Sheep sacked after 55 years as New Zealand course turns to mowers

The Tahuna Golf Club in New Zealand is bringing to an end more than half a century of tradition by getting rid of the flock of sheep that has long kept its fairways trim.

The club, some 120 kilometres south of Auckland in the Waikato region, made the decision when faced with a bill of NZ$25,000 ($14,787.50) for replacing 125 ewes this year.

Life member Frank Hopper said another consideration was the desire to attract younger members who might not be happy negotiating the sheep dung as they lined up their iron shots.

"There's been a desire from people to play on a fully-groomed course as opposed to playing with sheep on the course," Hopper told the New Zealand Herald.

"The most obvious reason is that there's no animal crap on the course, it's easier to clean your shoes and gear when you come off the course if it's a groomed course."

While New Zealand's 25 million sheep famously far outnumber its human population of around five million, the Tahuna club is not the only golf course in the world with ovine groundskeepers.

Australia's Eastern Sward Golf Club near Melbourne introduced sheep, alpacas, ponies and goats in 2019 as part of an environmental experiment to reduce the use of artificial chemicals in grass management.

The Green Eagle Golf Course in Winsen near Hamburg in Germany, which hosts the European Open on the DP World Tour, also uses sheep to keep the rough down.