Millbrook Resort (Remarkables)

Located near the former gold mining town of Arrowtown, in the shadow of the Remarkables mountain range, the original course at Millbrook was created by John Darby and Bob Charles. It opened in 1992, seven years before its co-designer, the 1963 Open Champion, was knighted.

The original front nine was named after the mountain range and ski resort to the south, The Remarkables, and the original back nine (Arrow 9) was named after the nearby town. Now the resort has been extended to a 36 hole facility, the nines have been conjoined to make the Remarkables 18.

The course contains a number of elevated tee shots from where the golfer can really take stock of the spectacular mountain scenery. The 558-yard, par five, 5th hole, for instance, sweeps majestically around a small lake and a series of bunkers, offering a classic risk-reward choice – play it safe down the left of the fairway or cut the corner and risk ending up in sand or water, for the reward of playing an approach to the green in two.

Bob Charles commented as follows: "When I first visited the site, I realised I had been given something special to work with. Nestled in the Wakatipu Basin, surrounded by the spectacular Remarkables, the terrain lent itself so naturally to the game of golf that it was only on one hole that any earth moving was required. Thus, like most great golf holes in the world, it has been largely laid on the natural landscape."

In the mid 2000s, Millbrook engaged the former Kiwi professional, Greg Turner and his associate, Scott Macpherson – who designed the excellent Close House in Northumberland – to extend the resort to a 27-hole layout and to revamp four holes on the original Arrow nine. The result, completed in 2009, left undoubtedly four of the stronger holes on the course, with this author favouring the idiosyncratic and highly strategic par 4 17th. Taken together, this closing stretch adds a crescendo that will excite and test golfers trying to post a good score.

Millbrook’s tournament prestige has been elevated since 2014 with the resort co-hosting the New Zealand Open with The Hills. For the first three years, the final two rounds of the championship were played at The Hills but in 2017 Millbrook enjoyed that particular honour. The Remarkables course did contribute some holes to the composite championship layout for six years, although moving forward from this point, any future national opens hosted here are likely to be played on the Coronet course (as was planned in 2022 before the Omicron outbreak led to a late cancellation).