"As golf course designers, Ben Crenshaw and I have sought sand-based sites where random contours shaped by the wind provide the foundation for interesting golf, sites where the land more than the designers determine the design and character of the course."

At Te Arai Links we have been given a great gift, a uniquely special site for golf, comprised of sand dunes and landforms sculpted by the wind, adjacent to the sea.

Te Arai’s landforms vary from heaving sand ridges and meandering valleys to rumpled contours reminiscent of the classic seaside links on which the game began. These contours are the foundation and inspiration for the golf holes of Te Arai Links. The holes are as varied in appearance and character as the land itself. There are highly individualistic, some might even say, quirky holes like the shortish par fours at three, six and sixteen, each reflecting the drama and unique character of the landforms that created their concepts. There are more traditional yet equally dramatic holes like the inland second, the tenth and eleventh; and there are the visually spectacular seaside holes at seven, eight, nine and fifteen through eighteen.

There are lengthy holes and finesse holes. There are holes with varying shapes and sizes, with character and golf strategies based upon the natural contours we discovered on site.

The South Course at Te Arai Links has sixteen ocean view golf holes and eight holes bordering directly on the sea. Without question, it will be a photogenic and visually stunning golf course.

Course Information


The 18 hole, par 72 golf course has been designed as a traditional walking links golf experience, set over 36 hectares (90 acres) of turf, across the property’s natural rolling sand dunes. All 18 holes have spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, with Little Barrier Island and the Hen and Chicks Islands in the background.

The South Course debuted at #85 on the latest 23/24 GOLF Magazine Top 100 Courses in the World List.

Course Yardage:
Championship: 6,843 (6,256 metres)
Back: 6,422 (5,870 metres)
Middle: 5,918 (5,410metres)
Forward: 5,075 (4,640 metres)


Greens: Fescue


Tees & Fairways: Fescue


South Course Teaser


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