Touring golfers visiting New Zealand will certainly want to play both Cape Kidnappers and Kauri Cliffs, so comparisons will always be drawn. Kauri Cliffs is a little closer to the ocean and has been laid out to make the most of the sea views. The 6th, 7th and then the run from the 14th to the 17th are all as close to the water as the topography allows.

Common to its sister course Cape Kidnappers 500 miles to the south, Kauri Cliffs is a cliff top golf course situated in an enormous tract of land. As course designer David Harman pointed out “at Kauri Cliffs, there are 4,500 acres; I see a couple of hundred golf holes. How do you tie them together? That’s the challenge.” Even though the golf course fills a small part of Julian Robertson’s land, the routing is elongated to make the most of the stunning sea views. The straight-line distance from the two extremities of the course (the 7th tee to the 14th tee) must surely be the longest of all non-links courses anywhere in the world.

Nothing whitens the knuckles quite like the experience of being asked to play across gorges and onto fairways bordered by the healthiest looking long grass in the world. Most balls that find this deepest cut of rough are gone forever. Playing Kauri Cliffs is quite a formidable test from the tees and I’m sure I’m not alone in fearing that a mounting tally of lost balls was beginning to detract from the views. An important decision for the golfer at the outset of his or her day is to select an appropriate set of tees from which to play.

The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs and the golf course are well admired by all who visit this striking part of the North Island. Travelling American golfers, who form an important part of the visitor base, compare Kauri Cliffs favourably with Cypress Point and Pebble Beach.

The above passage is a brief edited extract from The Finest Golf Courses of Asia and Australasia by James Spence. Reproduced with kind permission.