Gulf Harbour Golf Club
Course Date
Location Auckland, New Zealand
Yardage 7009 yards Par 70
Coursre Rating 74.9
Playing Date May 1, 2011
Designer Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Opned 1997
Caddie Yes
Golf Cart Yes (Can be driven on fairways)
Rating
Oveall Rating
4.65
Course Layout
5
Difficulty Level
5
Greens Conditions
5
Fairways Conditions
5
Landscaping & Views
4
Level of Satisfaction
4
 
Seaside course. The front nine holes at the Gulf Harbour Golf Club is slightly hillier course with a more open feeling. On the other hand, the back nine holes wanders towards the ocean and can be considered to have some of the most scenic holes in the world. Espicailly a series of Hole 16 to 18 is superb. An ocean starts to come into play at around the twelfth hole. The fairways are mostly undulated and many of the holes have a dogleg design, making this quite a challenging course. The course can become extremely tough if played on a day with strong sea winds. Although unfortunately the greens were not maintained at a high level during my play, according to many of the golfers in Auckland, the greens at this course are usually maintained at excellent conditions. The course hosted the 1998 World Cup a year after the course was built. This course also staged the New Zealand Open in both 2005 and 2006.


A view

A view

A view from 15th tee


A view from 16th tee

A bird

Birds on 9th fairway

Scorecard
 
2nd Par 5 524 yards

2nd Par 5 524 yards (2)

2nd Par 5 524 yards (1)
The second hole consists of a sharp dogleg that bends to the left. The ball from the over-the-water tee shot will be received by a fairway that slopes sharply from right to left. The approach to the green will be an uphill shot. The green is wide and slopes from left to right.
 
4th Par 4 423 yards
This par four is a downhill 423-yard long hole with a dogleg that bends to the left. A large bunker protects the green on its right side. The green itself slopes from left to right. Players should try to avoid the bunkers at all cost, as it would be difficult to score a par.
 

4th Par 4 423 yards (3)

4th Par 4 423 yards (2)

4th Par 4 423 yards (1)
 
7th Par 4 335 yards

7th Par 4 335 yards (2)

7th Par 4 335 yards (1)
A very short par four with a dogleg that bends to the left. A body of water runs along the entire left side starting from the tee all the way to the green. This charming par four will tempt long hitters to aim directly for the green if there is a downhill wind. However, players should be aware that the green is quite small and slopes from back to front. Accuracy will be an important factor despite the approach to the green.
 
9th Par 4 422 yards

9th Par 4 422 yards (2)

9th Par 4 422 yards (1)
The ninth hole is a par four with a dogleg that bends to the right. There is a body of water that runs alongside the right side of the fairway. The tee shot will require the ball to hover over this body of water. Players will have the option to choose to land their ball on one of the two greens: the left or right green. It should be noted that the right green would face the water on its right side.
 
10th Par 4 400 yards

10th Par 4 400 yards (2)

10th Par 4 400 yards (1)
This relatively neat hole that consists of a downhill tee shot with a dogleg that bends to the right. There is a bunker that comes into play off on the right side of the tee. There are also additional bunkers by the green that players should look out for.
 
11th Par 5 535 yards
The eleventh hole consists of a dogleg that bends towards the left. The hole starts off with a slightly downhill over-a-valley tee shot, followed by an uphill second shot. The third shot will require the ball to land on the deep double-tired green.
 

11th Par 5 535 yards (3)

11th Par 5 535 yards (2)

11th Par 5 535 yards (1)
 
12th Par 4 338 yards

12th Par 4 338 yards (2)

12th Par 4 338 yards (1)
The twelfth hole is a short par four and consists of a dogleg that bends towards the left. A tremendously downhill tee shot is followed by a uphill second shot. A beautiful sea view can be appreciated from this course.
 
15th Par 3 185 yards

15th grren seen from the side

15th Par 3 185 yards
This downhill par three has an absolutely spectacular view as the hole is surrounded with an ocean view. Bunkers on both sides protect the green.
 
16th Par 4 464 yards
The sixteenth hole is a long and demanding hole that has a strong dogleg that bends to the right. This hole is known to be the signature hole as there is a cliff-top setting that looks over the ocean all along the right side. The over-the-cliff tee shot will need to be accurate and long, otherwise it would be difficult to reach the green in two shots. The fairways slope sharply from left to right. The second shot will need to be hit over a downhill lie. Accuracy is an important factor since if the ball curves too much to the right, players may find themselves looking down a rocky cliff to find their ball. This hole is most likely to be the most dramatic and difficult hole for many players on this course.
 

16th Par 4 464 yards (3)

16th Par 4 464 yards (2)

16th Par 4 464 yards (1)
 
17th Par 5 549 yards

17th Par 5 549 yards (1)
The seventeen hole is another long and demanding hole that consists of a dogleg that bends to the right. The tee shot will need to showcase some distance in order for the ball to reach the down slope. Bunkers on both sides of the deep and elevated green squeeze the landing area of the second shot. The US Golf Magazine selected this hole as one of the best 500 holes in the world in 2000 (the latest version).

17th Par 5 549 yards (4)

17th Par 5 549 yards (3)

17th Par 5 549 yards (2)
 
19th hole
It is an hour drive to get to the Gulf Harbor Golf Club from Central Auckland. The course is located inside a relatively large resort. There is also a hotel that is open to guests.


Hotel

Hotel

Around hotel

The Top 100 Golf Courses of the World (top100golfcourses.com) ranks Gulf Harbour Golf Club as the 11th best course in New Zealand in 2016. It is also ranked in the top 25 courses in New Zealand by a panel of NZPGA Professionals and Golf Travel operators. The Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed courses in the neighboring Australia are The National GC - Old Course, Joondalup Resort CC , Hyatt Regency Column GC, Meadow Springs G&CC and Cape Schanck Resort.