Logo
Panel background

New Zealand

There are currently 396 golf courses in NZ and according to Golf New Zealand, the country’s governing body, almost 250,000 adults play golf each year in NZ, making golf the highest participation sport in the country. It’s the No.1 one sport for men and the No.2 sport for women just behind netball. We are surprised, given the popularity of golf in New Zealand, that nobody has yet produced a New Zealand Top 100, but we went half way towards such a national listing by creating a Top 50 in 2015. The figures quoted were rather impressive: club membership up from 105,976 in 2019 to 115,835 (+9.3%), with identified casual golfer numbers also rising from 117,510 to 135,609 (+15.5%). Not only that, the number of rounds of golf played in the second half of the year grew by 26% when compared to the corresponding period a year earlier.

  1. Tara Iti

    North Island, New Zealand

    Exclusivity has finally arrived on New Zealand’s formerly inclusive golfing shores in the shape of Tom Doak’s Tara Iti Golf Club which is routed in a wide and grand scale along the east coast of the North Island.

  2. Te Arai Links (North)

    North Island, New Zealand

    Unveiled in 2023, the North course at Te Arai is the second of two brilliant 18-hole layouts to operate at an exciting new public-access golf complex that’s owned and operated by fund manager Ric Kayne and managing partner Jim Rohrstaff – who are also both involved in the nearby golf development at Tara Iti.

  3. Te Arai Links (South)

    North Island, New Zealand

    Debuting in 2022, the South course at Te Arai was the first of two stellar 18-hole layouts to operate at an exciting new public-access golf complex which is owned and operated by fund manager Ric Kayne and managing partner Jim Rohrstaff – who are also both involved in the nearby golf development at Tara Iti.

  4. Cape Kidnappers

    North Island, New Zealand

    The longest drive at Cape Kidnappers is between the public road and the clubhouse. But once on the course, if you can keep your eyes off the cliff top views, the main golfing points are the bunkers and the greens.

  5. Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club

    North Island, New Zealand

    Host to twelve New Zealand Opens, the first in 1959, Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club is a New Zealand household name.

  6. The Kinloch Club

    North Island, New Zealand

    The Kinloch Club pays homage to the great British and Irish links courses, although it is about as far from the ocean as you can get in New Zealand.

  7. Jack's Point

    South Island, New Zealand

    The golf course at Jack’s Point is nestled between 2,300 vertical metres of the saw-toothed, razorback Remarkables mountain range and the majestic Lake Wakatipu to the east...

  8. Kauri Cliffs Golf Course

    North Island, New Zealand

    Playing Kauri Cliffs golf course is quite a formidable test and I’m sure I’m not alone in fearing that a mounting tally of lost balls was beginning to detract from the views.

  9. Titirangi Golf Club

    North Island, New Zealand

    Formed in 1909 as Maungakiekie Golf Club, Titirangi Golf Club, as it is now known, is the only course in New Zealand that can say it has Alister MacKenzie as its golf course architect.

  10. Arrowtown Golf Club

    South Island, New Zealand

    The course at Arrowtown Golf Club is a little masterpiece with fairways threaded through tiny valleys, between boulders, or over gorges with greens nestling snugly into hillsides.

  11. The Hills Golf Club (Championship)

    South Island, New Zealand

    The Hills is billed as New Zealand’s most exclusive golf club and it’s located in the former gold mining town of Arrowtown. It therefore seems appropriate that the course is owned and operated by a jeweller.

  12. Millbrook Resort (Coronet)

    South Island, New Zealand

    Whilst the original Remarkables course at Millbrook followed rather clean, well manicured lines, the Coronet 18 blends more with the natural rugged features of this rather beautiful corner of the planet – schist outcrops, big undulations, and low-lying wetlands.

  13. Wairakei

    North Island, New Zealand

    Avoid the creeks, gullies and the odd rogue borehole and you may card a decent score at Wairakei, which is an unforgettable and exciting golf course among the geysers.

  14. Designed by Chris Cochran of Nicklaus Design and built by contractor Puddicombe Golf, the new 27-hole facility at the Royal Auckland and Grange Golf Club features three 9-hole circuits, named Grange, Tamaki and Middlemore, and all of the greens incorporate state-of-the-art SubAir systems.

