New Zealand Golf Courses
Golf New Zealand’s World-Class Courses
New Zealand is home to some of the most breathtaking and challenging golf courses in the world. From dramatic coastal fairways perched above the Pacific Ocean to lush inland courses framed by mountains and lakes, each course offers a unique experience that combines championship design with unforgettable scenery. Whether you’re after a once-in-a-lifetime round or a multi-stop golf holiday, Pin High Golf Tours curates every detail to make your journey seamless and luxurious.
Arrowtown Golf Club
Conveniently located just a 20-minute drive from Queenstown, this course is a golfer's delight. Ranked among the Top 10 courses in New Zealand and featured on Golf.com's "Short and Sweet" list of the Top 25 best short courses worldwide, it's an experience you won’t want to miss. Nicknamed "Narrowtown" for its challenging narrow runs, this course offers a test of skill and stunning scenery.
Cape Kidnappers
Set atop rolling hills and rugged cliffs that give way to vast sea views and an ever-present horizon, Cape Kidnappers is home to the 18-hole golf course crafted by Tom Doak, and luxury resort Rosewood Cape Kidnappers.
In the words of course designer Tom Doak
Cape Kidnappers is not true links terrain, with the wrinkles of sand dunes; instead the land tilts toward the sea as a series of ridges jutting out toward the edge of the cliffs. Yet, the play is seaside golf at its finest. The surface is firm and fast, the conditions can be windy, and the player who can control his trajectory will be master of the course. You'll hit shots over the tops of the tea trees, and play along the edges of deep ravines. If you stray on your approaches, you'll actually hope to get caught up in bunkers hanging off the green's edge, some of them deeper than you've ever seen before. Three times, you'll have to make the perilous leap from the end of one ridge to the end of the next. And at the sixth and fifteenth holes it's possible to pull your approach off the very end of the earth, though it will take nearly ten seconds of hang time for your ball to reach the ocean below.
For myself and my associates, it was a great adventure to track up the hill every day and build a golf course in such a remarkable setting. We hope you enjoy your time here as much as we have. New Zealand is a long way from home, but Cape Kidnappers is never far from our hearts.
Clearwater
Home to both PGA and LPGA tournaments, Clearwater Golf Club in Christchurch is a modern championship course that mixes links and parkland styles. With water features, wide fairways, and a strong reputation for tournament play, it’s a versatile and challenging course for all levels.
Jack’s Point
With a backdrop of 2,300 vertical metres of the Remarkables mountain range and an outstanding lake panorama, Jack's Point Golf course is one of the most visually spectacular in the world. Designed by John Darby, the course is ranked number one in the South Island of New Zealand.
The course offers golfers an exciting challenge with five tee positions to choose from, providing all golfers an unforgettable golf experience.
The course measures 6,388 metres (6,986 yards) from the championship tees and is built on the most spectacular of Jack's Point terrain. Designed in harmony with the natural environment, the course weaves through native tussock grasslands, dramatic rock outcrops, steep bluffs and swathes of native bush to the edge of Lake Wakatipu.
Kauri Cliffs
Kauri Cliffs is a par-72 championship golf course in Northland, New Zealand, designed by David Harman, known for its stunning Pacific Ocean views and dramatic cliff-edge holes. Fifteen holes overlook the ocean, with six playing directly along the sea cliffs, offering breathtaking vistas of the Cavalli Islands. The course's diverse layout winds through forest, farmland, and marshland, and its challenging, yet fair, design has earned it a consistent spot in the world's top 100 golf courses.
Kinloch Golf Course
Test your skill against challenges designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus, one of the game’s most renowned strategic thinkers, as you tackle this world-class championship course that pays homage to the great links courses of the British Isles, whilst you take in the stunning views overlooking the sparkling blue waters of Lake Taupo.
Millbrook Resort
One of the most magical golfing venues in the world, Millbrook's two 18-hole courses have been brilliantly conceived and shaped from the rugged mountain landscape making it a breathtaking environment to tee off at with extraordinary photo opportunities at every turn.
Designed by Sir Bob Charles, Greg Turner and Scott Macpherson, our two 18-hole championship courses each feature five different tee positions for complete enjoyment at all levels of playing expertise.
Coronet 18
With dramatic backdrops of the Remarkables and Coronet Peak, the Coronet 18 sets a new standard for golfing excellence. Superb turf quality with fast and true greens seamlessly integrate into the landscape. Whether circuiting Millbrook's mountain tarn or just soaking in the scenery, the experience is second to none.
Remarkables 18
Fast and true greens, fine turf quality and a stunning alpine setting combine to provide the golfing experience for which Millbrook is renowned. With the Crown Range and Arrow river valley providing mesmerising backdrops, focusing on the golf can be quite the test.
