Welcome to the latest edition of our New Zealand listings which were first published in 2015. We’ve featured a Top 50 in the four previous iterations of this chart but this time we feel we have enough reliable data from our new panel to push that out to a Top 60 national chart.
Together with a regional Top 50 for North Island and a Top 25 for South Island, we’re now bringing to attention a total of 75 courses across the entire country.
There were nine non-movers within the Top 10 in the 2021 version of the Kiwi rankings but this time only two courses stay in the same position within the entire chart, which gives as good an indication as any that there’s been quite a shake up!
Three layouts drop out from the old standings, there are thirteen new entries, seven move up and thirty-eight drop down, all of which confirms the volatility of the new chart this time around.
Tara Iti
One of the two courses to retain its position is the national #1 at Tara Iti on the east coast of the North Island, close to Bream Bay. Designed by Tom Doak, this 18-hole layout occupies what was previously a densely forested coastal site, with players enjoying uninterrupted views of several nearby islands from the fescue fairways.
Review comments from last year include: “a truly unique looking course and superb, friendly club… yes it’s expensive and you have to stay but worth it for sure… no weak holes, just brilliant fun throughout… absolutely stunning and there isn’t a single blade of grass out of place… hard to focus on the task in hand given the 360-degree jaw-dropping views”.
Incidentally, for anybody wondering about the only other NZ non-mover, it’s the 2-time New Zealand Open venue at Clearwater Golf Club in Christchurch (still at #15) which first entered the standings at #15 nine years ago so it’s holding up rather well in our national table.
Te Arai
The highest two new entries for New Zealand appear in tandem at #2 and #3 and they’re both located just a short 15-kilometre drive south of Tara Iti at the same new golfing destination of Te Aria. The brand-new Tom Doak-designed North course (pictured above, courtesy of Jacob Sjöman) arrives in our listings at #2, with holes on this layout taking golfers on a tree-lined journey from the coast to the forest then back to the seaside on both nines.
The slightly older South course at Te Arai (pictured above, courtesy of Ricky Robinson) is our new #3 and this Coore & Crenshaw production has already attracted reviewer comments such as “great mix of par 3s… you’ll struggle to find any fault with this wonderful, beautiful, fun course… the whole way round, you are treated to visual delights and brilliant holes”.
Millbrook
The Coronet course at the Millbrook Resort (new at #12) is the latest 18-hole layout to emerge from this popular 36-hole venue in Arrowtown, where the New Zealand Open has been played since 2014. Greg Turner and Scott Macpherson fashioned the Coronet layout by adding nine new holes (the 6th to 14th) to nine existing holes, with this track now outstripping its older Remarkables 18-hole stablemate (currently #22) in the rankings.
Tieke
Another high-flying new entry is the recently developed course on the Tieke Golf Estate outside Hamilton (new at #15) from PGA Tour winner Phil Tataurangi and Brett Thomson of RBT Design. It’s a total redesign of the eighteen holes that were formerly in play at Lochiel Golf Club – before this club merged with The Narrows in 2014 – with fescue fairways and bent grass greens now in play.
Christchurch
One of the few courses rising up the charts is the 18-hole layout at Christchurch Golf Club (up five to #20), where Brett Thomson and shaper Blake Lindsay have recently been involved in upgrade work (on the 9th hole in particular) which a reviewer feels is giving Christchurch something of a “quasi-links feel” and making it “an extremely playable golf course for all abilities”.
Ohope Beach
Located in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, the seaside course at Ohope Beach Golf Links – realistically rebranded from its original appellation of Ohope International – is the biggest climber on the chart, advancing twelve places up to #33. Established in 1972 with a 9-hole track, the club was proud to mark forty-five years of operation by hosting the New Zealand Senior Championship in 2017.
Further down the chart, massive regional jumps propel a couple of North Island courses into the national chart.
Waitara
The first of these big leaps is made by Waitara Golf Club on the Taranaki coastline (rising from #43 to #24 in the North Island chart, which also sees it debut in the NZ rankings at #34). Described by a reviewer as “a no-frills country golf club experience,” Waitara is, in that person’s opinion, “Kiwi golf in its purest form”.
Mahia
The second impressive upward move is made by the 9-holer at Mahia Golf Club on the Mahia Peninsula in Hawke’s Bay (soaring from #45 to #27 in the North Island chart, gaining it a new national ranking at #38). The club was formed in 1974 but the course is ten years younger, following a move from the original site. It’s already been touted by one of the leading golf magazines as one of the fifty best 9-hole courses in the entire world.
The Hills
One other course deserving mention is The Farm at The Hills in Arrowtown which enters the South Island listings at #12 and the national chart at #40. It’s a par three short course 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”.
For those who may be interested, the other two new entries in our NZ listings are Waihi [#49] and Te Puke [#52] whilst the four chart re-entries are Taupo (Centennial) [#55], The Dunes – Matarangi [#56], Napier [#58] and Invercargill [#60].
The three layouts dropping out of the Kiwi listings altogether are [with previous national ranking in brackets]: Gulf Harbour – NOW CLOSED [#15], St. Clair [#47] and North Shore (Red) [#50].
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Jim McCann
Editor
Top 100 Golf Courses
