If you love golf and you're visiting New Zealand, you're in for a shock — a good one. Green fees at most local clubs range from $10 to $50. Annual memberships at small rural clubs can be as low as $110. There are courses where an honesty box replaces the pro shop, where sheep graze the fairways, where fences around the greens count as a free drop, and where you'll play with views of snow-capped mountains that would cost you $500 a round anywhere else in the world. New Zealand has roughly 400 golf courses for a population of 5 million. The golf here is affordable, accessible, and often spectacularly beautiful.
The Affiliate Hack
Here's a tip that most visitors don't know about: if you're in New Zealand for any length of time and love your golf, it's worth joining a cheap golf club to become an affiliate golfer. You don't even have to play at the club you join. Most NZ courses have one green fee price for affiliated golfers and one for non-affiliated — and the difference can be significant. It also means you can obtain a New Zealand Golf handicap, which is handy if you want to play at multiple clubs around the country.
Join a small rural club for $110–$200 a year, and you'll save money on green fees at almost every course you visit. Very handy if you don't want to play all your golf at just one club but want a handicap.
Mount Nessing Golf Club
What an interesting and enjoyable golf course. Mount Nessing is open between February and the start of November and sits in deep New Zealand farming country, 40 km inland from Timaru and not far from Fairlie.
This is what the New Zealand can-do attitude is all about. Everything is maintained by club volunteers — from working the bar in the great little clubhouse to mowing the fairways and greens. The course itself is no pushover: most holes on this 9-hole layout have an out-of-bounds for the slicer, and during the winter months there's little run on the fairways. You approach small greens (without fences around them) that are subtly sloping away from you or into you depending on whether you're going up or down the course. Even though it's called Mount Nessing, it's an easy walk with no real hills.
Watch out for some pockets of well-placed thick tussock-like grass, and remember to put your $1 in the tin if you hit the tree off the 6th tee. That goes to greens maintenance. If you go to Mount Nessing, the locals will look after you.
Tarras Golf Club
Another great small club — Tarras in Central Otago, on the main road between Christchurch and Queenstown, not far from Cromwell. The road literally runs through the middle of the course.
There's no clubhouse — just an honesty box to put your $15 green fees into. The greens have fences around them to keep the sheep off. If you hit a fence, you get to replay the shot. White markers indicate where the fairway is because you get to place the ball on the fairway. Fairways have a bit of sheep dung on them. Fun course.
Yearly membership is around $150 NZD. Contact tarrasgolfclub@gmail.com for a membership form.
The Full Spectrum
New Zealand golf covers an extraordinary range, from honesty-box paddock courses to world-ranked resort layouts:
- Rural gems ($10–$30): Courses like Mount Nessing and Tarras. Volunteer-run, character-rich, and often hilariously beautiful. Sheep, tussock, mountain views, and locals who'll shout you a beer afterwards. This is golf at its most pure.
- Regional clubs ($30–$60): Town and city courses like Queenstown Golf Club, Wanaka Golf Club, Timaru, and dozens of others. Well-maintained, 18 holes, proper clubhouses, and green fees that would barely buy you a bucket of range balls in many countries.
- Premium courses ($80–$200): Courses like Millbrook (Queenstown), Clearwater (Christchurch), and Paraparaumu Beach (Wellington). Championship-quality layouts at prices that are still reasonable by international standards.
- World-class resort courses ($250–$500+): Kauri Cliffs (Northland, ranked top 40 in the world), Cape Kidnappers (Hawke's Bay), The Hills and Jack's Point (Queenstown). These are bucket-list courses with prices to match — but still cheaper than equivalent courses in the US, UK, or Australia.
Tips for Visiting Golfers
- Bring your handicap certificate. Many clubs ask for proof of handicap, especially the premium courses. A screenshot from your home club's app usually works.
- Phone ahead. Most clubs are welcoming to visitors, but it's polite to ring ahead, especially on weekends when club competitions may be running.
- Cart or walk? NZ courses are generally very walkable. Carts are available at larger clubs but not at rural ones. A trundler (pull trolley) is usually available to hire for a few dollars.
- Club hire: Larger clubs offer club hire. Smaller ones probably won't, so bring your own or hire a set in a main centre before heading rural.
- Wind: New Zealand is windy. Especially Wellington, the Canterbury Plains, and anything coastal. Pack your low punch shot.
- Sun protection: NZ has extreme UV. Wear sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses. You will burn faster than you think.
- Don't rush. Rural NZ courses are places to slow down, enjoy the views, and chat to the locals. Nobody is in a hurry.
