It might be ski season, but Queenstown also offers some of the best golf in the country, including two of the premier resorts. Here’s a snapshot of what to expect.
High and mighty: Jack’s Point
Courses built around developments are often a disappointment because the golf takes a back seat to housing, but that is not the case with Jack’s Point.
Architect and developer John Darby made sure the golf course was the star of the upmarket residential development, giving it the best land above picturesque Lake Wakatipu on an old high-country farm.
It’s a stunning beauty of a course framed by the jagged Remarkables mountain range but it can bite hard if you’re not totally on your game.
One of the biggest fans of Jack’s Point is global social media star Mac Boucher, who said: “I’ve played golf all around the world but the views around Jack’s Point are unmatched. On top of that, the course layout is extremely challenging but also very fair. So many different ways to play it, depending on the wind direction. Truly one of my favourite courses in the world.”
Everything you need: Millbrook
The home of the New Zealand Open golf tournament is the elder statesman of resort golf in New Zealand.
There’s plenty of golf, a range of accommodation options, myriad activities, and a raft of eating possibilities — with five restaurants or cafes.
The two 18-hole courses — Coronet and Remarkables — have their own character. The Remarkables, designed by Kiwi legend Sir Bob Charles, is the epitome of resort-style elegance. Coronet is more daunting and dramatic, utilising the Central Otago schist rock, natural valleys and hilltops for a more rugged experience.
Millbrook is probably the best-priced of the luxury golf resorts. A three-night stay-and-play package in a deluxe studio will cost you less than $3000 and includes three nights’ accommodation for two people, green fees for two people on both courses, golf cart hire, breakfast for two daily, a complimentary shuttle service to and from Arrowtown and Queenstown, gym access, $100 credit to use within the resort and a gift on arrival.
Funky and fun: Arrowtown
Rugged, quirky, architecturally sophisticated, and splendidly located, Arrowtown is a jockey-sized powerhouse of a golf course that stands tall beside its more ritzy neighbours in the Queenstown area.
Unique is an overused word in the golf world but one that fits Arrowtown to a tee. For a long time, the course was overlooked because of its lack of length, just 5,500m, but word of mouth and some international plaudits have deservedly pushed Arrowtown up the rankings and into the national golf spotlight.
Arrowtown, like the town itself, is small but perfectly formed, with fairways running through narrow gullies flanked by outcrops of schist (hence the local nickname of Narrowtown). Remnants of the mining days, when Arrowtown was first settled, are sprinkled across the course adding to the atmosphere.
Michael Donaldson – Sweetspotgolfbook.com