; at the time of writing (early 2001), US$1 would buy just over NZ$2. At most of the courses in Canterbury, there won't be any difficulty in getting a game, but prospective players should phone up beforehand, to ensure that the course has not been hired out. During the week, most courses are available to casual players (casual as defined here does not mean laid-back people wearing fashionable eyewear, and the latest running shoes - just those that aren't members of the club they are visiting). Saturdays are often reserved for club members for at least half the day, and on Sundays it pays to ring around. Many clubs hire out their courses to other local sports or social clubs for tournaments on Sundays, but there will always be a few available - use a telephone. If staying in Christchurch, there are about a dozen or so courses within a half-hour drive of the central city. The green fees are generally no more than US$15 for a round of golf, and casual players will more than likely be welcome into the clubhouse for a drink after their efforts. Most have a pro shop and offer club hire if needed, but check beforehand. The most expensive courses in Christchurch are currently Shirley and Russley, but both are still under US$50 - and are very good courses. Both frequently host very good amateur players, and the occasional professional tournament.

Within an hour or two's drive (at most) are some wonderful country golf courses where a game of golf can be combined with some spectacular scenery. Generally the cost won't be any more than US$5 for a round of golf on a good country course. Most country courses don't have pro shops however, so organisation of equipment beforehand is important. Payment for the round is usually made in an honesty box. Visitors shouldn't try to cheat by not paying the money (a pretty low thing to do). Most of these clubs members are retired, and there is usually one or two who patrol the course for the non-payers. Murphy's Law suggests that a cheat would be playing the game of their life when caught for non-payment and asked to leave forever.

Anyone contemplating a golfing holiday should give serious thought to the province of Canterbury. Christchurch has an international airport, and keen golfers could play a different course each day for more than a month. If planned correctly the tourist could have change from US$500 in terms of the cost of playing. Car hire, with the secondary suppliers (there are plenty) shouldn't be more than US$25 a day. There is a good range of accommodation in Canterbury. For anyone looking to settle in Canterbury, annual memberships (excluding Clearwater) are likely to be between US$150-US$500.

Recommended courses include, but are not limited to:

• Shirley (Christchurch Golf Club) - Renowned as one of the best courses in New Zealand - not cheap and those who play it will need their 'A' game.

• Russley - A very good course that keeps improving. Home to a number of national and international amateur tournaments, so a top quality course. Good pro shop and clubhouse.

• Terrace Downs - A course very much designed along the lines of the resort style courses featured on TV. Lots of water, lots of bunkers, and extremely difficult. Still not completed at the time of writing but great potential. Good value. This course is a very long walk, and quite steep in places, so consider hiring a cart. If possible avoid playing on a windy day. This course is quite exposed, particularly the back nine.

• Templeton - One of the best value courses in Christchurch. A good challenge, with fast greens and just enough water to gain attention. A good variety of holes.

• Kaiapoi - Straight hitters will more than likely play well here. It is quite short, but stray off line and par is difficult.

• Methven - Superb setting near the mountains, and probably the most scenic in Canterbury. The course is a good test of golf, but golfers should also take time to enjoy where they are. Handy to the No 1 ski-field in Canterbury, Mt Hutt, if visited in winter.

• Duvauchelle - On Banks Peninsula, a classic example of NZ ingenuity. Topographically, completely the wrong place to build a golf course, but they built one anyway. And it's great. A very hilly course, and so many blind shots that players soon run out of gratuitous Stevie Wonder jokes. A course different from any other in Canterbury, and probably anywhere.

• Ascot - Something quite different. 18 par 3s. The tourists chance to tell their friends about the time they broke 70 (leaving aside the unnecessary detail that par is 54). A fun course, and a great place to learn golf. Golfers of highly varying abilities play here and this course is a must for first-timers.

• Ellesmere (Leeston) - This Researcher's home on a Saturday morning. Great value for money, and a good test of golf. Not many bunkers, but the trees make up for it.

• Clearwater - When completed - and it is quite well advanced at the time of writing - this will probably be Canterbury's number 1. Close to the city, this is a course that has imitated the exclusive clubs overseas. Very expensive to join, and when ready, probably expensive to play. Rumoured to have an abundance of water. If it is completed at the time of visiting, take the opportunity to play it.

Good golf in New Zealand is not limited to Canterbury. Aside from the two major centres of Wellington and Auckland, golf is extremely affordable in New Zealand. The topography of Wellington does not lend itself to large numbers of courses, so with supply down, it is more expensive to play there than in many other parts of New Zealand. Paraparaumu, near Wellington is an excellent course, and has been home to many New Zealand Opens (the only professional tournament played in NZ). Auckland, and its regions, have many of the best courses in New Zealand, but the costs are much higher than elsewhere in New Zealand.

Canterbury has much more to offer than golf with wonderful skiing, boating, hiking, shopping, eating, drinking and sightseeing. The vast majority of the population are famously friendly. Should a tourist arrive unaccompanied, it is recommended that they seek local company. Most locals will welcome another player if they haven't already got a foursome.

If you enjoy fine wine, as well as golf, you will enjoy playing a round or two, followed by a glass or two, at one of the many fine courses close to famously sunny Napier, a pleasant seaside city central to the North Island's leading wine district, Hawke's Bay. The people of Napier are just as friendly as those in Canterbury, to their eternal credit, as their rugby team is not nearly as successful.