| Kauri Cliffs Golf Club |
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The Kauri Cliffs is a seaside course that features the views of the Pacific
Ocean on fifteen out of its eighteen holes. Six holes in this course are
designed alongside a cliff, which ultimately will plunge into the sea.
Players can enjoy the astounding panoramic views from every hole. These
spectacular views can surely help to ease the pain if players are having
a bad play. Aside from the fifteen Pacific Ocean holes, there are three
beautiful inland holes that are surrounded by a combination of marsh,
forest, and farmland.
Scorecard |
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| The fifth hole is a demanding and long par three. Players must think hard about the correct club selection on the tee box in order for their ball to avoid the two bunkers that surround the front side of the green. | ||||||
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| This par four consists of a slight dogleg bend to the right. Players should really pay attention on the tee shot, as they will need to get their ball over a valley and avoid the hazard on the right side of the hole. The second shot is uphill shot and it is recommended to choose a club that is two or three clubs longer than the marked distance. The green itself is deep and undulated. | ||||||
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| The eighth hole is an almost straight and uphill hole. A carry of about 230-yard is recommended in order to clear the fairway bunker on the right side of the fairway. The green is narrow and two-tiered. | ||||||
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| This hole is a par four with a slight dogleg bend to the left. Players should try their best to drive their tee shot onto the right side of the fairway so that their second shot has the best angle into the green. However, the fairway does slope from the right to the left, so players should also calculate accordingly. The green is narrow and is surrounded by five bunkers. | ||||||
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The fourteenth hole is a pretty and slightly downhill hole that has deep bunkers on the right and severe drop-offs on the left side of the double-tired green. |
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| This par five is a slightly downhill hole with dogleg that bends to the left. This par five is reachable in two shots and has a world-class view of ocean beyond the cliffs that run along the left hand side. The tee shot will need both distance and accuracy since the ball will need hover over the valley and land in a narrow landing area. The green is vertically double-tiered and slopes from right to left.ea is narrow. The green is double-tiered left & right and slopes from right to left. | ||||||
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| The second to last hole is a par four that consists of a sharp dogleg that bends to the left. Starting off with an over-a-valley downhill tee shot, the hole ends with a large double-tiered deep green that is guarded by bunkers on both sides. | ||||||
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It is a four-hour drive to get to Kauri Cliffs Golf Club from the city of Auckland. Since the distances were originally in meters, I have taken the time to convert them into yards. Players can play freely from the longest tees. The Lodge accommodation is absolutely superb. Every suite offers its own private porch, bedroom with sitting area, open fireplace, walk-in wardrobe, and a bathroom. The cottages are nestled in a native forest that overlooks the golf course and the Pacific Ocean.
The owner, Julian Robertson, is an American billionaire who managed the Tiger Fund in the 90s and was a famous a hedge fund manager. Robertson was so breath taken by the beauty of New Zealand that he developed two great golf clubs with excellent accommodations. The other golf club is the Cape Kidnappers Golf Club. Both Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers are known to be in many top 100 golf courses ranting. The designer, David Harmon, is a consultant for golf courses. He used to work at Arnold Palmer Design Inc. and has great experience in the field of golf course design. Harmon has designed over 200 courses globally. Kauri Cliffs was ranked 2nd in the top 25 courses in New Zealand in 2010 by a panel of NZPGA Professionals and Golf Travel operators. There are 400 golf courses in New Zealand. US Golf Magazine ranked 63rd of the top 100 courses in the world for
2007. Those others selected in Asia and Oceania were Royal
Melbourne GC – West Course (15th, Australia), Kingstone
Heath GC (26th, Australia), Barnbougle
Dunes GC (35th, Australia), New
South Wales GC (36th, Australia), Hirono
GC (37th, Japan), Cape Kidnappers GC (41st, New Zealand), The
Club at Nine Bridges (60th, Korea), Royal Adelaide GC (75th, Australia),
Royal
Melbourne GC – East Course (72nd), Tokyo
GC (84th, Japan), Kawana
HGC – Fuji Course (87th, Japan), and Naruo
GC (94th, Japan).
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4th Par 5 558 yards (2)