Course of the Week: Te Arai Links in New Zealand unveils new South Course

The South Course at Te Arai Links in New Zealand, a Coore & Crenshaw design, recently reopened for play following a renovation project.

The course, which first opened for limited play in October 2022,  plays largely out and back, in a traditional links style, amid the dunes just south of its sister course, the private Tara Iti Golf Club.

“Bill [Coore] and Ben [Crenshaw] did an incredible job of maximizing this long stretch of shoreline,” Jim Rohrstaff, a partner in Te Arai Links and its managing director, said. “Ultimately, the speed and firmness will prove the real test out there. Right now, it’s as playable and ‘gettable’ as it will ever be. Three years from now? Different story.”

Photo: Te Arai Links

Off course, the focal point is a 2.5-acre putting green, which wraps around a barn and sits adjacent to the south clubhouse and the range, a practice facility featuring six template greens modeled on classic course architecture from around the world.

“Our course really does give the player that rare and lovely feeling that you are right there next to the sea — a little higher than the beach itself,” Bill Coore, a partner of Coore & Crenshaw, said.

The North Course at Te Arai Links, a Tom Doak design, is scheduled to open in October of 2023. Doak also designed Tara Iti GC.