Te Arai Links North

“The North Course starts and finishes on the ocean, but for me the unique character of the course will be found inland. The green of the par-4 5th hole, and the next tee, sit high on a ridge adjacent to an ancient Māori Pa, or hill fortress, built from the largest dune on the property, while the 4th, 6th, 7th and 9th greens sit in a shared bowl amongst the dunes.”

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. The North Course promises to be near the head of the class.