  15. Tieke

    North Island, New Zealand

    Opening its doors to visitor play at the end of 2021, the 18-hole layout on the Tieke Golf Estate is a total redesign of the former Lochiel Golf Club course by former PGA Tour winner Phil Tataurangi in collaboration with Brett Thomson of RBT Design.

  16. Royal Wellington

    North Island, New Zealand

    Wellington Golf Club – as it was known until it gained “Royal” status in 2004 – dates back to 1895, when a group of like-minded golfers established a golfing society.

  17. Waverley Golf Club

    North Island, New Zealand

    Sheep cut the fairways at Waverley Golf Club and consequently you’ll find less than perfect manicuring. If you don’t fancy dirty golf shoes then give this undulating 5,537-metre track a wide berth...

  18. Muriwai Golf Club

    North Island, New Zealand

    Muriwai Golf Club is located around 25 miles to the north west of downtown Auckland and it’s the region’s only authentic links course.

  19. Clearwater

    South Island, New Zealand

    Designed by John Darby and Bob Charles, Clearwater Golf Club hosted the New Zealand Open championship in 2011 and 2012.

  20. Christchurch

    South Island, New Zealand

    The Christchurch Golf Club has a history stretching back to 1873 and according to our records it's the second oldest golf club in New Zealand.

  21. Wainui

    North Island, New Zealand

    Wainui Golf Club is the phoenix that rose out of the ashes of the Peninsula Golf Club. Grant Puddicombe and his team at Puddicombe Golf were brought in to design the new course and it opened in 2016.

  22. Millbrook Resort (Remarkables)

    South Island, New Zealand

    Created by John Darby and Bob Charles, the course at the Millbrook Resort opened in 1992 – seven years before its co-designer, the 1963 Open Champion, was knighted.

  23. Carrington

    North Island, New Zealand

    A golfing layout actually existed here at the Carrington Resort prior to a redesign by American Matt Dye, nephew of the legendary Pete Dye...

  24. Wanganui

    North Island, New Zealand

    Wanganui Golf Club has played host to many national tournaments, most notably the New Zealand Open on seven occasions between 1911 and 1978.

  25. Windross Farm

    North Island, New Zealand

    Windross Farm came into being when the members of Manukau Golf Club decided to sell their course to property developers, and relocate to a potato farm in Ardmore, 6 kilometres inland from their original home.

  26. New Plymouth

    North Island, New Zealand

    Located between the dormant volcano of Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea, the tree-lined fairways of the Ngamotu course at New Plymouth Golf Club are laid out along the stunning coastline...

  27. Hamilton

    North Island, New Zealand

    Named St Andrews, the course at Hamilton Golf Club has been in play for nearly a century. It's a fine example of a solid parkland layout that has stood the golfing test of time...

  28. Pegasus

    South Island, New Zealand

    Pegasus Golf & Sports Club may be the new golf course on the block (opened for play in Dec 2009) but it has already hosted the Pegasus New Zealand Women’s Open twice.

  29. Chisholm Links

    South Island, New Zealand

    Fourteen holes at Chisholm Links Golf Club sit amongst the dunes behind St Kilda Beach, with the stretch from 8 to 11 climbing up to a magnificent headland wedged between two beaches.

  30. Fable Terrace Downs Resort

    South Island, New Zealand

    The 550 acres of the Terrace Downs Resort are set in the foothills of the Southern Alps, an hour’s drive from Christchurch, on the edge of the Canterbury Plains.

  31. Kaitaia

    North Island, New Zealand

    Located alongside 90 Mile Beach, the fairways of Kaitaia Golf Club’s links course fan out along the shores of the long, sandy coastline, offering panoramic views across to Shipwreck Bay and the Tasman Sea beyond.

