Golfing Tours and Resorts
Resorting to golf
 Golf resorts are gaining in popularity with Kauri Cliffs (Northland), Wairakei (Taupo), Gulf Harbour (Auckland), Formosa (Auckland), Millbrook
(Queenstown), Terrace Downs (Canterbury) and Clearwater (Christchurch). Terrace Downs, 50 minutes from Christchurch, offers golf, skiing,
fishing and the great outdoors. Moose Lodge in Rotorua is a smaller nine-hole resort. Hawke's Bay's Cape Kidnappaers has recently been completed and
others are underway in Northland and Taupo. With the realisation that golf in New Zealand is attractive to tourists since it is good
quality, reasonably priced and varied. The scenery is as much a part of the package as the quality of the challenge the courses present.
Golf Touring
Some tour companies specialise in organising combined New Zealand golf and sightseeing tours to suit individual requirements. They allow you
to choose what you want to do, where you want to go and how much golf you want to play. Packages can include PGA tuition, gaining an official
handicap, personal lessons, videotapes of you in action and access to excellent practice facilities.
Courses and Contacts
 There are more than 400 courses around New Zealand: one six-hole course; 183 nine-hole courses; 211 18-hole courses and five 18+-hole courses.
The country offers beauty, diversity and value for money for the golfing enthusiast. The North and South Islands are both home to a number of
internationally acclaimed golf courses and cater for beginners to experts. New Zealand has the highest number of golf courses per capita in the
world. Courses range from top-of-the-line courses, such as Kauri Cliffs in Northland, to small golf clubs with green fees of $5, where sheep
keep the fairways trim.
Little gems to big nuggets
New Zealand’s reputation for hospitality extends to welcoming visitors at most clubs, though booking is recommended. It is generally an
inexpensive country in which to play golf with green fees ranging from NZ$15-$120 at the top courses (Kauri Cliffs excluded). Many golf courses
hire clubs, trundlers and motorised or electric buggies/golf carts (NZ$15-30). Clubhouse facilities vary from basic necessities to excellent,
including restaurants, bars, showers, pro shop, driving range, golf instruction and accommodation.
Farm feel
In small rural centres, farmers make land available for play, the greens are fenced off and stock graze the fairways, eliminating the need for
mowing. Waikohu Club at Te Karaka, 30kms from Gisborne hosts the unusual hazard of a large Hereford bull! Golfers wanting to get away from the
mainstream clubs should taste the country courses, which often have a Farm Manager rather than a Greens Superintendent. It can be unnerving to
face a shot to a fairway where a hundred or so sheep are having dinner but they seem to have an inborn radar system telling them when they are
under fire. The local rules at such course reflect the uniqueness - the golfer must drop away from a newborn lamb and the player has an optional
replay if the ball strikes the wire or the post of the electric fence (used to keep the sheep from the greens).
Further Information
Waikohu Golf Club
72 Takuihikitia Lane
Te Karaka
Gisborne
Phone +64 6 862 3188
Fax +64 6 862 3189
Email waikohu@golf.co.nz
Hot courses
 At Rotorua Golf Club (18 Holes: Par: 70), in the geothermal region of the North Island, golf is hot.
Literally. There is a steaming lake by the 16th hole as well as bubbling mud pools. Taupo Golf Club (2 x 18 holes: par 72) in the central North Island also has fumaroles
spitting steam in the air. Wairakei International Golf Course is set midway between Wellington and Auckland, near Lake Taupo. It is set in the heart of Wairakei
Tourist Park with its rising steam and thermal attractions. Wairakei (18 Holes: Par: 72) is reputed to have the most bunkers of any course in
New Zealand - 108. It is home to New Zealand’s most famous par five, the 14th, known as The Rogue. The hole is named after a geyser, which
used to erupt in a nearby field. Clcik here to book a hotel in Rotorua or Taupo.
Further Information
Wairakei International Golf Club
General Manager
Kevin Park
State Highway 1
Taupo
Phone +64 7 374 8152
Fax +64 7 374 8289
Rotorua Golf Club
Secretary/ Manager
Peter Christiansen
399 Fenton St
Rotorua
Phone +64 7 348 4051
Fax +64 7 348 1384
Email rotorua@golf.co.nz
Taupo Golf Club
32 Centennial Drive
Taupo
Phone +64 7 378 6933
Fax +64 7 378 6932
Email taupo@golf.co.nz
Golf Contacts
New Zealand Golf Association
Wellington
Phone +64 4 385 4330
Fax +64 385 4331
Email nzga@nzga.co.nz
The New Zealand Golf Guide
Richard Frankland
Phone +64 9 473 5170
Email golfguide@clear.net.nz
Millbrook Resort Malaghans Road
Arrowtown
Phone +64 3 441 7010
Kauri Cliffs Golf Club & Lodge
Email daniel@kauricliffs.com
Phone +64 9 405 1905
Fax +64 9 407 1901
|
