Paraparaumu Beach

Designed by Australian Open champion and renowned architect Alex Russell, a protégé of the legendary Dr Alister MacKenzie, Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club has been regarded as New Zealand's quintessential links course since opening in 1949. Situated on the Kāpiti Coast atop naturally undulating sandy terrain, the course embodies the traditions of classic links golf, despite sitting just inland from the shoreline.

Russell masterfully allowed the land to dictate the design, creating a routing that weaves through rolling dunes and natural contours to produce a strategic and endlessly engaging championship test. The course rewards creativity as much as precision, encouraging a traditional ground game while demanding aerial shot-making when required. Its firm fairways, subtle movement, and ever-present coastal winds ensure that no two rounds are ever the same.

Paraparaumu is particularly celebrated for possessing one of the finest collections of par threes in New Zealand. Standout among them is the iconic 16th hole, Wairuatika ("True Spirit"), a deceptively short one-shotter played to a narrow dune-top green guarded by steep run-offs and shaped by the wind. Alongside memorable holes such as the 2nd and the picturesque 14th, it is widely regarded as one of the world's great par-three sequences.

The strategic brilliance extends throughout the layout, with demanding par fours such as the 13th and 17th showcasing Russell's genius for balancing risk and reward. Clever angles, natural hazards, and subtle green complexes continually challenge golfers to think their way around the course rather than simply overpower it.

Having hosted the New Zealand Open on 12 occasions and welcomed champions including Peter Thomson and Tiger Woods, Paraparaumu Beach occupies a revered place in the country's golfing history. Ongoing refinements to course conditioning and presentation have further enhanced its reputation, while many golfers believe its timeless architecture and authentic links character place it among the finest courses in the Southern Hemisphere — and worthy of recognition among the world's elite.