  32. Waipu

    North Island, New Zealand

    Occupying a beautiful 130-acre coastal site between the small towns of Waipu and Ruakaka, the Uretiti Links course at Waipu Golf Club overlooks the islands of Taranga and Little Alice in Bream Bay…

  33. Ohope Beach

    North Island, New Zealand

    Occupying a narrow finger of land between the Pacific Ocean and Ohiwa Harbour, the course at Ohope International Golf Club is links-like in character and its mild, seaside location is ideal for golf.

  34. Waitara

    North Island, New Zealand

    Laid out on the Taranaki coastline, the short but sweet 18-hole course at Waitara Golf Club is a seaside gem – known locally as the Airdale Links – with rumpled, sandy-soiled fairways offering a firm and fast playing experience.

  35. Otago

    South Island, New Zealand

    In 1893, the first New Zealand Amateur Championship was staged at Otago, and the Golf Club has hosted this tournament on ten further occasions.

  36. Mount Maunganui

    North Island, New Zealand

    Mount Maunganui Golf Club shares its name with the extinct volcano that rises above the course and also the town – known locally as “The Mount” – which is a popular surfing resort...

  37. Hastings

    North Island, New Zealand

    Members and guests of Hastings Golf Club – better known locally as Bridge Pâ – play their golf on a wonderful, free-draining, parkland course...

  38. Mahia

    North Island, New Zealand

    Listed by GOLF as one of the 50 best 9-hole courses in the world in 2020, Mahia Golf Club is a humble throwback links course that is routed through a low dune ridge. Located on the Mahia Peninsula between Poverty Bay and Hawke’s Bay, you can watch the sun rise and set over the sea from the clubhouse.

  39. Formosa

    North Island, New Zealand

    Laid out on a large 440-acre cliff top site and modeled on Augusta National by course architect Bob Charles, the 18 holes at Formosa are the centerpiece of the resort.

  40. The Hills (The Farm)

    South Island, New Zealand

    The Farm course at The Hills is a par three short course that was designed by writer and golf consultant Darius Oliver who describes it as “an elastic, ‘choose your own adventure’ style layout, with a flexible design that allows golfers to choose from multiple tee locations, distances and angles of approach”.

  41. Poverty Bay

    North Island, New Zealand

    According to the history, Poverty Bay Golf Club was founded in 1893 and is the fifth oldest golf club in New Zealand and the second oldest on the North Island...

  42. Mangawhai

    North Island, New Zealand

    Mangawhai Golf Club was established as a nine-holer in 1979 and at one stage the course was officially rated the most difficult in New Zealand from its back tees.

  43. Omaha Beach

    North Island, New Zealand

    The 18-hole course at Omaha Beach Golf Club lies on the westerly flank of a headland, and it’s a lovely links-like layout that makes the most of its stunning seaside situation and the rolling rural landscape into which it sits.

  44. Lakes - Pauanui

    North Island, New Zealand

    Golf at the Lakes is all that its name suggests. Ponds, creeks and waterfalls come into play at a good number of the holes...

  45. Remuera

    North Island, New Zealand

    The present day course at Remuera Golf Club has evolved through the years, with architectural input from a number of different sources.

  46. Rotorua (Arikikapakapa)

    North Island, New Zealand

    Unique natural features abound on the Rotorua course, include bubbling mud pools, steam vents, sulphur mounds, steamy, warm water creeks and a huge thermal crater to the left of the 14th hole.

  47. Harewood

    South Island, New Zealand

    In 2012, Harewood Golf Club upgraded their main course and they hired Greg Turner & Scott Macpherson who have completed a number of well-crafted redevelopments in the South Island.

  48. Manawatu

    North Island, New Zealand

    Manawatu is a very pleasant parkland course laid out on a compact, 110-acre site between a lagoon, Massey University College of Education, and the Manawatu River.

  49. Waihi

    North Island, New Zealand

    Waihi Golf Club was founded with a 9-hole course in 1906 and the initial subscription was set at one pound for gentlemen and ten shillings for women. The club then moved from Hollis to its present location in 1953, establishing a new 18-hole layout.

  50. Queenstown (Kelvin Heights)

    South Island, New Zealand

    Queenstown Golf Club was first formed in 1927, but it was not until 1973 that the club moved to its current home, the Kelvin Heights golf course...