For many people, golf and New Zealand don’t have many natural linkages. There are not too many famous golfers from New Zealand (Frank Nobilo and Michael Campbell are the only two that come to mind) and until recently there haven’t been many famous courses. From what I understand, golf has always been perceived as an every-man’s leisure activity in New Zealand. Golf courses are plentiful and mostly inexpensive to play but most of them are pretty forgettable. They’re nice, and not offensive, but as soon as you’re done playing they drift away into a land of forgotten golf holes.
Well folks, over the last 10-15 years things have begun to change. If you’ve never been to New Zealand, let me give you a quick description of the land and topography here. The country consists of two islands (the north and the south) and from top to bottom it is 100% pure natural beauty. There are volcanic mountains, rolling hills, dramatic jagged coastlines, and rolling dunes of sand that bleed into the emerald green and blue ocean. In my opinion, those last two provide the absolute perfect setting for world-class golf.
At this point, after two paragraphs of drama-building suspense I know what you’re thinking: “Just get to the point!” Okay, okay, cool your jets. Let’s shift our attention to the real focal point of this blog post: Tara Iti.
Recently I was fortunate enough to have the chance to visit and play two rounds at Tara Iti, an ultra-exclusive private club located an hour north of Auckland on the eastern coast of New Zealand’s north island. If you’re wondering how a schlep like me got to play an ultra-exclusive private club, allow me to explain. Tara Iti and the folks that founded, designed and operate it are smart. They know stuff. For instance, they know that, under the guidance of Tom Doak, they’ve built a golf mecca that will likely compete for honors of the world’s best golf course with the likes of St. Andrews, Royal County Down, Augusta National, Pine Valley, Royal Melbourne, Cypress Point and all of the other best courses in the world. They also know that golf is a game that should be shared, and great courses are something that golfers should be allowed to experience. So to accommodate out of town travelers that are heading to New Zealand for potentially the only time that they’ll ever visit the glorious country that is, Tara Iti has established a policy that, with a letter of recommendation from your home club, you can visit Tara Iti once in your lifetime. Now if you know a member, you can obviously be invited back but considering that their membership roster is probably a who’s who of 200 or so billionaires, an average person may not be able to whip out their rolodex and just phone up a member or two to see if they can get an invite. Very much like some of the great courses in Scotland and Ireland, Tara Iti realized that what they have is special and it should not be locked down like a museum exhibit and rather shared with the broader world to enjoy and to that end I say, “BRAVO!”
Okay, so let’s assume you go through the process of getting yourself on at Tara Iti. What should you expect? To begin, the staff there were some of the absolutely nicest, most personable people I’ve ever met. They were highly attentive to ensuring your experience was the best it could possibly be but in the most casual and relaxed way. The next thing that strikes you as different and awe-inspiring about Tara Iti is the design and architecture of the entire property. One thing that can admittedly stink about golf is the uptight, pretentious feeling that many clubs give off. You know the one I’m talking about. A Tudor-style clubhouse full of rich folks sitting in smoking jackets talking about industry and high society and smoking pipes in a room that is built of eight tons of mahogany, decorated with a hundred dark leather chairs and apparently only three dimly lit lights to make sure that the privacy of all parties in attendance remains very, well uh, private. Tara Iti, is the exact opposite of that. I don’t know everyone that had their hand in designing the place but I wish I did because I would give them a big fat hug. The one I do know is Studio John Irving, check out their website for some sweet architectural eye-candy. At Tara Iti there is an emphasis on clean lines, airy modern structures, and they promote a feeling of one with nature throughout every structure on the property. The design of the buildings alone was enough to convince my wife that we should try to move there as permanent residents and never leave! To say that the buildings are stunning is a shameful understatement. The last thing I’ll mention before getting to the golf is the food. Oh the food! The culinary staff focuses on simple, healthy dishes based on seasonal and local fare and knocks it out of the park. We had three meals there and, to be honest, our dinner there ranks as one of the 10-20 best meals I can ever remember eating.
At this point, if you aren’t looking at flights to New Zealand I don’t know what else you need. But I suppose I could go into a detailed rundown of the course if you need a little more coaxing that Tara Iti is indeed the greatest golfing destination in the history of the world!
