Cape Kidnappers Golf Course

Address: 448 Clifton Rd, Havelock North,
Contact Number: (06) 875 1900
Holes: 18
Length: 6510m
Par: 71

Opened in 2004, this Tom Doak designed golfing gem has been racking up awards ever since it opened. (Ranked 41st Golf course in the world by Golf Magazine and best golf course in the world by the UK’ s Daily Telegraph newspaper in 2008). Doak mentioned when he first laid eyes on the farm on which the course now stands, does this have the potential for creating a world class golf course? His answer was “That wasn’t very hard to do at Cape Kidnappers, because the site it is not like anywhere else in golf. If it were any bigger or any more dramatic, it would probably be cordoned off as a national park. It’s an overwhelming experience to stand up on the cliffs, 140 meters above sea level, and look out across the waves far below in Hawke’s Bay.” And that pretty well sums up this world class golf setting. When you are lucky enough to play on Cape Kidnappers  you must contend with fearsome ravines, contoured fairways and fast, tilted greens and thrown in for good measure is some of the most stunning backdrops you are likely to see on any course. The most dramatic holes are those on the fingers of land stretching out into the Pacific. (12, 13, 15 and 16) Your final shot to the green feels as if it is bound for the edge of the earth but you will likely find all 18 holes are memorable in their own way. 

Cape Kidnappers is a once in a lifetime experience and also a sister course to Kauri Cliffs, the other highly rated New Zealand course owned by American hedge fund guru Julian Robertson. The course also has an award winning luxury lodge on site.