PHOENIX RISING
The renovated and revived Rydges Formosa Golf Resort is open for business, writes
A revamped golf resort in Beachlands
Some golf courses are compared with supermodels — Pebble Beach on California’s Monterey Peninsula was famously described as Elle MacPherson covered in glue and rolled in grass clippings. Others I’ve seen are more masculine, Arrowtown for instance is like a young Clint Eastwood or Harrison Ford with its rugged, hard, handsome good looks.
My own home course, Titirangi, I think of as neither masculine nor feminine — it’s nonbinary but incredibly clever like Asia Kate Dillon in their Billions role.
And I’ve seen golf courses that are like old rugby players with broken noses, cauliflower ears and arthritic knuckles still itching for a punch-up.
Formosa, perched on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, is the former child star who’s been out of work for a while and is discovered in young adulthood a bit down and out, no money, hungry, wearing a stained T-shirt, threadbare track pants and badly in need of a haircut. To push this metaphor a little bit further down the road, the underlying anatomy is very good — good bones, obviously pretty — just a bit shabby and neglected for want of money. And then a rich backer wants to make the child star great again, so invests in good clothes, a haircut and lots of protein smoothies.
And so we have Rydges Formosa Golf Resort — under new ownership and management — reborn 20-odd years after first finding fame.
Formosa is the name Portuguese sailors gave to Taiwan. It’s translated as “beautiful island”. And when this golf course was opened a quartercentury ago it lived up to the same name, bestowed by its Taiwanese owners. Perched on undulating land at the water’s edge near
Beachlands, with views to Rangitoto, Waiheke and the other gulf islands, Formosa jumped into the limelight at a young age, hosting the New Zealand Open in 1998.
But from there it slid downhill, years of neglect and under-investment relegating the course to relative obscurity.
Things are changing. The property was bought by the NZ Super Fund and Russell Property Group — the transaction announced just before the first Covid-19 lockdown. The 50 villas, as well as the restaurant and bar, underwent extensive renovations in the past year and the result is interiors with an understated, spacious luxury that matches the views.
The golf course itself is next up for a makeover. Fairways are a bit patchy still, but remedial work is under way, bunkers that had turned into rutted beds of clay and weeds are being refilled with sand, while other features such as the waterfall behind the 18th green are being upticked as well. The greens are already in fantastic condition and will get only better. But even in this half-dressed state, Formosa has real charm and it will shine once the work is finished.
It’s still squarely a resort-style course — motorised carts are the default setting, and why not if you’re having a bit of fun, but you can walk if you want. Some holes are tough for the oncein-a-while player. There are plenty of gullies and lakes that need to be hit over — notably the par4 sixth hole which crosses a lake to angled fairway, and the signature par-3 seventh across a gully and uphill to a tremendous roller coaster of a green. The set of holes towards the finish — 14 through to 17 — will test the imagination and course management of the best players, let alone someone on a boys’ day out.
Regardless of playing ability, the underlying quality of the Bob Charles-designed course does make for a great day out. It’s testing but fun. It’s got great views. The greens alone are worth the price of admission, with Charles reportedly modelling them on the headache-inducing putting surfaces of Augusta National, site of The Masters. For the less experienced player — just having a putt (or four) will provide plenty of entertainment or exasperation, depending on your disposition.
For now, golf remains the main attraction but the ongoing transformation of the resort will turn Formosa into a fantastic weekend getaway. The villas are spacious and top-class, the restaurant, Nineteen, serves great food that’s refined yet approachable and overdelivers on flavour. The pool, gym and tennis courts are being renovated and a spa is coming for those less-inclined to join their partner for a round of golf.
The resort is ideal for the full range of experiences — from weddings to conferences to family holidays and romantic getaways. The vibe is firmly Asia-Pacific thanks to the palm trees, the villas, the ocean views.
But probably the best thing about Formosa is that it’s between Whitford and Maraetai. This part of Auckland is enough of a drive for locals to feel they’re getting away but without driving more than an hour. It’s the ideal stress-free holiday in that regard.
For visitors, it’s a short drive from the airport or you can come via a downtown ferry to nearby Pine Haven, which would be a gorgeous way to travel on a Friday afternoon.
And there’s so much more than golf, both at the resort and around the area. Stunning Maraetai Beach is a short drive away and you can continue along the Po¯ hutukawa Coast to Duder Regional Park before coming back through Clevedon for a visually stunning road trip. At nearby Whitford, you must visit Ayrlie Gardens — it’s one of the most amazing gardens in New Zealand.
But the golf remains the allure. The long and short (like my irons on a typical day) is that a great golf course should fit snugly into the land it lives on. It should be like a good friend, fun to be around and someone you want to see regularly because you enjoy their company.