Disclaimer: I only played the course twice so I’ll admit that this won’t be an insiders breakdown of the course rather it will be my memorable highlights from each hole.
Hole 1
One thing that you learn right off the bat is that Tom Doak does an amazing job of putting a visually intimidating tee shot in front of you but once you see it unfold you realize that it isn’t all that tough. The first hole holds true to this. A good drive favors the left portion of the fairway and leaves you with a pretty short approach shot. The challenge in this hole, and in most, is the green complex. If you miss your spot by a matter of a yard or two you ball can shoot off on a putt-putt like swale and end up leaving you with almost impossible two putts.
Hole 2
The second at Tara Iti is a bedeviling par three. At approximately 140 yards its short and relatively straightforward. Oh wait, nothing at Tara Iti is unassuming and easy. The green complex is massive and there’s a pot bunker in the middle of the green. If you hit the green but miss on the wrong side of the green, you’re almost guaranteed a bogey. Club selection is key here so listen to your caddie.
Hole 3
A relatively easy driving hole, get yourself a good knock off the tee and you’ll have between a wedge and a short iron into a punchbowl green that is completely obscured by a massive dune. My take on this hole is that while it’s a helluva lot of fun, it’s hard to view this as a great hole because the green seems random and unpredictable when hitting your approach shot. You don’t know if good shots will be rewarded and you can see bad shots take lucky breaks and end up better than their well-struck counterparts. Nonetheless, enjoy the silliness because at the end of the day that’s what golf should be about: fun.
Hole 4
An intimidating driving hole awaits golfers at the fourth. The awaiting fairway is preceded by a 20 foot drop from the tee so you get the feeling of quite an elevated tee here. Once off the tee the fairway is split in half by a massive blowout bunker that is waiting to gobble up wayward tee balls. Do your best to play left of the bunker and your left with an easy shot in another fun green complex. The green itself is quite large and has a massive ridge running down the middle that feed balls to the right and repel short shots from reaching the back of the green.
Hole 5
The first and only par 5 on the front side offers a very generous fairway. Put everything you’ve got into your tee shot and favor the left as the fairway slopes from left to right feeding tee shots forward and to the right. The second shot presents you a few options and you should take the pin location into account and deciding what you’re going to do. Front left pin locations are likely going to be defined by their proximity to a pot bunker that juts into the green making approach shots extremely tricky. On my first round I hammered a three wood down the road and was left with the toughest 40-yard shot that I’ve ever been presented. The pin was tucked behind the bunker and my caddie informed me that we would be blessed to get the approach shot to 20 feet. He was sadly right. Given the perpetual tight linksy lies, attacking through the air was virtually impossible and given the dramatic swales of the green anything too close to the bunker would be eaten up by it. The other portions or the green are a good bit easier but by no means easy. This green has tons of slope and is definitively the protecting element of this hole.
Hole 6
Six is a long par 4 with one of the tighter tee shots that I can remember. The ideal position is deep into the left-center of the fairway. Once you’ve secured yourself a nice drive you’re left to face a challenging uphill approach. The green has a bowl shaped collection area on the right and is flanked with nearby bunkers behind. As is the case with many holes at Tara Iti, you can be within 30 yards of the hole and seemingly have no chance at getting it close. I missed long left on my second day and was forced to chip over a bunker and into a six foot high backstop slope to give myself 10 feet for the comeback par attempt.
Hole 7
You can’t really think about the seventh hole without a smile coming to your face. At 290 yards, this par 4 presents you with about as good a chance of making a two as making a six. The fairway is tight and is lined with waste bunkers. My caddie, Matt, gave me the best advice ever when we walked onto the tee at the seventh. He turned to me, looked me in the eyes, grabbed my driver out of the bag and said, “We didn’t come here to finish second. We’re going for the green!” That might as well have Herb Brooks epic pregame speech because at that moment in time I was jacked up and feeling invincible. I took the driver and laced one of my best tee shots of the week right up the fairway and directly at the pin. My ball landed somewhere in the 270 yard range and bounded up towards the green. From the tee box, it looked like I missed the hole by a matter of inches. But as my ball kept rolling and kept rolling it came to rest behind the tiny seventh green in a rather large swale. After three tough putts I walked away with a bittersweet par but boy was the journey fun.
