Golfing in Central Otago
PaR nz Golfing Holidays has taken over management of the popular Mount Michael Central Otago Autumn Golf Classic to be held in Central Otago this April. Due to the popularity of the event this year event is SOLD OUT.
It will be the 10th anniversary of the five-course tournament, which typically attracts more than 400 men and women players. Many competitors arrive as teams representing over 150 clubs throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Tournament Director Denise Langdon, of PaR nz Golfing Holidays, says the region is likely to be at its crisp, clear and colourful best for the event scheduled for April 9 – 13, 2018. Course Highlights for Wanaka, Queenstown, Alexandra, Cromwell, Arrowtown are featured below.
To enquire for the 2019 event
and for more information contact
Denise Langdon
Tournament Director / Promoter
Phone 0275 662 385
Queenstown Golf Club
(Kelvin Heights)
• Blue 6102m
• White 5839m
• Ladies 5141m
• Red 4100m
EVER seen a post-card of Queenstown? If so then it has probably been taken from the top
of Skyline Gondola and has the Queenstown Golf Club in it!
This picturesque golf club offers not only Stunning views of the Remarkables mountain
range and Lake Wakatipu but is an exciting and challenging golf experience. Located just 20
minutes from Queenstown, or 5 minutes by water taxi, this is one of New Zealand’s iconic
golf clubs which is a ‘must play’ for all golfers visiting the region. The Course is surrounded
by lake Wakatipu and cradled by stunning mountain ranges so every tee and green has
a view which makes it hard to keep your head down! Signature hole’s take on a whole new
level at the Queenstown golf club especially the 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th, 14th and 17th which
could be signature holes on any course.
With a proud and loyal membership, Queenstown golf club has a long history and welcomes visitors year-round. Equipped with 36 modern motorised carts, a PGA Professional, Pro shop, 7 day a week Café specialising in home-made faire and fully licenced Bar ensures all your golfing needs are met and exceeded.
The signature hole and probably one of the more scenic photographs on a New Zealand golf course would be the par 4 5th that curves left around the shoreline of Lake Wakatipu to an elevated green. Driving line is key as an over aggressive line combined with a miss-timed drive will see you ending up in the drink, however, the hole sets up for a right to left shaped drive which will carve yardage off your approach shot.
The facilities are excellent, carts and club hire available from the pro shop. Green fees range
from $60-95 depending on seasons.
www.queenstowngolf.co.nz
Email: proshop@queenstowngolf.co.nz
Phone: 03-442 9169
Wanaka Golf Club
• Blue 5770m
• White 5496m
• Ladies 5058m
A short 50-minute scenic drive from Queenstown, the township of Wanaka is a stunning and tranquil holiday destination in the heart of the Queenstown Lakes region. Perched above the picturesque township is the lovely Wanaka golf club; the biggest club in Otago and Southland with over1000 members.
Host to the NZ Mixed foursomes in 2016, the NZ Women’s Seniors in 2012 and Men’s in 2009,
Wanaka Golf Club boasts a well maintained, charming and challenging layout, with great value for money. Measuring 5770m (blues) and 5496m (whites) the course isn’t long by modern standards, but careful course management and the ability to shape your shots is important if you want to
score well. The small greens and natural contours of the land also present their own challenge, so playing safe to the middle of the greens is recommended.
It’s also important to try and keep your eye on the ball, as the spectacular views across the
town and lake to Mount Aspiring National Park are some of the best in New Zealand, and can
certainly add an extra distraction to your game. The two nines are very different. The front-nine,
which was established in the 1930s, features an undulating layout with small greens nestled
amongst the rolling terrain. The back nine, which was added across the road in 1967, is much longer and slightly flatter—but no less spectacular. The club has progressed significantly in the past decade with capital improvements and course upgrades, making it one of the most scenic and playable courses around.
The club features all the usual facilities you’d expect from a quality golf club, including club
and cart hire, fully-stocked pro shop, driving range and a café and bar.
www.wanakagolf.co.nz
Email: wanaka@golf.co.nz
Phone: +64 3 443 7888
Alexandra Golf Club
• Blue 6000m
• White 5718m
• Ladies 5179m
Alexandra lies in the beautiful Manuherikia valley at the confluence of the Manuherikia and Clutha rivers. Surrounded by the high mountain ranges of the Old Man, Dunstan and Hawkduns, and with the barren Knobby Range as its background, this is a special part of Central Otago featuring stunning scenery, great history as well as plenty of things to do for golfers and non golfers alike.
