Mahia Beach Golf Club, Mahia, NZ

I have a day off from work, where should I go play golf? This question usually dictates most of my free days. The next step is then to open up google maps and survey a region of New Zealand which I have not yet explored, Mahia. Laying directly across the Hawkes Bay, the mountainous penninsula of Mahia can be seen on clear days while standing on the cliffs of Cape Kidnappers. Since I usually look for golf courses as close to a body of water as possible the nine hole Mahia Beach Golf Club was easy to find. Only a small road accessing the penninsula separates the golf course from the bay.


Laying in low sand dunes the golf course crawls through narrow sandy passages on the first 3 holes and then navigates its way through a few marshy patches. The 8th hole is sandwiched between a large stand of pines and dunes, while the 9th, the most dramatic hole on the course opens up to a large field with its green sitting atop an interesting complex of natural mounds, lovingly named The Cleavage.


For a links course the turf conditions were a bit dissapointing as the ground was covered in a spongy and gnarly thatch of kikuyu grass. The result of maintaining sucha a turf was that the ball did not bounce and run as I expected in the wonderful setting of these dunes. For a country course owned, operated, and maintained by its 70 members the Mahia Beach Golf Club is a delightful place to find golfing comraderie.


I had the pleasure to have a few drinks with some of the members of this small club on a sunday evening after their regular game. We sat in the upstairs room of their club facing the panorama of Mahia Beach, sharing stories and singing songs. A wonderful group of golfers they were and most welcoming to their guest from NYC.

Kinloch, A Jack Nicklaus Experience

There was much anticipation leading up to my first round of golf on a Jack Nicklaus golf course. Although Jack's courses can draw lots of critiscm from the "art in architecture" crowd, many of the Nicklaus designs are deserving of their credit. I was hoping Kinloch would live up to the Nicklaus brand name.

Kinloch impressed me in many ways. The fairways are seemlessly crumpled, there are vast and beautiful meadows between holes, and the fescue fairways added to the visual impression of a links layout. The par fives offered mulitple lines of attack and the par fours were creative and unique. The majority of the one shot holes however do not provide an open run to the green. In fact most of the approaches force the average golfer at Kinloch to flounder along the shores of the greens among the many sentinal bunkers.
The general reasoning behind my criticsm is that Kinloch asks the average golfer far too much on and around the greens. The waving contours seemed to transition too steeply from one pin location to the next. I was warned of the target style greens characteristic of many Nicklaus courses, Kinloch is no different. There is certainly some controversy that can be stirred on the greens at Kinloch but this is old news in the architecture community.

I do not enjoy being critical of any golf course, especially one as fun and adventurous as this. While the aura of the links is clearly evident on the practice tee Kinloch quickly shows its true colors as a target first golf course. Kinloch is a must play in New Zealand and will test your mettle should you be looking for a challenge.

Kauri Cliffs, Matauri Bay, NZ

The golf course at Kauri Cliffs is a wonder in the world of modern golf courses. Perched on top of a small mountain the clubhouse allows expansive views of the entire front nine and the Matauri Bay. When walking (not suggested) this golf course one senses a true cross country golfing experience. The front nine straddles and climbs the sides of former cattle pastures before getting you out to the cliffs edge for the spectacular seventh hole, a tough par 3 across a chasm. The back nine begins by climbing down into a valley which shares holes 10, 11, and 12. Hole 13, Tablelands climbs out to a ridge and the sense of the ocean becomes stronger. No where in the world have I seen such dramatic cliffside golf starting on the fourteenth hole! Golfers are then treated to uninhibited and inspiring views of the Cavalli islands and the surrounding bay for four spectacular golf holes before again climbing back home to the clubhouse. The views are good and the golf is great. Somehow architect David Harmon was able to create a place for these golf holes among heaving pastures, high ridges and rolling cliffs along the ocean. I was left in awe of the grand scale of this course and left with a great satisfaction to have seen this amazing property.

Oreti Sands Links, Invercargill, New Zealand

The "World's Southern-most 18 Hole Golf Links", it says it right on the front of the scorecard! I believe this only means that I have come a long way from Staten Island to play some golf. Well, I didn't come all this way to lay up, right? I went straight for the back tees. This mistake cost me more golf balls than I was prepared to lose.

The combination of a strong wind and a unique layout required more orientation than I expected. The front nine twists its way through some wild low-land sand dunes, covered in shining thick native grasses. Oreti boasts a varied and unique topography but lacks in firm links conditions to take advantage of the playing strategies.

The second nine opens up into a large meadow and back out to some large trees, finishing among a small audience of sand dunes, unwinding a testing round of golf. Overall Oreti offered an exciting round as I discovered each hole and is worth a look if you ever make it this far for a round of golf.

Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club

When I set out to drive to the South Island of New Zealand I knew I would be passing one of New Zealand's best golf courses. However, it is a mystery to me why I waited until the end of my trip to play this course. Paraparaumu (or 'Paraparam' in the local vernacular) is one of the few true links courses you can play anywhere in the world. The golf holes here are found simply amonst the nature of the dunes. The course is fairly short, mostly in the length of the reachable par 5's. But the course defends itself well with some narrow fairways, long fescue rough, and some tricky green sites.

Chisholm Park Golf Links

I finally found a true New Zealand Links! Chisholm Park rolls on top of large sand dunes and perches itself on a cliff above St. Kilda Beach just 10 minutes from Dunedin's city center. Holes 9, 10, and 11 afford golfers spectacular views of the coastline and surrounding city.
The proximity to the ocean and stunning views draw close comparison bewteen the 10th at Chisholm Park and Pacific Dune's 4th along the cliff's edge in Bandon, Oregon.



Comparing the level of conditioning would be unfair however, Chisholm boasts only 2 green keepers! The fairways exhibited inconsistent turf conditions but the greens rolled surprisingly well. If you are a fan of the links Chisholm Park is cant miss while traveling in New Zealand.

Kiwi Challenge at Cape Kidnappers: Practice Session

Here are some up to the minute pictures of Anothy Kim, Camillo Villegas, and Sean O'hair warming up on their first day before the Kiwi Challenge.

Kiwi Challenge at Cape Kidnappers

The Kiwi Challenge is about to kick off its second annual event tomorrow November 11, 2009 at the Cape Kidnappers golf course. There have been many preparations to get the golf course and surrounding facilities ready for the tournament to feature four of the world’s best young golfers: Anthony Kim, Sean O’hair Scott, Camillo Villegas, and returning champion Hunter Mahan. The winner of the 36- hole stroke play event will win 2.4 million kiwi dollars (about 1.7 million USD). Not bad for two days work.
The golf course should play firm through the fairways despite a few recent rain showers and the greens are in pristine condition. Don’t expect any really low scoring if the wind picks up, the golf course will be stretched over 7200 yards.

Cape Kidnappers

Here are some more photos of Cape Kidnappers and some surrounding areas. Although in a far off island, as soon as I stepped on the golf course I felt completely at home. Cape Kidnappers is an incredible setting for golf. My first round at the Cape was truly about the scenery.

I played in a strong gale, similar to the summer conditions I found at Bandon Dunes. Even as the wind howled though I could clearly hear the song birds hover above me as I played, quite amazing. The golf course definitely was able to match its setting as well, a great test of golf.