Hole 8
The tee shot on the eighth hole will likely define how the hole plays out for you. If you can carry the waste bunker that creeps out from the left into the fairway at 240 yards you’ll be left with a short wedge into one of the tamer greens on the property. If you can’t carry the blowout bunker then steering right is a good option but you’ll be left with a less than ideal angle into the green. If you try and don’t carry the bunker… well… good luck with that one!
Hole 9
A great closing hole to the front nine loops you right back to the clubhouse. A strong tee shot should leave you a middle iron into an elevated but pretty receptive green. Two good shots should help you secure a par and give you peace of mind heading to the clubhouse for some complimentary, delicious snacks!
Hole 10
The back nine opens with a long and challenging par 3. Clocking in over 225 yards you’ll likely need to hit quite a shot to give yourself a look at birdie. Depending on the wind direction your club selection could vary from as much as a 3 wood to as little as a 6 iron. Playing your ball to the right is ideal as the green funnels shots to the left and steers you clear of the trouble that lurks on left misses. Do your best to get a par and consider that a success if you can do just that.
Hole 11
This hole felt like a birdie hole. With that said, I didn’t birdie it on either day but I’ll remove my putting woes from the equation. Depending on the direction of the wind, this hole sets up as a relatively easy three-shotter or a hole that you can get home in two if you really mash a couple of shots. The green is quite large so getting on the green may not mean an easy two putt.
Hole 12
Beginning with a blind tee shot, the twelfth forces you to rely on your caddie’s expertise. The aiming point for me was over the right edge of a waste bunker that cut into the fairway from the left. You tee shot will sail over a hill and feed down and to the left into a very generous fairway. If my memory serves me correctly this hole rewards your trust with one of the widest fairways on the course. The tee shot, although blind, is by far the easiest shot in this hole. The twelfth is one of the longer par fours on the course and if the wind is into you can force you to hit quite a long iron into a challenging green. The green is tucked away behind a huge waste bunker short right of the green and the entire portion of land that the green is on and around slope dramatically from right to left. The ideal approach shot is played out to the right of the hole but not too near the bunker. Allow gravity to do its thing and pull your ball down to the hole.
Hole 13
The thirteenth at Tara Iti will definitely test your belief on whether 13 is a lucky or unlucky number. Coming in barely over 300 yards this hole offers a plethora of options depending on your tolerance for risk. I played the hole twice and got a par on my first day and a double bogey on my second. On day 1, I laid back due to an unfriendly wind with a 3-iron to stay short of the picturesque fairway bunker and had an easy wedge into the green with a quick two putt. The second time around I figured I should take advantage of a friendlier wind and try to drive the green. I would estimate that I missed my target line (the pin) by 10-15 yards left and found myself in a world of trouble in a greenside waste bunker. Apparently 13 was an unlucky number for me as my ball impossibly cradled itself in an awkward position in a tuft of shrubs instead of rolling back into the flat portion of the trap. Five shots later I found the bottom of the cup and sadly moved on with a double bogey.
Hole 14
The course routing takes a 90 degree turn at this point and angles golfers directly at the Pacific Ocean. This long par four is breathtaking from start to finish. The tee shot offers a beautiful view of the fairway, which looks like an emerald green runway that dumps into the ocean off of a small cliff. The ideal aim for your tee ball is down the left as the hole will propel you forward and to the right. A big tee shot here makes you feel like a king, if only for the walk down to your next shot! The green here is another work of art. As you stand on it you can see the ocean as well as the stunning par 3 15th. Enjoy this beauty as it stands in a rare class of true gems around the world.
Hole 15
According to my caddie, this is the last remaining par 3 on the course that has yet to yield a hole in one. Affected by the temperamental winds that blow off of the nearby ocean and protected by a green complex that ejects balls off the back and that is perched only inches above cavernous waste bunkers, you better come with your A+ game on the 15th.
