Tara Iti Golf Club
With the opening of Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers a little over a decade ago, New Zealand golf received a much needed shot in the arm in terms of its ability to attract the affluent golf tourist. While the country is not short on good courses – Paraparaumu near Wellington is one of the southern hemisphere's finest links, for example – these exceptionally scenic layouts, each with their own luxury accommodations and on-site spas, opened the country up to a new crowd; the type of well-heeled folk who have little issue spending US$500 a night and US$250 on a round of golf. Tara Iti, which like Cape Kidnappers was designed by the renowned Tom Doak, is the latest addition to New Zealand's portfolio of courses – and by all accounts, it is an absolute cracker.
Located 75 minutes' drive north of Auckland, the course lies hard by the sea on sandy, links-like terrain that has been sculpted and contoured to what looks like perfection. The course, which is part of a upmarket property concern, only opened to private play in October 2015 and, unlike Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers, doesn't look like welcoming those without a member's invitation any time soon. Tara Iti seems to have all the design characteristics to make it a shoo-in for top-100 course status, so one hopes its visitor policy changes.
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