Wānaka, New Zealand
Glendhu is an 18-hole public golf course by John Darby, set on the shores of Lake Wānaka at Glendhu Station, Central Otago. Spanning 100 hectares of a high-country property farmed since 1859, the links-inspired layout extends to over 6,000 metres with lake and mountain views from every hole.
Glendhu is an 18-hole public golf course by John Darby, set on the shores of Lake Wānaka at Glendhu Station, Central Otago. Spanning 100 hectares of a high-country property farmed since 1859, the links-inspired layout extends to over 6,000 metres with lake and mountain views from every hole.
Glendhu occupies 100 hectares of Glendhu Station on the shores of Lake Wānaka, a working high-country farm held by the McRae family since the 1960s. The layout by John Darby — the Harvard-trained architect behind Jack's Point and The Hills — extends to over 6,000 metres, with every hole designed to retain views across the lake and towards the surrounding mountain ranges.
Glendhu Station was first surveyed in 1859, and the McRae family have farmed the 2,900-hectare property across four generations. Planning for a golf course on the site began in 2002, when the McRaes partnered with John Darby of Arrowtown-based Darby Partners.
The original land use consent was lodged in January 2007 and granted by the Queenstown Lakes District Council in May 2008, before a subsequent appeal to the Environment Court resulted in approval in May 2012. Final construction consents were granted in September 2022, and earthworks commenced in March 2023 — fifteen years after the initial consent was first secured.
The development integrates the 18-hole public golf course with 42 private homesites, a lakefront clubhouse, 24-room visitor accommodation, and a restaurant.
Since 2013, Darby Partners has established over 150,000 native plants across the property, with approximately 1,900 hectares placed under open-space covenants to prevent future development. A 20-kilometre public trail network is also being constructed across the station.
Glendhu's layout is designed to leave the existing terrain as undisturbed as possible, with holes routed on both sides of the lakeside road to maximise use of the natural topography.
The course stretches to approximately 6,000 metres in total length, making it longer than the existing Wanaka Golf Course (5,770 metres) on Ballantyne Road. All 18 holes have direct sightlines to Lake Wānaka, Glendhu Bay, and the surrounding mountain ranges.
The design philosophy draws on links traditions, emphasizing ground play across the terrain of a working high-country station. Glendhu is positioned as Wānaka's second 18-hole public golf course, with the Wanaka Golf Club.
Glendhu arrives as the product of a 20-year collaboration between the McRae family and Darby Partners, built across one of Central Otago's most historically significant high-country stations. The public 18-hole layout over 100 hectares — with every hole framing Lake Wānaka — positions the course as a significant addition to a region already home to Jack's Point, The Hills, Millbrook Resort, and Wanaka Golf Course.
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