Hole 16
The last par four on the course marches back up the hill that the 13th hole played down. At 375 yards the hole plays longer than it measures. A good tee ball will be a cut down the center to right-center portion of the fairway. With only a mid to short iron in hand club selection is the most important aspect of your approach shot. Rarely at Tara Iti do you hear your caddie tell you to go right at the pin but 16 is one of the few exceptions. Challenge the pin here and aim to get yourself a birdie to jumpstart the closing stretch of the course.
Hole 17
Depending on tee box selection from the grounds committee, the 17th will likely be the shortest hole on the course. But don’t underestimate the challenge the lies ahead. With a mere pitching wedge in hand most golfers might foolishly salivate at the opportunity that lie ahead of them but be cautious when taking aim as trouble lurks all around this green. Whether it’s the blowout waste bunker short and left or the pesky valley behind the green that gobbles up anything long, you’d better hope that you hit an extremely accurate tee shot if you have any aspirations of a good score on this postcard worthy hole.
As I look back at my round and others I’ve played, this is perhaps one of my favorite short par threes that I’ve come across. The other notable holes that come to mind are: Hole 7 at Pebble Beach, Hole 7 at Royal County Down, and Hole 14 at Pacific Dunes.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing is better than a short par three or short par four where a birdie is just as easy as a double bogey.
Hole 18
A solid closing hole, the 18th at Tara Iti is thankfully a long par 5. The reason I say “thankfully” is because once you realize you’re on the last hole of the round you quickly realize that you never want this magical round to end. So thankfully for all of us, Tom Doak, designed the 18th hole to last a little bit longer than your average hole to give you a few more minutes to soak in the glory that is Tara Iti.
An ideal tee shot is as much as you’ve got down the left side of the fairway as that gives you the option to think about going for the green in two if the wind is permitting. The green is fronted by a huge mound that pretty successfully repels most things backwards that hit it. So, if you’re getting home in two, you’re going to have to hit two monstrous shots. Anything short of the green in two presents you with a challenging but doable approach. Depending on how far you’ve laid back you either want to attack the pin through the air or play something low into the hill to kill some speed. Savor the last bits of glory on this hole as the post-Tara Iti depression is REAL!
Random thoughts that I couldn’t organically weave into this post
Tara Iti only gets about 30 rounds a day, so you can play extremely fast if you like or you can even go out in sixsomes (so I’ve heard).
There wasn’t a single tree on the course that came into play.
The vast number of bunkers are treated as waste lands; don’t worry about raking when you’re done and local rules state that you can move your ball if you find your way into an unkept portion of the sand.
The greens and the fairway are the same strand of green and almost indistinguishable from one another. Putter from 50 yards? Why not!
Tara Iti is a walking only course, which is awesome. You pretty much have to take a caddie. Also, that means no unsightly cart paths!
There’s not a single blade of rough on the course. So you’re either on the fairway, the green, or in a waste bunker.
The course plays firm and fast. This is not a course for target golf. Play the land and get ready to watch your ball roll around on the brilliant hills and swales.
Grades (where 1 is significantly below average and 5 is significantly above)
Scenery: 5 stars
Design: 5 stars
Condition: 5 stars
History: 1 star
Practice Facilities: 5 stars
Experience: 5 stars
Click here for a more detailed breakdown of how I think about course ratings.
Closing thoughts: To say that Tara Iti is awesome is not even close to the amount of praise it deserves. The course is stellar in its design and conditioning. The practice facilities are somewhere north of world-class. And the challenge that Tara Iti presents to golfers is fair but stern. My memories of the course will be that it was not hard but it was never easy. And in my book, that is a huge compliment to the design of the course. If you don’t subscribe to the fact the Form Over Function is indeed the golf gospel then I guess you can fall back to something like Golf Digest. Ron Whitten from Golf Digest had an accurate take on the course when he wrote, “The greatest meeting of land and sea is clearly up for debate.”
But that’s only half of the story at Tara Iti. The other half is the people, the buildings, the atmosphere, the sense of tranquility, and the overall enjoyment of your experience from start to finish. I’m not naïve and I know that you can’t exactly waltz onto Tara Iti without forking over a king’s ransom but if you have the expendable income I can’t imagine there being many other places on earth that are better suited for an epic golf experience. At the current, the chance to play Tara Iti is truly once in a lifetime experience. Trust me when I say, you will not regret it.
