NEW ZEALAND
TE ARAI NORTH LINKS The par-3 second green of the Tom Doak design.
ALISTER MACKENZIE CONNECTIONS
The North’s holes are mostly inland, within a forest of tall pines, a vast silence around us as we played in late after- noon. No one else to be seen, other than a woman from the halfway house who drove past in her car and told us she was going home, but had left some drinks for
us. Suddenly the course was back at the coast on 8 and 9, before climbing back over a ridge to the main arena. Interestingly, all three courses had a shortish par-3 17th similar in design, and all finished with a thrilling par-5 close to the ocean.
Two of the premier “older” courses I played were Titirangi in Auckland, a rare original Alister Mackenzie design, and Paraparaumu Beach much further south, close to Wellington. Both are easy to walk, tees and greens close to- gether, and quality layouts deserving of World Top 100 status, although they aren’t always recognised as such. Per- haps being far apart doesn’t help. Auckland, the biggest city in New Zealand, doesn’t have many notable courses, but Titirangi is extra special. Renovated in recent years, I was en- tranced by its tropical beauty and re- markable golf holes. Not that dissimilar to Durban Country Club in its routing and soft undulations, yet with bunker- ing and greens that blow your mind. The greens were so incredibly firm, fast and sloping that it was simple to mis- judge a putt. It had four of the best par 3s I’ve ever played on one course. The holes themselves were mixed in their TITIRANGI Classic bunkering and rolling greens are features of this Alister Mackenzie design in Auckland.
PARAPARAUMU BEACH The par-4 17th green at one of New Zealand’s oldest links, north of Wellington.
get through the entrance gate for start- ers. The membership is predominantly American, and Tara Iti has that private club reek to it, although the clubhouse is minute. I needed to have a member introduce me, and then join him in a round. TE ARAI SOUTH & NORTH The next best thing if you miss out on Tara Iti is to play the two neighbouring Te Arai Links resort courses, which are equally exceptional links, and from the outset much more playable with their wide playing corridors. Doak was as- signed the North, and Coore & Cren- shaw the South. If Tara Iti didn’t exist, they might have a higher profile, partic- ularly the South, which was a thrilling ride from start to finish and my favou- rite of the two. The two courses are quite separate from each other, with one clubhouse and range facility, and restaurants at each. High-end accommodation is
available in lodges. The South begins inland, longish holes weaving through a stately pine forest which is a feature of the entire property. However, after climbing a hill to the third green, the fourth fair- way tumbles steeply down the other side with grand ocean views. The holes from there to the finish mainly traverse the coast and are high enough that you enjoy better views of the beach and ocean than there were at Tara Iti. The holes on the back nine undulate rug- gedly through the dunes. The North is a longer layout and the higher ranked of the two in Golf Digest’s World 100. It opens with a glorious look- ing short 4 overlooking the sea. Doak designs have a different feel to them because he is an impressionist wanting to make an original statement. He is given grand sites to work with and de- lights the eye at every turn. Some of the greens on this course are wild; putting on them a thrilling sensation.
errors are magnified. Twice I found greenside bunkers from which a recov- ery shot was nigh on impossible, my attempt resulting in the ball scuttling away down a slope into further trouble. It was deflating, yet the arrival of each superlative new hole gave me renewed energy, and a sense of wonderment at the level of course architecture that has been achieved here. The sculpted greens complexes were works of art. The routing was delightfully eccen- tric. A par 3 at the second hole, then three on the back nine. The champi- onship tees were 6 928 metres, par 71, and there were three immense par 4s where the club tees had an advantage of around 90 metres. It is a course which visitors essen- tially need to play a second time, be- cause even with a compulsory caddie in tow it was difficult to foresee out- comes. But this isn’t a club where you can walk up and play whenever you like. As at Augusta National you won’t
114 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 115
MARCH/APRIL 2026
MARCH/APRIL 2026
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator