Kauri Cliffs
Matauri Bay & Northland, North Island
Kauri Cliffs was designed and built by David Harman of Golf Course Consultants, Orlando, Florida. The par 72 championship golf course measures 7,119 yards and offers five sets of tees to challenge every skill level. Fifteen holes view the Pacific Ocean, six of which are played alongside cliffs which plunge to the sea. The beautiful inland holes wind through marsh, forest and farmland. Kauri Cliffs is currently ranked #39 in the world by Golf Digest Top 100 Greatest Golf Courses in the World.
The golf complex includes a world-class practice range, putting and chipping greens, a well-stocked golf shop, and ladies’ and men’s locker rooms. Premium ladies’ and men’s rental clubs are available.
Titirangi Golf Club
Auckland, North Island
Titirangi. In Maori the name means “fringe of heaven”. Perhaps Dr. Alister Mackenzie had the meaning in the back of his mind when he designed the Titirangi Golf Course in 1927. For there is indeed something heavenly about playing Titirangi’s majestic 18 holes, with its rolling fairways weaving their way through a beautiful backdrop of native New Zealand bush. And all this a mere twenty minute drive from the heart of Auckland city.
Titirangi is the only Golf Course in New Zealand where Dr. Alister MacKenzie worked his genius (this is the same man who created such golfing masterpieces as the Augusta National, Cypress Point and the Royal Melbourne). The course has evolved since 1927, but MacKenzie’s vision lives on with the Club staying true to the MacKenzie principles of design meaning the course offers a blend of opportunities, challenges, risks and rewards at every hole.
No two holes are the same. And every round offers a fresh set of challenges — and the exhilaration that comes with them. Hardly surprising then that once a golfer experiences the excitement of playing on an Alister MacKenzie designed course, that they’re hungry for another round.
Paraparauma Beach Golf Club
Wellington, North Island
Regarded by many as one of the greatest links courses in the southern hemisphere, Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club is a world renowned layout on the undulating dune land of the Kapiti Coast. Located just 45 minutes from New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, the course has hosted the New Zealand Open 12 times. A record unsurpassed by any other course.
A traditional links course, Paraparaumu Beach is a layout that will challenge the very best golfer, whilst allowing newcomers to the game plenty of scope for enjoyment. The greens are firm and true, the fairways provide welcome respite from the natural dunes, and every shot demands thought and careful execution.
To experience Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club is to play a course with a genuine heart and soul. You’ll receive a warm welcome and enjoy the feel of a club that is loved by members and visitors alike. Far from an exclusive environment or rural retreat, Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club is situated in the heart of a local community, and is very much a jewel in the golfing crown of New Zealand.
Royal Wellington Golf Club
Wellington, North Island
A private club conveniently located just outside of the Wellington city-center, Royal Wellington is in rare air as the only New Zealand club to be granted Royal status by the British monarchy. And although a historic venue, this picturesque parkland course has undergone a recent 2-year redesign to now play at a modern lengths.
The Kinloch Club
Taupo, North Island
Golf at the Jack Nicklaus designed The Kinloch Club is often compared to the classic link courses in Scotland and Ireland. However, instead of traditional sea views, this world-class championship Par 72 course is positioned between panoramic views of Lake Taupo, New Zealand’s largest fresh-water lake, and the natural beauty of rugged rural farmland. Ranked as New Zealand’s number one golf course in 2014 by a select team of New Zealand Golf Professionals the Kinloch Club is also rated 76th of the top 100 golf courses outside of America by Golf Digest Magazine.
The only Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course to be built in New Zealand, Kinloch showcases a design philosophy that aims to enhance the natural environment — allowing the surroundings of the stunning Taupo region to shape each hole. The Kinloch club was voted in the top 10 new golf courses in the world by US Travel and Leisure golf magazine (the only course outside of North America to feature in that prestigious list). Although technically not a true links course, it cleverly merges aspects of both links and parkland course design. It would be easy to become preoccupied with the stunning views and clean green setting, but the golf course alone is why so many are making the trip to just north of Taupo.
Wairakei International Golf Club
Taupo, North Island
Navigate your way through 18 testing holes of exceptional beauty and listen to the cacophony of birdlife, the meandering streams and the delightful waterfalls.
The golf course was built by the New Zealand government and is set midway between Auckland and Wellington, in the heart of the spectacular scenery of the Lake Taupo region.
Officially opened in 1970, the course lies on 180 hectares of natural rolling countryside and was developed to meet the rigorous design standards required for world class championship competition. The architecture was assigned to Commander John Harris, England’s leading and most travelled golf course architect, whose family had been involved in the construction of Moor Park, Wentworth and Sunningdale. Combined with Michael Wolveridge — an Englishman, and Australian Peter Thomson — 5 times winner of the British Open, they produced New Zealand’s first internationally recognised golf course and there is little doubt in any New Zealanders mind that this trio exceeded all expectations.
Worldwide acclaim has been given to the sprawling golf course that uses natural contours to the fullest. It is the natural beauty and sheer experience of the property that makes Wairakei a must for both serious and casual golfers.
Cape Kidnappers
Havelock North & Napier, North Island
Designed by legendary golf architect Tom Doak, Cape Kidnappers is a par 71 golf course that measures 7,119 yards and will challenge golfers of all skill levels. Completed in 2004, this spectacular New Zealand golf course has been hailed as one of the great modern marvels in golf. Built on a ridge-and-valley landscape and with stunning sea views, Cape Kidnappers Golf Course plays high above the ocean atop dramatic cliffs.
With cliff-edge fairways perched high above sea level and with surface that remains firm and fast, this course offers holes unlike anything you find elsewhere in the world. While every hole has a spectacular view of the Bay, some play cautiously alongside deep ravines as others intimidate golfers with deep cliff top bunkers and sheer drops off the very edge of the earth.
The golf complex includes a world-class practice range, putting and chipping greens, a well-stocked golf shop, club house and ladies’ and mens’ locker rooms.