Top 10 Golf Courses in New Zealand
New Zealand's golf scene punches far above the country's population weight. A nation of five million people supports more than 400 golf courses — one of the highest per-capita ratios in the world — and among them are several that routinely appear in global top-100 rankings. The country's landscape is the primary asset: volcanic plateaus, glacially carved fjords, clifftop headlands above the Pacific, and river valleys lined with native bush provide course settings that course architects in flat, populous countries can only dream of. The game arrived with British settlers in the 1860s and has maintained a classless, accessible character that means green fees at even the world-ranked courses are modest by international standards. The season runs October to April for North Island and the warmer South Island regions. Open the map to plan a golf tour across the islands.
1. Cape Kidnappers Golf Course, Hawke's Bay, North Island
Tom Doak designed Cape Kidnappers on a series of ridgelines that drop into the Pacific Ocean on the eastern side of Hawke's Bay, and the result is consistently ranked among the world's top ten courses. The clifftop setting is extraordinary even by New Zealand standards: fairways narrow to 30 metres on exposed ridges above 200-metre drops to the sea below, and the views across the bay and toward the distant volcanic cones of the central plateau are unmatched. Par 71, approximately 7,100 yards. The course is attached to the Farm at Cape Kidnappers lodge; green fees are among the highest in New Zealand at around NZD 500, but the experience justifies the premium.
2. Tara Iti Golf Club, Te Arai, North Island
Tara Iti opened in 2015 and immediately entered the global conversation about the finest new courses of the 21st century. Tom Doak and his team built the course on a remote stretch of coastal sand near Mangawhai, north of Auckland, on terrain that mirrors the great Scottish links — wind-swept dunes, fescue fairways, natural hollows forming greenside collection areas. The course is strictly private, accessed through the residential community that surrounds it, and American golf travel is partly responsible for making it internationally famous. The second Tara Iti course — Te Arai Links, also a Doak design — opened nearby and extends the destination's reputation.
3. Kauri Cliffs Golf Course, Matauri Bay, Northland
David Harman designed Kauri Cliffs on a headland above Matauri Bay in Northland, and fifteen of the eighteen holes have views over the Pacific. The course opened in 2000 and has hosted the New Zealand Open. Fairways traverse steep coastal terrain with stands of kauri and pohutukawa framing holes, and three oceanside holes play across headland outcrops where the wind is a permanent variable. Par 72, approximately 6,900 yards from the back tees. Kauri Cliffs is attached to the Kauri Cliffs Lodge, operated by the Robertson group that also owns Cape Kidnappers. Bookings available through the lodge.
4. Jack's Point Golf Course, Queenstown, South Island
Jack's Point sits in the Wakatipu Basin southeast of Queenstown, with the Remarkables mountain range and Lake Wakatipu forming one of the most dramatic backdrops in the game. John Darby designed the layout across glacially sculpted terrain, threading fairways through schist rock outcrops, tussock grass, and wetlands that are integral to the holes rather than incidental features. Par 72, approximately 6,900 yards; the combination of thin alpine air and mountain wind means distance judgement is consistently challenged. Open to the public on a booking basis, with rates well below the Doak designs in Northland.
5. Millbrook Resort, Arrowtown, South Island
Millbrook is Central Otago's premium resort golf destination — 27 holes spread across an estate beneath the Crown Range near the gold rush town of Arrowtown. Bob Charles, New Zealand's own Open Championship winner, contributed to the original design, and the course has grown into a comprehensive resort facility offering quality golf in a setting where the autumn colours of the poplar and fruit orchards are genuinely spectacular. Par 72 for the main 18-hole Coronet combination. Open to resort guests and day visitors; the combination of golf, wine, and Arrowtown's Victorian gold town character makes a multi-day visit natural.
6. Waimakariri Golf Club, North Canterbury, South Island
North Canterbury's Waimakariri Golf Club occupies terrain on the braided river plains west of Christchurch, where the Canterbury Plains meet the foothills of the Southern Alps. The course is a member-run community club rather than a resort destination, representative of the hundreds of well-maintained, accessible New Zealand clubs that form the backbone of the country's golfing culture. Par 72, open to visiting golfers at green fees that make the premium Auckland and Queenstown courses seem extraordinary by comparison. The Canterbury wind is a near-constant factor.
7. Te Anau Golf Course, Fiordland, South Island
Te Anau is the gateway village for Fiordland and Milford Sound, and the local golf course sits on the edge of New Zealand's largest South Island lake with the Fiordland mountains beyond. The course is a 9-hole community layout that doubles for two different loops — modest in ambition but unforgettable in setting. Playing golf at Te Anau, with fiordland mountains rising immediately to the west and lake birds crossing the fairways, offers something that no amount of course design can manufacture. Open to visitors; green fees are minimal.
8. Dunstan Golf Club, Clyde, Central Otago
Central Otago's wine country produces some of New Zealand's finest Pinot Noir, and the Dunstan Golf Club at Clyde sits in the same schist-rock, tussock and vineyard landscape that makes the region visually distinctive. The course is a 9-hole community layout overlooking the Clutha River valley, and the late-afternoon light on the schist stone and golden grass is something photographers travel specifically to capture. Green fees are symbolic; the club welcomes visitors who are passing through the Otago Central Rail Trail or the valley's winery circuit.
9. Matiere Golf Course, King Country, North Island
Matiere is deep in the King Country's farming interior — a region where the last Maori resistance to colonial authority lasted until 1881. The golf course is a 9-hole community layout surrounded by sheep and cattle country, and it represents the most authentic form of New Zealand's golf culture: a paddock course maintained by local volunteers that keeps the game accessible to a dispersed rural population. For visitors who have spent a day at Waitomo Caves nearby, Matiere provides an unexpectedly charming afternoon diversion.
10. Scion Tree Nursery Disc Golf Course, Rotorua, North Island
Rotorua's Scion research forest has developed a disc golf course through its managed plantation, and while traditional ball golf purists might question its inclusion, the venue represents an increasingly important part of New Zealand's golf landscape. Disc golf has grown rapidly across New Zealand and the Scion course — professional length, through mature exotic and native trees — has hosted national-level competition. Rotorua's geothermal and Maori cultural attractions make it a logical base for exploring multiple forms of outdoor recreation simultaneously.
Practical Information
New Zealand's golf season runs broadly from October to April throughout both islands, with the far north of the North Island playable year-round. Winter brings too much rain and cold south of Taupo for comfortable golf. Green fees range from NZD 15 at community clubs to NZD 500 at Cape Kidnappers; the midrange — Jack's Point, Millbrook, municipal courses — sits around NZD 80–150. Most public and resort courses can be booked online. A dedicated New Zealand golf tour connecting the top Northland and Auckland region courses with the Otago and Canterbury offerings covers three weeks comfortably. Open the map for the full geographic picture.