Terrace Downs - South Island - New Zealand

Located in the Canterbury Plains, an hour west of Christchurch, Terrace Downs Resort opened 18 holes for play in 1999. Previously the property was used as a sheep and cattle farm, but was purchased in 1990 by Japanese professional golfer Shinnosuke Saito.

Saito engaged Canadian firm Puddicombe Golf Design to design and build a golf course on the gently undulating terrain bordering the Rakaia River Gorge with Mt. Hutt in the background. David Cox assisted with the back nine.

It really is a magnificent setting, and a nice place to stay a few days with quality accommodation and dining on offer, all with a view!

The golf course is pretty good too, and not just because of the backdrop. It is a testing layout for all levels of golfer. There are a number of memorable holes, and most of the back nine is pretty dramatic in one way or the other. But the signature hole is definitely the short par 3 sixteenth hole along the gorge.

Terrace Downs High Country Resort is a fabulous place to stay. The accommodation is classy and the meals are top notch. With spa facilities on site, waterfalls to see, gorge walks, and golf, it is a lovely place to stay. And the golf course will certainly have you wanting to return

Peter Wood is the founder of The Travelling Golfer – click the link to read his full review.

I really enjoyed Terrace Downs when I played it a few years ago, the course is certainly better than the Players Club. The 16th is indeed an exciting and picturesque hole, and the views are lovely.

Terrace Downs is pretty much the archetypal resort course, with its generous margins for error (i.e. lots of fairly impotent semi rough, little in the way of serious cabbage), water on 11 of 18 holes, and high-end holiday accommodation lining some of the fairways. It’s got some very average holes, it’s also got some strong holes, with the architect seeming to favour the strategic school of thinking. An immediate case in point is the 1st tee shot. I get a little tired of the ‘gentle opener’ for a first hole that you find at so many courses, but at the same time, a devilishly penal opening drive always seems a little sadistic. Terrace’s opening par 5 gives you the option of the easy bail out (no chance of getting on in two), or the corner cutting option over the lake for those of a more daring disposition, which if executed well will leave only a long iron. There’s quite a few of these do or die temptations around the place, including all of the last 4 holes in one way or another. The signature hole is the 110m par 3 16th, perched hundreds of feet above the turquoise blue waters of the Rakaia Gorge, with the snow-capped Mount Hutt / Southern Alps overlooking the scene. Notice how I concentrate on the scenery, and say little about the golf hole – that’s for a reason. Anyway, it’s an enjoyable round, nothing too taxing for a top course, not much to add really. It’s a resort course. It’s very similar in terms of quality and setting to Millbrook – I would probably give the nod to Terrace at the moment, but Millbrook will be better once the new nine holes opens. If you want a comparison to a UK course in terms of style and quality, imagine taking Collingtree Park or The Players’ Club, ripping it from its motorway-edged farmland setting, and plonking it in one of the more beautiful corners of the South Island, then you’ve got Terrace Downs. Matt Richardson