Kinloch Golf Club
Course Date
Location Taupo, New Zealand
Yardage 7364 yards Par 72
Coursre Rating 77.4
Playing Date May 5, 2011
Designer Jack Nicklaus
Opned 2007
Caddie Yes
Golf Cart Yes (Can be driven on fairways)
Rating
Overall Rating
5.20
Course Layout
5
Difficulty Level
7
Greens Conditions
5
Fairways Conditions
5
Landscaping & Views
5
Level of Satisfaction
5
 

The course is laid out on a hilly sheep-faming, craggy land with on volcanic terrain. This is the first Jack Nicklaus designed course in New Zealand and it differs from typical Nicklaus designs. The course is extremely intimidating visually from the tees with shaggy-looking bunkers and long heath grasses throughout on roughs but when you are in the actual fairways it will turn out there are much more room than it appears. The fairways, semi-roughs and roughs are clearly separated, so you must pay penalties on your errant shots. The entire course is undulating with overlapping numerous moguls, which looks sometimes nasty but looks always picturesque. Multiple undulations are set on every green and finding out good putting lines is not easy. The course is suitable for good players who can hit balls straight because the course is long with strategically placed bunkers and roughs. The front 9 has aura of a raw links, somehow blended seamlessly into age-old sheep-farming territory while the back 9 offer panoramic views over majestic Lake Taupo, the biggest lake in New Zealand.



A veiew from 2nd tee

Lake Taupo seen from 10th hole

Bird

Scorecard
 
3rd Par 3 185 yards

3rd Par 3 185 yards (2)

3rd Par 3 185 yards (1)
A par 3 over water. The green is wide and the front sides faces the water.
 
4th Par 4 497 yards
A dogleg to the left, downhill but very long par 4. 2 bunkers on the left corner are reachable 275 yards off the tee. Long hitters can drive onto downhill lies making approach shots more difficult. A bunker guarding the front side of the green is deep. The green is wide and slopes from left to right.

4th Par 4 497 yards (3)

4th Par 4 497 yards (2)

4th Par 4 497 yards (1)
 
5th Par 4 364 yards

5th Par 4 364 yards (2)

5th Par 4 364 yards (1)
A dogleg to the left, relatively short par 4. The bunker on the left comer is reachable 250 yards off the tee. Placing the tee shot to the right half of the fairway will offer you better view of the green on the second shot. The green is deep.
 
7th Par 3 219 yards
A par 3 over Fescue grass. The green is slightly elevated and guarded by 4 bunkers. A large fairway is placed in front of the bunkers and the green, making approach easier for tee shots short. This green is larger than it appears from the tee.
 

7th green seen from its side

7th Par 3 219 yards (2)

7th Par 3 219 yards (1)
 
8th Par 5 560 yards
A double dogleg, great hole, to the left first then to the right. Several fairway bunkers left & right 240 -300 yards off the tee are in play. A two fairway option left & right is provided on the second shot. The green is double-tiered.
 

8th Par 5 560 yards (3)

8th Par 5 560 yards (2)

8th Par 5 560 yards (1)
 
9th Par 4 455 yards

9th Par 4 455 yards (2)

9th Par 4 455 yards (1)
A dogleg to the left, difficult hole. The further you drive, the fairway will narrow beyond 250 yards off the tee. The second shot is uphill. The green is wide.
 
12th Par 5 565 yards

A cluster of bunkers next to the geen
A slightly downhill, sharp dogleg to the right. You should aim left off the tee as the fairway slopes from left to right. You hit toward Lake Taupo on the second shot. A left to right shot is ideal on the second shot if you are attempting to go for the green is 2 as there is a large bunker with rough bordering the entire left side of the green.

12th Par 5 565 yards (3)

12th Par 5 565 yards (2)

12th Par 5 565 yards (1)
 
15th Par 3 245 yards
A very long, slightly downhill par 3 over bush. The green is deep and narrow with a sharp drop-off on the left. The green slopes down for first 30 yards and up for the next 10 yards. The view of Lake Taupo beyond the green is excellent.
 

15th Par 3 245 yards (3)

15th Par 3 245 yards (2)

15th Par 3 245 yards (1)
 
16th Par 5 570 yards
A slightly uphill double dogleg with a dogleg to the right and then to the left. The landing area of the fairway on the second shot is divided into 2 by 3 fairway bunkers and thick rough. The green is shallow and slopes from back to front as well as from left to right,
 

16th Par 5 570 yards (3)

16th Par 5 570 yards (2)

16th Par 5 570 yards (1)
 
17th Par 3 200 yards

17th Par 3 200 yards (2)

17th Par 3 200 yards (1)
A downhill par 3 whose green is surrounded by rough. The green is elevated and borders a bunker on the left. Anything short or left makes par difficult. Lake Taupo can be seen beyond the green.
 
18th Par 5 572 yards

The green seen from its side
A double dogleg to the right and then to the left around a pond. Water on the left comers into play on the second & third shots. Long hitters can reach the green in 2 but both shots require distance and accuracy. The tee shot must drive onto the narrow fairway between bunkers left & right. Then, on the second shot anything short or left will end up with the water.

18th Par 5 572 yards (3)

18th Par 5 572 yards (2)

18th Par 5 572 yards (1)
 
19th hole

It is a 3 hours & half drive from Auckland, a 20 minutes drive from Taupo and a 30-minutes drive from Taupo Airport. I saw a helicopter to come to this club. The distances are in meters, so I have converted them into yards. Players with official handicap of 9 or below can use the longest tees, but it is very demanding to play from them.

We were told to use fairways, not roughs, to drive a golf cart. Many courses force us not to drive on fairways but on roughs, but this course is the other way around, which is unique. They like to leave the roughs as naturally as possible.



Restaurant

Helicopter

It was ranked 3rd in the top 25 courses in New Zealand in 2010 by a panel of NZPGA Professionals and Golf Travel operators.

The course is not is a list of US Golf Digest Magazine’s Top 100 Courses in the World but is selected on the 98th out of Top 100 Golf Course of the World by an independent golf organization in UK.

The other Jack Nicklaus designed courses in neighboring Australia are The Australian GC, The Heritage G&CC, Lakelands GC and Rothbury GR.