The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs: Top 100 Golf Resorts in the World

The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs
The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs
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Quick Facts

  • Number of Rooms

    25
  • Amenities

    Infinity pool / Wellness center / Tennis / Pickleball / Fishing / Surfing / Horseback riding / Nature tours
  • Number of courses

    1
  • Course designers

    David Harman

Resort Overview

Some golfers will go to the ends of the earth for a game. Waiting for them there is the Lodge at Kauri Cliffs. Set on 6,000 rolling and remote acres of forest and farmland on the North Island of New Zealand, the ultra-luxe oceanside resort — opened in 2001 by American financier Julian Robertson — put a marker down for high-end golf in the country, paving the way for Top 100 World outposts at Cape Kidnappers (another Robertson property), Tara Iti and Te Arai. A few years ago, GOLF described designer David Harman’s gorgeous Kauri Cliffs course as “basically Kapalua meets Pebble Beach.” The resort’s non-golf amenities? They defy description. Guests who opt for the four-bedroom residences (buddies trip?) can have their meals prepared for them by a personal chef. Resort-provided e-bikes will take you to waterfalls, any number of beaches or along forested trails and farm roads lined with cattle and sheep. Prefer to hoof it in search of 900-year-old Kauri trees? Go for it. Surf? Head to Takou Beach. Fish? Reel in a New Zealand snapper and they’ll plate it for you that night at dinner. Perhaps you’d just settle for a post-round cocktail on one of the main lodge’s lush verandas. When you’re at the end of earth, why not?

Highlights

PLAY

The back nine — particularly the oceanside 14th, 15th and 16th holes — provides breathtaking views of the South Pacific

EAT

Kauri Cliffs does an unforgettable barbecue for all resort guests, every Friday night on the shimmering, Pohutukawa tree-lined cove at Pink Beach.

RELAX

Enjoy the spa, which sits at the edge of the forest.

3 things to know

  • Best time to go

    December-February
  • Best non-golf ammenity

    All of the above? Maybe the most earthbound pleasure at this lofty joint is the food truck. Each New Zealand summer they roll one in, anchor it greenside, uncap the ales and dish out the goodness (wraps, burgers, dogs, et al).
  • Insider Tip

    Looking to go low at Kauri? Def post a score on the comparatively windless, inland front nine — then drink in the (punishing) beauty on the back.
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