Some of the best things about golf have nothing to do with the score. The early starts. The unexpected weather. The conversations between shots. The places the game takes you, and the things you see along the way.
This summer, we teamed up with our friends at Fairgame to explore four remarkable golf courses across New Zealand's North and South Islands. From the wild coastline west of Auckland to the dramatic mountains surrounding Queenstown, the journey offered a little bit of everything. World-class golf, unpredictable conditions, and landscapes that make you appreciate the walk as much as the game.
For anyone with a New Zealand golf trip on their bucket list, consider these four courses a good place to start.
Muriwai Golf Club
Our journey began on the North Island, at Muriwai Golf Club in Auckland, where coastal winds, native grasses, and sweeping views of the Tasman Sea make for a beautifully unpredictable round.
About 45 minutes west of Auckland, Muriwai Golf Club is a proper introduction to New Zealand's rugged coastline. Set alongside the Tasman Sea, the course features rolling fairways, native grasses, and the kind of coastal winds that can turn an otherwise straightforward shot into an interesting challenge.
This is links golf with a distinctly New Zealand personality. The terrain is raw, the ocean is never far away, and the weather is very much part of the experience.
It's also a refreshingly accessible place to play. Unlike some of the country's more exclusive golf destinations, Muriwai welcomes visiting golfers and offers a traditional clubhouse atmosphere. The course is built on free-draining sandy terrain, making it a year-round option, although the conditions can change quickly.
If you're starting your trip in Auckland, Muriwai makes an excellent first round.
Te Arai Links
Further north, at Te Arai Links in Tomarata, the landscape opens up to an expansive stretch of coastline. Sweeping ocean views, pristine fairways, and a sense of isolation make it easy to forget about everything beyond the next hole.
Head north from Auckland and the scenery begins to change. The city gives way to farmland, quiet coastal roads, and eventually, the sweeping dunes of Te Arai.
Te Arai Links is one of New Zealand's most celebrated modern golf destinations, and it's easy to understand why. The property sits along an extraordinary stretch of coastline, with expansive views of the Pacific Ocean, beautifully sculpted fairways, and an almost cinematic sense of space.
The resort features two 18-hole courses, the North and South, each taking advantage of the natural dune landscape. It's the sort of place where you might arrive planning to play one round and immediately start looking for an excuse to stay another day.
Jack's Point
On the South Island, the scenery takes a dramatic turn. It's the kind of place where the surroundings demand as much attention as the game itself.
Set beneath the towering Remarkables mountain range, with sweeping views across Lake Wakatipu, this is one of the most visually dramatic golf settings you'll find anywhere. The course follows the natural contours of the landscape, weaving through tussock grasslands, rocky outcrops, and steep terrain. There's a wonderful sense that the golf course belongs to the land rather than the other way around.
Designed by John Darby, the 18-hole championship course offers five sets of tees, making the experience approachable for different skill levels. It's also conveniently located around 20 minutes from central Queenstown.
Arrowtown Golf Club
Not far away, Arrowtown Golf Club offers something entirely different. A charming, unconventional course winding through rocky outcrops, native vegetation, and narrow fairways. Shorter doesn't necessarily mean easier, and sometimes the most memorable courses are the ones that surprise you.
Set among rocky outcrops, native vegetation, and the foothills surrounding the historic gold-mining town of Arrowtown, this is a course with plenty of character. It's not particularly long, but what it lacks in distance it makes up for in personality.
Narrow fairways, unconventional layouts, and natural obstacles reward thoughtful play over sheer power. It's the kind of course where local knowledge helps, and where your driver might spend more time in the bag than expected.
The surrounding landscape is equally memorable. In autumn, the hillsides turn shades of gold and orange, giving the course an entirely different character.
Four Courses, Each With Its Own Character
What makes golf in New Zealand so special isn't simply the quality of the courses. It's the variety.
In the space of one trip, you can play along windswept coastlines, walk fairways surrounded by sand dunes, navigate rocky mountain terrain, and tee off beneath some of the most spectacular alpine scenery imaginable. Every course feels different. Every round brings its own challenges. And the journey between them is half the fun.
Until The Next Round
Part of what makes golf special is the way it connects us to our surroundings. No two rounds are ever quite the same. The light changes. The wind picks up. Clouds roll in. Familiar landscapes reveal something new.
It's a game that rewards observation, patience, and perspective. And while the scorecard might tell one story, the memories we take home often tell another. A reminder that sometimes the best part of the game is everything that happens around it.
Thanks to the Fairgame crew for taking us along on the journey.
