Phil was a member of the New Zealand team that won the Eisenhower Trophy in 1992 and played professionally for 20 years, including on the PGA tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up travelling the world, following my dad, playing professional golf, and I chased that dream here in New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kahu said golf wasn\u2019t considered a \u201ccool sport\u201d when he was in school, but that had changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen the trend towards more popularity around the sport, and more golf entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bunker provides virtual access to international golf courses, such as Pebble Beach, St Andrews and Bay Hill. Photo \/ Ben Parry<\/p>\n
The TGL virtual golf league in America<\/a> – headlined by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy<\/a> – and places like Topgolf \u2013 a driving range game with electronically tracked golf balls and automatically scored drives \u2013 showed the direction of golf entertainment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe technology is evolving, and everything is moving towards virtual or a more short-form version of certain sports.\u201d<\/p>\n He said an indoor golf simulator allowed people to engage with the game without worrying about the weather or booking out a half day to hit the course. <\/p>\n Bunker has two golf simulator rooms and guests can virtually play on famed international courses such as Pebble Beach, St Andrews and Bay Hill.<\/p>\n \u201cFor seasoned players, we\u2019ve got all the technology and all the data for them to completely nerd out on.\u201d<\/p>\n Flightscope Mevo+ utilises 20 data parameters to track players\u2019 shots and calculate the trajectory and distance, providing information on spin axis and club-head speed.<\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n Phil said Kahu and his business partners had started the venture on their own and \u201creally championed it\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been supporting him from the background, but it\u2019s quite cool, we\u2019ve been talking about it at home for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n He said there was a lot of technology in golf today, with simulators popping up more often.<\/p>\n \u201cI used a little bit of technology when I was playing, but that was a generation ago and it\u2019s really evolved now.\u201d<\/p>\n He said there were so many tools to help people develop their golf game, whether they play for entertainment, competition, or to build general skills. <\/p>\n Phil said places like Bunker gave people different ways to experience the game. <\/p>\nPhil Tataurangi designed ‘The Dunes’ green at Mount Maunganui Golf Club. Photo \/ Kaitlyn Morrell<\/p>\n