Luxury Golf & Travel To New Zealand
Luxury Golf & Travel To New Zealand
High atop a windswept plateau, this former farmland is now a championship style course and boutique resort. With the Pacific Ocean and famed gannet colony the 5,000-acre property allows guests to experience true Kiwi rugged and rural luxury.
Backed by a generous American billionaire, Cape Kidnappers has rightfully earned its place among the world’s elite golf courses. Designed by renowned architect Tom Doak and nestled on Hawke’s Bay’s dramatic cliffside, this former sheep station offers a truly unforgettable golfing experience.
True to Doak’s minimalist philosophy, the course was designed with minimal earth movement, preserving the natural landscape. Instead of traditional links terrain, Cape Kidnappers features a series of ridges that slope towards the sea, creating a breathtaking seaside setting.
The course’s firm and fast fairways, combined with often windy conditions, demand precise shot placement and trajectory control. Players will navigate treetops and navigate along the edges of deep ravines, all while enjoying stunning panoramic views of Hawke’s Bay. One of the course’s most thrilling features is the opportunity to tee off into the ocean, watching the ball plummet 500 feet below for nearly 10 seconds.
While the generous fairways at Cape Kidnappers may tempt players to aim directly at the pin, it’s essential to factor in the wind to ensure optimal shot placement. Doak’s masterful design creates a course that appears more challenging than it actually is, offering a rewarding experience for golfers of all skill levels.
As with many of Doak’s designs, bunkers are strategically placed on one side of the green or another, presenting players with a choice: play safe or take a risk for a potential birdie. For high-handicappers, the safest option is to aim for the green, while mid-handicappers should also prioritize safety but may be tempted to aim closer to the pin. However, it’s crucial to resist the urge to change one’s aim at the last second, as this is a common architectural trick designed to test a golfer’s ego. Low-handicappers, on the other hand, can confidently aim for the pin, knowing that a well-placed shot will reward them with a birdie opportunity.
Plays: 7147 yards, Par 71
Club Pro: Jon McCord
Architect: Tom Doak, 2004
Pricing: Super Luxury
Play Info and Signature Holes
4th: The tee shot on this hole is scary- especially to those who play the course for the first time, because it is blind. This is perhaps a hark back to historical British links design by Doak, and a characteristic often not employed in modern golf design.
6th: Par-3. Playing over a deep ravine to a broad fairway, this hole has pot bunkers up the left side, gullies, and is lined by rough grass. Hitting the ball into the grass will lose it and on most days a the strong north west wind can force balls into these hazards. Cutting the ball is a nice skill to have.
12th: A great hole to demonstrate the “signature” of Cape Kidnappers itself is the infinity green on the 12th. This approach shot is toward the water and visually looks as if an errant shot long will fall off of the back of the green and over the cliff. In reality the 13th green is beyond the green and it makes sense to hit with confidence rather than contend with the gentle slope off of the front side of the green.
13th: Par-3. Plays along the edge of the cliff side and players contend with 5 bunkers for a shot to a raised green, which looks like it disappears into the abyss off the far side.
14th: Jon McCord, PGA Professional at Cape Kidnappers says, “14 is called pimple. It’s a short Par 4 that, if the wind is out of the right direction, you can have a chance at knocking it up near the green. That is of course more easily said than done, as once you get close the green is its main defense. It has this very deep pot bunker in the front and this little pimple of sorts, hence its name, on the green. So you have a false front on the right with a green that is very tough.”
Tip for those without the distance on this hole to hit within 10 yards of the pin lay back and leave yourself a full shot to where you can create some spin. The green runs away a little bit even in its flatter sections.
15th: You would not be the first person to tee up as you look out over the cliff and blast a drive into the ocean… just to count the number of seconds it takes to reach the water.
#21 in World
(Golf Digest)