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NEW ZEALAND'S TOP FIVE GOLF COURSES WITH A VIEW
New Zealand’s golf courses layer championship design over startling scenery in an approach that’s part challenge, part scenic tour.
New Zealand's top five golf courses with a view
New Zealand’s golf courses layer championship design over volcanic landscapes and glacier-carved valleys. It’s an approach that’s part challenge, part scenic tour, and which has seen golf courses in the Land of the Long White Cloud balloon to over 400 in number.
Using New Zealand’s naturally-varied topography, the pick of the bunch can be found across the country from coast to alpine plateau, and often adjacent to its renowned luxury lodges. That takes care of the post-round victuals, leaving you to choose the course – and the view. We’ve rounded up five of the best.
The pick of the bunch can be found across the country from coast to alpine plateau
Tara Iti
A study in oceanic beauty, Tara Iti has been carved from the dunes of the Te Arai coast an hour north of Auckland. This private club offers limited access – public visitors are allowed one visit in which they can stay as many nights as they like and play as much golf as they wish – and since opening in 2015 has steadily built a sought-after reputation internationally. Designed by Tom Doak, it has been crafted to appear part of the natural landscape. With the feel of being carved by the wind, it has natural bowls, fescue-lined fairways and has established The Shorebirds Trust to protect the endangered local New Zealand Fairy Tern (tara iti).
Jack’s Point
You’ll be in good company as you play Queenstown’s Jack’s Point Golf Course, with some of New Zealand’s most-striking scenery by your side. The Remarkables Mountain Range watches over this 18 hole, par 72 championship golf course while ancient Lake Wakatipu, the lake which breathes, provides an eye-catching backdrop. Designed to sit harmoniously within its alpine environment, the course weaves through native tussock grasslands, steep bluffs, rock outcrops and swathes of native bush to the lake’s edge.
The Hills Golf Club
In the historic gold mining town of Arrowtown, a short hop from popular Queenstown, the Hills Golf Club has been billed as New Zealand’s most-exclusive. Built by a New Zealand entrepreneur, it’s the setting for the NZ PGA Championship; but the scenery and sculptures alone are a winning combination. Nestled within the Wakatipu Basin and surrounded by the Southern Alps, the course is resplendent with wild, ethereal, and oversized sculptures that elicit a visceral reaction as you tee off under the watchful eyes of a pack of wolves, or a herd of horses forever leaning into the wind.
Kauri Cliffs
For those who like their golf with all the trappings, Kauri Cliffs will be one to watch. Flanked by the Spa at Kauri Cliffs, and the Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, this Bay of Islands enclave has all you need for a sumptuous escape without skimping on golf. The course itself is a par 72 championship golf course designed by David Harman, played alongside cliffs which plunge to the Pacific. With holes that wind through marsh, farmland and forest, Kauri Cliffs is ranked number 37 in the Top 100 Greatest Golf Courses in the World by Golf Digest.
Cape Kidnappers
Fellow resort-based course, Golf at Cape Kidnappers slips high across Hawkes Bay cliff edges. This is another course where scenery will prove a distraction as the fairways – sometimes teetering on cliffs 140 metres above the ocean – ask you to concentrate on the Tom Doak-designed course while the startling folds of the Cape reveal themselves around you. The 6,569-metre, par 71 course is designed to challenge, while the Farm at Cape Kidnappers lodge can salve any over-exertion with its spa, dining and accommodation.
Kinloch
Purists will make a beeline for Kinloch. Splayed across the softly-undulating shores of Lake Taupo’s volcanic caldera, this championship course was designed by legend of the game, Jack Nicklaus. The 6,734-metre course is peppered with fescue and heather and is an all-season course set in the heart of the North Island’s central plateau. Easily accessible by helicopter transfer or car from Auckland, Kinloch has the added bonus of onsite golf director Tom Long; PGA golf pro.
Looking for more spots to explore? Try our local map.
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