Kauri Cliffs

Golf on a genuinely theatrical scale. Fifteen holes look to the Pacific, six play the very edge of the land.

Slope Rating

144 Par

72 Yardage

7,139

Kauri Cliffs occupies a working farm on New Zealand’s Northland coast, and the scale of the land is felt in every hole. Fifteen of the eighteen look out over the Pacific; six are played directly along clifftops that fall away to the sea. The front nine winds down through rolling hills and farmland before the course reaches the water in earnest, a slow build rather than an immediate reveal.

David Harman’s original routing, completed in 2000, was later refined by Rees Jones, whose redesign of the par-3 5th – set above Pink Beach with the Cavalli Islands beyond – remains one of the most photographed holes in New Zealand golf.

The course is part of Julian Robertson’s Robertson Lodges portfolio, alongside Cape Kidnappers and Matakauri Lodge in Queenstown, and the level of finish and service reflects that pedigree throughout.

Designer

David Harman (original design); Rees Jones (5th hole redesign)

Opened

2000

Tee time availability

Difficult – Lodge guests are given priority

Special information

Helicopter transfer available from Auckland. Carts are effectively required given elevation change and distances between holes.

Tiger’s best round

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Rory’s best round

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Mens course record

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Ladies course record

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Round duration

4 hours 30 minutes

Caddy guide

Caddies available and recommended, particularly for first-time visitors navigating the elevation changes

Buggies

Buggies Available

The clifftop holes demand full commitment under pressure; club selection into the wind is the recurring test.

Positioning off the tee sets up the round; the inland holes are more forgiving than the coastal stretch.

Wide fairways through the farmland front nine ease you in before the cliffs test nerve as much as skill.

Green speed

Firm and true

Wind

Full exposure on the clifftop holes; more sheltered through the inland farmland stretch

Pace of play

Well managed

Nerves on the first tee

Understated – the course eases in through farmland before the cliffs and their pressure arrive later in the round

Clubhouse

The Lodge – a generous country-homestead style property with panoramic views over the course to Matauri Bay, dining indoors or on the terrace, pro shop downstairs

The par-3 5th, redesigned by Rees Jones above Pink Beach with the Cavalli Islands as backdrop, is the course’s calling card. The clifftop stretch on the closing holes provides a fitting finish.

Warm Northland climate, mild year-round. Best window November–April. Wind off the Pacific is the defining factor on the clifftop holes.