NZ course in world top-10
Hawke’s Bay golf course Cape Kidnappers has been ranked 10th best in the world by an online golf booking website.
The spectacular clifftop layout overlooking the Pacific Ocean snuck into the top-10 ahead of Melbourne’s Kingston Heath on a ranking list compiled by ‘‘renowned industry leaders’’ for golfscape.com.
Another leading New Zealand course Paraparaumu Beach was ranked 58th on the site’s top-100 in the world, which was headed by the famed St Andrews Old Course in Scotland. Augusta National, home of the Masters, is a notable omission from the top 10.
Designed by golf architect Tom Doak, the 6510m Cape Kidnappers course was completed in 2004.
It was described as ‘‘one of the great modern marvels in golf’’.
An 18-hole round will set New Zealand residents back $257 plus GST, while overseas visitors will pay $518 plus GST according to the Cape Kidnappers website.
World’s top 10 golf courses as ranked by a panel of experts for the golfscape.com website:
❚ 1: The Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland
❚ 2: Royal Dornoch, Scotland
❚ 3: Royal County Down Golf Club, Ireland
❚ 4: Pebble Beach Golf Links, US
❚ 5: West Course, The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia
❚ 6: Ailsa, Trump Turnberry, Scotland
❚ 7: Meadow Links, Mission Hills Haikou, China
❚ 8: Cabot Cliffs, Cape Breton, Canada
❚ 9: Adare Manor, Ireland
❚ 10: Cape Kidnappers Golf Course, New Zealand