Southern Swing NZ: Golf In New Zealand
If you're coming to New Zealand as a golfer, you'll want to know the best places to play. Here's a list of the top 20 courses and an article on golfing here in our first issue of Southern Swing NZ
At last count there were 396 golf courses in New Zealand. That’s a lot of golf courses for 5 million people! It’s one of the most popular participation sports in the country and still growing.
It’s one of the most popular participation sports in the country and still growing
With this many golf courses you can imagine that there is a lot of diversity in the quality and formality of the courses. There’s a club called Apiti on the North Island that is only open in the winter months, because in the summer the grass grows too high for the sheep to chew it down (yes on this course the sheep are the lawn mowers!). The greens are very modest, but irregardless are well protected by electric wire to ensure the ‘help’ doesn’t ruin the human tended space.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are world-top-50 championship courses like Tara Iti, north of Auckland, and the famous Cape Kidnappers near Napier. In between there are many lovely courses that have solid and committed members that keep the sport dynamic and always improving.
From country courses with no clubhouse to stunning ‘links’ courses overlooking the ocean, you can find hundreds of fun courses and interesting golfers to play with. Play a country course and then have a beer with a member – it’s a great golf and cultural experience.
Play a country course and then have a beer with a member – it’s a great golf and cultural experience
Golf is relatively inexpensive in New Zealand, although it depends on where you are comparing it to. In Christchurch we have some very nice courses that average about $50 NZD per round, which is about $30 USD. Growing up in California I rarely played 18 holes of golf for less than $60 USD. That being said, most of the top courses are more expensive and have higher rates for international golfers.
We play golf here year-round, although the Queenstown area (the south of the South Island) has limited play from June through August. The North Island can be quite temperate during the winter, with golf courses open and thriving in these months, even with a bit more rain.
One benefit of having a golf tour during the offseason (April – September) is that you’ll find fewer crowds, fewer scheduling issues and a lot less cost. Hotel, lodges, activities and green fees are all lower in the offseason, with some tours showing a 10-30% discount from the warmer high season (October – March). As a reminder, in the southern hemisphere our summer season is December through March.
One benefit of having a golf tour during the offseason (April – September) is that you’ll find fewer crowds, fewer scheduling issues and a lot less cost
International guests tend to want to play the best courses – so I’ve put together a map of the top 20 courses in New Zealand (see below). I’m sure there will be some argument among my friends about the ranking, but there’ll be no disagreement that these are all great courses and all provide a good challenge and loads of fun. In many cases these courses rival the scenery of the most scenic courses in the world. That’s probably no surprise, given that it is New Zealand golf!
Attune Travel specialises in custom golf tours to New Zealand and we're here as your concierge once you arrive. We create golf tours in a couple different ways - ones that are purely focused on golf and others that combine golf with the many amazing attractions and sites around the country. This sample itinerary is a good example of a combined tour: ‘14 Day Golf & Highlights Bucket List Tour’.
Top 20 Golf Course Map
(click here to download the clickable PDF)
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