TE ARAI LINKS, SOUTH COURSE - 18 POINTS

It’s pretty rare these days to find great links land to build golf courses on. Often, either the land has already been developed or it’s impossible to get permission to disturb it to build a golf course.

The South Course at Te Arai Links is therefore a rare example of a wonderful, new, links course.

Te Arai lies just to the south of Tom Doak’s Tara Iti. When Tara Iti opened, it pretty much became an instant classic. Now that it has become completely private, the owner, Ric Kayne, wanted to take the essence of what made Tara Iti so good and replicate it for a broader audience.

He asked Bill Coore, along with Ben Crenshaw, to route a course over the land that lies just to the south of Tara Iti. When they first came, the area was covered with trees. These weren’t indigenous trees but had been planted some 30 or 40 years previously for commercial purposes. Underneath lay wonderful sandy land, the likes of which is so rare to find, crying out for a golf course to be built on it.

Coore and Crenshaw chose the land that they wanted for the South Course. The plan had always been for Tom Doak to build another course at Te Arai Links, but only after Bill and Ben had had their pick of the land.

The land they chose is amazing. The first three holes play in the trees but after that it’s pretty much open links land, where they have either used or created flanking dunes. After the 3rd hole, only the 10th doesn’t have a view of the sea. If you, like me, love a nice view of the ocean when playing your links golf then you are in for a treat here!

The South Course at Te Arai is a place where you can really enjoy your game. This is fun golf, on steroids. There’s plenty of width from the tee and it will be pretty hard to lose a ball. Like at so many good courses, the philosophy of ‘easy for high handicaps to make bogeys, but hard for low handicaps to make a ton of birdies’ holds true here. It was part of the concept behind Tara Iti and it works here.

I think I’m correct in saying that you could start from the first tee and walk the entire front nine on one piece of short grass and then again from the 10th on the back nine. I really love that, it means you won’t find lots of forced carries and there is always a way to the green.

It’s always a good sign when you can remember all of the holes a few days after your round and that’s definitely the case here. The early holes through the trees are reminiscent of Pinehurst, or even Pine Valley, but then things change gear on the fourth. It’s a brilliant par 4 that sweeps down the hill from left to right and takes you from the trees to the links land. It’s quite a long hole but plays shorter due to the slope (and turf) and is just a great ‘reveal’ of what’s to come.

Then there’s the short par 3 fourth hole, playing with the river and ocean behind, before another really strong par 4 at the fifth.

The sixth then plays over (or around) a massive dune on the left with the water off to your right. Exhilarating stuff!

The quality is very high throughout the round, but the run in from the thirteenth is particularly strong with driveable pars 4s, short par 3s and some longer holes scattered in. They are all set with the water on the left hand side - such a great setting.

Coore and Crenshaw have made the land interesting, without ever going crazy. The fairways have good undulations and while the greens are never wild, they do make you pause for thought on more than one occasion. I am a big fan of the ground game and you are often encouraged to run the ball in rather than taking the aerial route which just increases the fun factor. The seventh was a particular favourite of mine.

The seventeenth hole is a wonderful 120-yard par 3. It’s protected by bunkers at the front and water off to the left so hitting the green is no mean feat. It was yet another highlight in a round which seemed to be full of them.

What I love about the South Course is that Coore and Crenshaw have unashamedly built a course for fun. There is virtually no rough on the course and the ball is already running well. I would love to come back in a couple of years when I imagine it will be playing even firmer and faster. Don’t get me wrong, it’s already doing a great job at that but I think it could go further - Tara Iti style fescue would be a great objective. Then I would just want to come out for hours on end with a putter and a couple of balls to find new lines and ways to the pins.

Of course, comparisons with Doak’s North course are inevitable. I suspect the South will be appreciated by all levels of golfers but particularly those with slightly higher handicaps (anything above single figures) who may find it a little more accessible than the North. But lower handicaps will love teeing it up here too. With the views, the design and the conditioning I’d say it’s almost impossible not to! The South Course at Te Arai Links is a celebration of all that is good in modern course design.

BOOKING THE COURSE

Te Arai Links is open to the general public. They alternate the two courses between members’ days and resort days, so if you are there for a couple of days you can play both courses.

The rate varies depending on time of year, but for international visitors it is NZ$650 in the peak of summer, dropping to $350 in the off-season. There are significant discounts for New Zealand residents - they pay $400 in peak season and $250 in the off-season. This twin-price strategy takes a bit of getting used to for those of us coming from the UK but is quite normal in the country.

You can see availability and book online here.

TOUR TIPS

There is accommodation onsite at Te Arai Links and I would really encourage you to think about staying here. The accommodation is set overlooking the South Course and it’s a great place to spend a couple of days. Suites (sleeping two people) range from NZ$525 to $840 a night depending on the season. Cottage accommodation is also available and new villas are coming soon on the North Course, so options abound.

Ric’s restaurant is the main place for eating at the moment - a really nice, relaxed bar/restaurant situated next to one of the most fun (and largest) putting greens you will find anywhere. There is a new restaurant opening behind the 18th green on the South Course in 2024, as well as a members’ bar. With spa services available onsite and wonderful hikes available on the nearby beaches, there is plenty here to keep you occupied.

If you aren’t staying onsite then nearby Mangawhai has a few options, though there is more self catering than hotels. There are several restaurants there too, but like lots of rural New Zealand you can’t eat too late in the evening. The Dune restaurant was a good place to eat. But if you can afford stay on site at Te Arai Links that would get my vote.

CONTACT DETAILS

Te Arai Links
11 Te Ara Whenua
Tomarata 0974
New Zealand​​.

Phone Number: +64 9 883 4600​​.
Email: concierge@tearai.com​​
Website: https://tearai.com

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