Paraparaumu Beach
The course was designed in 1949 by former Australian Open champion Alex Russell, the highly acclaimed course architect and onetime partner of Dr Alister MacKenzie, the world renowned course architect. The course has been widely acclaimed over the years.
Tiger Woods competed in the 2002 NZ Open at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club.
Royal Auckland and Grange Golf Course
The 27-hole Royal Auckland and Grange Golf Club was designed by Chris Cochran of Nicklaus Design, building on the heritage of the original Royal Auckland and Grange courses and is the premier golf club and golfing facility within the Auckland region. Today, it is comparable with the best metropolitan golf clubs in Australasia.
Royal Wellington
As the first golf club in New Zealand to receive “Royal” status, Royal Wellington boasts a rich history and a beautifully presented parkland course. Located along the Hutt River, it has hosted multiple New Zealand Opens and remains a favourite for its classic design and natural elegance.
Te Arai North
Starting and finishing on the Ocean, the 18 hole, par 71 golf course has been designed as a traditional walking links golf experience. Designed by Tom Doak, the same designer as sister course, Tara Iti (ranked #6 in the world), you can expect the North Course near the top of its class. Playing very differently than the South Course, with more inland golf and unique green shapes, we will let you decide which is your favourite.
Possibly the most dramatic holes on the course will be the 11th and 13th. The former is a long par-5 with an elevated green and a ‘whirlpool’ hazard to the right, some seven meters below the green. The 13th is a long par-4 with its green at the edge of a huge natural bunker, so that second shots have to be played over the sand or safely around to the left. It’s a hole very reminiscent of Pine Valley in New Jersey, and indeed so is much of the inland terrain at Te Arai.
It is odd having to apologize for a golf course that ‘only’ features the ocean for seven of the 18 holes, but that is how spoiled golfers have become by the best of New Zealand’s modern golf courses.
Te Arai South
The 18-hole, Coore and Crenshaw-designed golf course is a par-72 layout, offering a traditional walking links experience set over 36 hectares (90 acres) of turf across the property’s natural, rolling sand dunes. All 18 holes have spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, with Little Barrier Island and the Hen and Chicks Islands in the background.
The South Course debuted at #85 on the latest 23/24 GOLF Magazine Top 100 Courses in the World List.
Te Arai’s landforms vary from heaving sand ridges and meandering valleys to rumpled contours reminiscent of the classic seaside links on which the game began. These contours are the foundation and inspiration for the golf holes of Te Arai Links. The holes are as varied in appearance and character as the land itself. There are highly individualistic, some might even say quirky holes, like the shortish par fours at three, six, and sixteen, each reflecting the drama and unique character of the landforms that created their concepts. There are more traditional yet equally dramatic holes like the inland second, the tenth and eleventh; and there are the visually spectacular seaside holes at seven, eight, nine and fifteen through eighteen.
Titirangi
The Titirangi golf course was designed in 1927 by world-renowned golf course architect Dr Alister MacKenzie, and is the only MacKenzie-designed course in New Zealand. Other MacKenzie courses include icons such as Augusta, Cypress Point and Royal Melbourne.
US Links magazine, US Golf Digest, Robb Report and top100golfcourses all rate Titirangi as the best course in Auckland, and in the top 7 in the country.
Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary
Embark on a journey through 18 captivating holes, each offering a unique challenge amidst stunning natural surroundings. Let the chorus of native birds, the gentle flow of streams, and the charm of cascading waterfalls guide your way.
The design was entrusted to Commander John Harris, one of England’s most esteemed and widely travelled golf course architects, whose family had played a pivotal role in shaping iconic courses such as Moor Park, Wentworth, and Sunningdale. Partnering with fellow Englishman Michael Wolveridge and Australian legend Peter Thomson—a five-time British Open champion—the trio crafted New Zealand’s first internationally acclaimed golf course. Their collaboration not only met but surpassed all expectations, leaving an enduring legacy in the minds of New Zealanders.
Windross Farm
A new star on the Auckland golf scene, Windross Farm has quickly gained recognition for its wide fairways, strategic design, and tournament pedigree, having hosted the LPGA Tour. Surrounded by rolling farmland and set against rural landscapes, it offers a fresh, modern golf experience.
– Stay in Style –
Luxury Accommodation Alongside New Zealand’s Finest Courses
A world-class round of golf deserves a world-class place to unwind. New Zealand is home to some of the most exclusive lodges and resorts, many located right beside the country’s top golf courses. From clifftop retreats with ocean views to alpine resorts surrounded by mountains, each stay combines fine dining, spa indulgence, and five-star service — the perfect complement to your golf experience.
Your New Zealand Golf Experience Awaits
