Kauri Cliffs Golf Course

Course Type: Resort

Design Role: Redesign 2014

Co-Designer(s): Steve Weisser

Client Course Description

The par 72 Kauri Cliffs Golf Course measures 7,119 yards / 6,510 metres and offers five sets of tees to challenge every skill level. Fifteen holes view the Pacific Ocean, six of which are played alongside cliffs which plunge to the sea. The beautiful inland holes wind through marsh, forest and farmland. The course is ranked among the top 100 in the world.

Designer Notes

At Kauri Cliffs, Rees Jones was tasked with this delicate piece of course renovation: transforming the 5th hole from a long, uphill, forced-carry, par-3 to a short, "drop-shot," par-3. The hole had played some 200 yards from the back tee, slightly uphill, across a lush canyon. The tee was moved 90 degrees to the left, to a hillside looking down on the same green complex. The 5th now plays downhill to a putting surface half the size, perched at the edge of that same canyon.

Jones also added a back tee on the par-4 2nd hole, eliminated and combined bunkers on the par-4 4th, and added a forward tee on the daunting par-4 9th, mitigating the effects of an heroic canyon crossing.

Awards

• Golf Digest: Top 100 Courses in the World
• Golf Magazine: Top 100 Courses in the World

News

"Open Doctor" Rees Jones Works His Magic At Kauri Cliffs