The pines bordering the golf course along State Highway 8 were originally planted to contain the desert sands that prevailed in the area. Most find it hard to imagine that today’s stunning golf course could be created from such beginnings. The course features a flat but undulating desert type terrain with fully irrigated fairways from tee to green. Narrow fairways mean accuracy is of prime importance if you are to avoid the desert remnants in the rough and the many trees lining the fairways.
Of interest, and one reason why golfers find their round at Alexandra appears to go so quickly, is the lack of continuous holes of same par value! Only twice in the 18 holes do you play consecutive holes of equal par!
With the high ranges viewable from most parts of the course golfers find this is a most scenic as well as challenging course.
At just over an hour drive from Queenstown and Wanaka the golf course and this unique area are well worth a visit. Come and see what we mean, phone SubPar golf shop at 03 448 8374 or email SubPar@xtra.co.nz to book a tee time now.
Green fees are $35 for NZ affiliated players with group discounts available.
www.alexandragolf.co.nz
State Highway 8, Alexandra 9340
Tel/Fax: 03 448 8204
Cromwell Golf Club
• Black 6462m
• Blue 6234m
• White 5844m
• Yellow 5204m
• Red 4468m
The Cromwell Golf Course is a sand based, links style course located further from the sea than any other in New Zealand. Its fairways follow the natural lie of the land and features a sandy, wasteland feel, rough with patches of marram grass and large undulating greens.
The course has 5 tee locations ranging from beginner to championship providing a real challenge for all levels of golfer and was rated 34th (13th in South Island) in the 2017 Top Golf Courses of New Zealand list by respected international organisation “top100golfourses”. The Cromwell course hosts the New Zealand Open final qualifying event annually.
Course facilities include a full length driving range and large multi-tier putting and chipping green, on-site PGA Professional, fully stocked pro-shop along with electric cart, trundle, and club hire.
Situated on the 45th parallel, the inland location and surrounding mountains creates a microclimate nearing semi-arid. With less than 400mm (<15 inches) of evenly spread rain and 2200 hours of sunshine per year, golf can be played comfortably year-round with dry underfoot conditions. In winter a crisp white frost usually ensures a brilliantly sunny day in which to enjoy a round of golf on a course maintained to a consistently high standard.
The golf course is in the centre of the town, which in turn is surrounded by vine yards and orchards. This is the centre of the world renown Central Otago Pinot Noir producing locations of Bannockburn, Bendigo and Lowburn so wine tasting opportunities are numerous. The town is also located adjacent to Lake Dunstan and the junction of the Clutha and Kawarau Rivers.
www.cromwellgolf.co.nz
Cromwell 9310, New Zealand
Phone: 03 445 0165
Arrowtown Golf Club
• White 5495m
• Ladies 5035m
Arrowtown golf club is the jewel in the crown literally as it sits below the Crown Range and runs alongside the famous Arrow river which over 100 years ago was once a hive of activity during the gold rush era. The course borders the outskirts of Arrowtown which is about 20km from the centre of Queenstown and offers stunning views of some well known ski fields, the Remarkables and Coronet Peak. If you are lucky enough to play on this hidden gem then you’ll will no doubt be blown away by the unique layout of the course as the narrow rolling fairways weave their way through valleys and rocky pillars very much like Roxburgh golf club. In the summertime the Browntop grass in the long rough is left to seed, leaving a colour scheme that represents a truly natural setting and makes the course look like a postcard. In 2012 the course won the New Zealand Golf Course Superintendants Association (NZGCSA) Environment award which recognises New Zealand’s leading golf course in relation to their environmental management practices. The club under took the removal of wilding trees and broom, while re-establishing Matagouri amongst the schist rock outcrops.
From a playability perspective, the course is
the shortest out of the top 5 but probably requires the most accuracy from tee to greens.
Again like Wanaka, Roxburgh and North Otago, the greens are very small. However for any big hitters, there are a lot of risk and reward holes that can provide a lot of birdies but also double bogeys and beyond. One of the best holes is the 18th which requires a blind shot over a hill to a fairway that slopes to the left towards a pond. A good drive leaves only a wedge shot to the green and a good birdie opportunity however getting a
good drive away is the key.
Club hire is available and green fees are $50.00 for NZ Affiliated and $85.00 for Non Affiliated.
www.arrowtowngolf.co.nz/
166 Centennial Ave, Arrow Junction 9371
Phone: 03-442 1719
