An exclusive flyover of the second hole at Te Arai Links North Course, set to open in October. Video / Ricky Robinson
Kiwi golfers will have a chance to get early access to one of the most anticipated new courses in the country as the opening date looms for Te Arai Links North just south of Mangawhai.
The North Course is set to open in October, a year after the Te AraiLinks South Course opened to members to complete the world-class duo by fund manager Ric Kayne and managing partner Jim Rohrstaff — the men behind Tara Iti Golf Club, another high-end golf resort about 5km north that opened in 2015.
Tara Iti will remain a member-only course while the Te Arai Links North and South courses will be accessible to non-members. The two courses will rotate daily between a private course for members and their guests and a resort course for those staying in the accommodation and greens fee players.
The North Course is designed by Tom Doak, one of the most respected golf architects in the world. Photo / Ricky Robinson
A green at Te Arai Links North Course with Great Barrier Island in the background. Photo / Ricky Robinson
The North Course is designed by Tom Doak, one of the most respected golf architects in the world, who also designed Tara Iti and Cape Kidnappers.
The North Course features eight coastal holes with the rest of the course meandering through large dunes and forest. Doak has previously stated the inland holes remind him of the property at Pine Valley, the No.1-ranked golf course in the world.
Te Arai Links South opened in October and has quickly slotted itself beside sister course Tara Iti as one of the highest acclaimed in the country. The Core and Crenshaw-designed South Course was recently ranked No.2 in New Zealand by Australian Golf Digest, topped only by Tara Iti. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to expect all three courses to top the list next year. Te Arai Links South was also ranked seventh in Golf.com’s Top 100 Asia Pacific list, with Tara Iti No.3.
First look at the Te Arai Links North Course south of Mangawhai that is to open in October. Photo / Ricky Robinson
Te Arai Links North Course is set to open in October and is expected to feature in top-courses lists around the world. Photo / Ricky Robinson
The North Course will open from October with casual tee times to be released to the public in the month leading in. That means Kiwi golfers have the chance to be the first in the world to play 18 holes at low shoulder-season rates.
The 60 properties across the North and South courses, all with ocean views to Little Barrier Island and Great Barrier Island, sold out two years ago but two sections are on the market in the mid-$3 million-mid-$4 million range. Legacy Partners manages the real estate offering at both Tara Iti and Te Arai Links.
That price tag doesn’t come with only two stunning golf courses. Ric’s Pizza Barn opened last year alongside the Playground putting green, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, next to the South Course clubhouse. There are only a few putting greens in the world that will be close to its size with the likes of the Punchbowl at Bandon Dunes in Oregon, St Andrews’ famous Himalayas at the Old Course and Thistle Dhu at Pinehurst matching it for scale.
The Playground putting green at Te Arai Links South Course. Photo / Ricky Robinson
There are also tennis, pickle ball and a half basketball court being completed now, while in the next 12-18 months the Ocean Restaurant will be completed overlooking the South Course’s 18th green along with the North Clubhouse and a spa fitness centre.
World No.3 Lydia Ko spent part of her honeymoon earlier this year at Te Arai Links and recorded a hole in one at Tara Iti while setting a course record.
Club members include world No.43 Ryan Fox, who has the Te Arai Links logo emblazoned his golf bag, while All Black and Blues star Beauden Barrett has shared a number of rounds at the course on social media.
