Otago

The city of Dunedin, in the deep south of the South Island of New Zealand, has always had strong Scottish roots (the city itself is named after the Gaelic word for Edinburgh). It should therefore come as little surprise that it was here that the game of golf first became an organized and established entity. In 1871, the Otago Golf Club was first set up, and is hailed today as New Zealand’s oldest, as well as being one of the oldest golf clubs in the Southern Hemisphere. Back then, members played over a course firstly in Caversham, then on a nine-holer in Mornington, about a mile and a half south of the present-day course, using a local hotel as the clubhouse. When that hotel was sold in 1876, the club found itself in limbo, and it was nearly 20 years before the club found itself a new home.

The club took up residence at its current location before the turn of the 20th century. The Balmacewen course was constructed on the edge of Dunedin, half way up the hill from the harbour. In 1893, the first New Zealand Amateur Championship was staged, and Otago has hosted this tournament on ten further occasions. The course also went on to host the New Zealand Open seven times, the first in 1908, and the last being in 1971 (won by the great Peter Thomson). Many other golfing legends have graced the club’s fairways over the years, including Gene Sarazen, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

Nowadays, the course has become somewhat overtaken by technology, and struggles to stay in the higher echelons of New Zealand golf. Now surrounded by suburban housing, there is little room to expand or lengthen its 5,917m (6,471yards). However, it remains a challenging course, as the relatively high slope rating attests. The fairways are narrow, and there are some dramatic undulations, presenting the golfer with some difficult stances to play from, and the putting surfaces are generally superb. The most renowned hole is the 11th, known as The Glen, sitting in a little valley of its own. The tee peers down from a great height onto a fairway claustrophobically hemmed in by a brook and native bush, with a pulley system akin to a ski lift on hand to winch golfers out of the ravine.

Visitors to Dunedin will find three courses, all of comparable quality, but cut from utterly different cloth. Some may prefer the raw seaside links of Chisholm Park, others will favour the fantastic views (and cracking back nine) on the clifftops at St Clair, but lovers of tricky, undulating, and traditional parkland courses will surely be happiest at Otago.