Te Arai North

Starting and finishing on the Ocean, the 18 hole, par 71 golf course has been designed as a traditional walking links golf experience. Designed by Tom Doak, the same designer as sister course, Tara Iti (ranked #6 in the world), you can expect the North Course near the top of its class. Playing very differently than the South Course, with more inland golf and unique green shapes, we will let you decide which is your favourite.


If you get the opportunity to experience both golf courses on your golf tour to New Zealand, the contrast between the two courses is one that divides opinion. Having played both courses, the team at Playing Around New Zealand is split when it comes to a favourite and that is the sign of a great golfing venue. Both offer different experiences, with the green complexes on the North Course offering an extreme challenge to golfers of all levels.


Possibly the most dramatic holes on the North Course will be the 11th and 13th. The former is a long par-5 with an elevated green and a ‘whirlpool’ hazard to the right, some seven meters below the green. The 13th is a long par-4 with its green at the edge of a huge natural bunker, so that second shots have to be played over the sand or safely around to the left. It’s a hole very reminiscent of Pine Valley in New Jersey, and indeed so is much of the inland terrain at Te Arai.


Whilst Te Arai South has quickly become a bucket list course for golfers around the world Te Arai North is quickly catching up, having opened a year later than its sister course. The two course together mean that Te Arai Links is fast becoming one of the world's premier golfing destinations.

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