Napier

The Napier Golf Club was established in 1896, making it one of the oldest clubs in the country. The course was originally situated on the slope of Napier Hill but the club soon realised that golf was better suited to less extreme cambers, and moved to its current location at Waiohiki in 1903. In fact, the current layout is not greatly changed from that original, which was fit to host the first ever New Zealand Open in 1907 (won by amateur Arthur Duncan), and again in 1919 (won by E.S. Douglas).

The Napier Golf Club was also home to a great lineage of early Maori golf champions, most notably Kurupo Tareha, the 1903 New Zealand Amateur champion, and his big-hitting son Kapi. A traditional Maori carving depicting the two can be found in the clubhouse.

The course itself is a traditional New Zealand tree-lined parkland layout, split by a road that used to have a par three played over it, before it gained its status as State Highway 50. Off the backs, it stretches to 6,587 yards (6023m), with some very testing par fours. The club’s professional believes that while the 3rd hole (named The Ridge) is the most renowned, the 435-yard (398m) dogleg left 13th may be the toughest, with out of bounds to the right, and a raised green.

As well as that inaugural NZ Open, the course has been the site of many New Zealand and inter-provincial tournaments, such as the NZ Amateur (men and women), Freyberg Rosebowl, and the Interprovincials.