Roxburgh

In recent years, the course at Arrowtown Golf Club has jumped from relative obscurity to being hailed as one of New Zealand’s Top 10 golf courses, collecting ardent fans along the way including Tom Doak. It is an incredibly natural golf course, laid out by the early settlers in the South Island, with an astounding routing weaving its way between schist rock outcrops across the incredible topography of the Central Otago region. Weighing in at just under 6,000 yards, the balance between quirk and playability is well observed, lending itself to some of the most enjoyable golf to be found anywhere on Earth.

Now that Arrowtown has been discovered, it raises the question of whether there are any other golf courses of its ilk in the area, across the unique terrain found here on the South Island. Fortunately the answer is yes, although less than one might hope for given the geography available.

Having had some role in spreading the Arrowtown word, we'd now like to introduce Roxburgh Golf Club for intrepid golfers who are looking for something a bit different. Roxburgh lies almost exactly half way between the historic seaside city of Dunedin (home to the Southern Hemisphere’s oldest golf club, Otago) and the burgeoning resort town of Queenstown, where you will find the tightest concentration of quality golf courses in New Zealand, including Arrowtown.

If Arrowtown is known for its quirk and lack of length, Roxburgh is like its younger cousin, shorter and arguably with more extreme quirky moments. The par 68 course only stretches to 4,781 yards (4,372 metres), and works its way through around and over all the schist rock that litters the terrain, particularly during the first eleven holes.

Perhaps the craziest moment is the short 4th, 137 yards (125 metres) a Postage Stamp hole of sorts. The tiny green cuts into the top of a steep slope, with a rock face behind acting as an unforgiving backboard should you overshoot, ricocheting the ball to who knows where.

Don’t drive past without popping $25 in the honesty box and giving it a whirl … you won’t regret it.