Orlando Country, Palmerston North

Orlando Country in Palmerston North is not only a fantastic driving range and golf facility, but so much more.

Less than a two hour drive from Central Wellington, Orlando Country is Palmerston North’s successful attempt at a typical American country club. With a fantastic dirt driveway lined with trees taking you up to the awesome wooden clubhouse that reminds me more of a winery than a golfing destination.

After taking in the view from outside, we walked in and were greeted by extremely friendly and inviting staff who seemed genuinely happy to serve you. This stands out in my books because oftentimes it can be super intimidating heading into a Country Club. We had booked a driving range bay which was a booking by the hour and could hold up to 10 people, with unlimited golf balls through that time. It wasn’t cheap at $68 for just two of us, but if you came as a group it’s definitely affordable! We were immediately shown through the stunning clubhouse where plenty of non golfers were eating lunch and sitting around for drinks. It’s definitely a clubhouse, restaurant/bar first and a golfing destination second.

Again the staff were fantastic explaining the rules and making sure we were all set up before leaving us menus at our own table and leaving us to start hitting. The set up was awesome, with unlimited golf balls, a few flags to play at with a few catching nets, you could see it being a great place to come with some friends or a group to have a bit of fun. For a serious golfer, I would say it’s not the place to practice as the golf balls were very light and didn’t fly very well and there’s no tracking software as most ranges have now. Still we had some great fun, there’s nothing quite like having unlimited golf balls to hit out into the beyond!

We ordered a quite pricey pizza and hash sticks which came out after about 15 minutes and although expensive, were absolutely fantastic!

The hour went by too quickly, we could have sat there all day just enjoying the views, the food, drinks and stunning clubhouse.

We’ll certainly be back again to have a go at the 9 hole golf course that surrounds the range and would love to visit again with some friends and make a day of it.

The venue was second to none and highly recommend anyone, golfer or non golfer to go and experience the place. They’re well known for their wedding venue and you can see why, what a place to get married! Especially for a golfer 😉

Overall an awesome day and would love to head back again soon!