The back nine at Cape Kidnappers. Photo / Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
The back nine at Cape Kidnappers. Photo / Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
Three middle handicappers take on Cape Kidnappers, one of the country’s most renowned and picturesque golf courses, which turns 21 this year. Does it still have the magic that saw the course open to world acclaim two decades ago?
It’s a “must-do”for every Kiwi golfer. At least once should they make the pilgrimage to Hawke’s Bay, head through Clive and Te Awanga and turn right up the winding Forestry Rd to golfing paradise. However, even paradise benefits from a few improvements.
During Covid, Cape Kidnappers underwent not exactly a facelift but a timely upgrade. Famed architect Tom Doak directed a complete regrassing of every fairway and putting surface, restoring the bounce and roll that make his bold features work. Manuka and kanuka trees that occupied the deep ravines between holes were trimmed, while the signature 15th hole was restored to its original best. The par five dubbed “Pirate’s Plank” had rampant tree growth throughout the years, which had obscured the sight lines of the fairway, which plays down a finger of ridge to a cliff-edge green – one of the best spots to hit a shot in the country.
A mighty cypress that towered beside the ninth green was also removed, due to a combination of old age and disease. Doak replaced the non-native with a cavernous grass bunker. He also okayed the removal of several non-native grandfather pines on the par-four 10th.
With the new work completed, the Herald teed up at the testing course.
When you first enter through the gate at Cape Kidnappers, you then have another 15 or so minutes of driving until you get to the clubhouse – a nice way to build anticipation for what’s to come. You slowly get a sneak peek of the opening fairway as you head into the car park. But it’s when you turn the corner from the carpark and head towards the clubhouse, passing the first tee, that you get a sense of the panoramic views across Hawke Bay and the South Pacific Ocean.
A rusticand wooden interior means the clubhouse is a warm and inviting spot, especially from the veranda which features views across the ocean. The clubhouse has a well-stacked pro shop with everything a golfer would ever need, a locker-room and a bar and dining area. We made sure to stop after the front nine, have a drink and soak it all in.
Best honours board fact 1
The only honours board in the clubhouse is the one any golfer would love to appear on ‘The Cape Kidnappers Hole in One club’. The first name on the board is Alex Robertson, the son of Julian Robertson who built the course. Alex sunk a hole-in-one at the par three 13th just days before the course was opened to the public, which is why the hole is named ‘Al’s Ace.
Best honours board fact 2
Married couple Mary Ellen McCann and John McCann both got aces on January 11, 2007. Mary on the eighth and then John at the 13th. While the name above them, Peter Holbrook, who also aced the eighth was on the same golf cruise.
Best cafe item
Cape Kidnappers is not really a cafe vibe so no sausage roll in sight. But the Wagyu Beef Burger looked very appealing on the menu for a treat at the turn.
Practice range and putting facilities
The practice range, putting and chipping greens are world class, as you would expect. Spending some time in the bunker pre-round proved to be a wise decision.
Carts are $50 per person for 18 holes but, if you’re up for it, it’s also a lovely walk.
Opening tee
No 1 is tricky, but it does have a fairly wide fairway – although there is a danger of going long for some if you’re using a driver. It’s a dogleg right, but not the kind where cutting the corner is a good idea. Just a small taster before some of the best views on a golf course in the world.
Most daunting shot
There are several tough holes but the sixth, called “Gulley”, probably takes the cake. It’s a long par three (206m from the blue tees and 174m from whites) that almost guarantees lost balls for shanks and left misses. Just being able to hit the green was a highlight.
Once you make the turn, the views on almost every hole are breathtaking. The signature stretch is 12-16. The 12th green looks to hover on the horizon which explains its name ‘Infinity’. The 13th is the shortest par three on the edge of the cliffs, some 120m above the sea, while the 15th is a long par five that is straight but will punish anything left (don’t look over the edge of the fairway if you’re afraid of heights). The 16th probably has the coolest (or scariest depending on your feeling of heights) tee box in the country – it feels like you’re teeing off from the edge of the world. Easily my favourite green to hit into is the last - a punchbowl. Give me a bucket of balls and I’d hit that approach all day.
Difficulty
If you hit it fairly straight off the tee, you’ll be mostly fine. But things do get quite thick around the rough. The greens are dialled up.
The 12th green at Cape Kidnappers has a view across Hawke's Bay.
Is it worth it?
Definitely. This is as iconic as it gets in New Zealand. A must-play course for any Kiwi golfer. It was a cracking day for most of the round before a thunderstorm kicked off as we began the 18th. Despite being drenched as we walked into the clubhouse it certainly didn’t dampen the experience. The staff were brilliant and every other golfer we came across seemed to be having the time of their lives.
Cape Kidnappers opened in 2004 to huge acclaim, with Travel & Leisure Golf magazine dubbing it the “eighth wonder of world”. It was the first overseas project for renowned designer Tom Doak, who is now rated one of the best in the field. Formally a sheep station and built on a ridge-and-valley landscape, Doak carved out holes along clifftops that feature sheer drops below for any wayward shots.
Course details
Par 71. Yardage ranges from 4188m (yellow tees) to 6569m (blue tees). From the blues, it’s a 75.6 rating with 143 slope.
Acclaim
The course was previously ranked 21st in Golf Digest’s World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses list and 11th in Golf.com’s recent Top 100 Courses in Asia Pacific list. It is rated number seven in the country in the latest top 100 by rankings coordinator Andrew Whiley. Cape Kidnappers hosted the Kiwi Challenge event in 2008 and 2009 with a purse of more than US$2 million ($3.5m), which was won by Hunter Mahan and Anthony Kim respectively.
18 holes for NZ residents is $325 (Apr-May), $225 (June-August). Cart $50 (per person). Caddie $150. Club rental $100.
Getting there
A 35-minute drive from Napier or Hastings.
Stay options
If you want to stay on course, you’re looking at some of the best accommodation in the country, with a cottage and suites with views out over Hawke’s Bay. Prices start at $2898 per night.
