Millbrook Resort
Arrowtown near Queenstown
    South Island, New Zealand
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  Deluxe Golf in a Remarkable Setting

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THE COURSE & SOME NOTABLE HOLES: Millbrook Resort sits in a shallow amphitheater of prime ranchland on a plateau above Lake Hayes. Always in view are the surrounding mountains of the Southern Alps and the Remarkables.

        Great Variety Amid Great Scenery: The Millbrook course offers great variety, with only the out-and-back 8^th and 9^th holes being very similar to one another. There are holes with elevated tees, some with elevated greens, some with significant water, some with blind approach shots, and some with ominous bunkering. In general, however, the course is open, broad, and almost treeless, despite being in the high country between mountain ranges. The resulting views are without obstruction and scenic to distraction. And, because each hole offers 4 different tee placements, Millbrook is playable by most every golfer, and no minimum handicap is required.

          Numbers 4, 5, and 6: Bob Charles says the 4^th—a 434-yard (from the blacks) par-4 with an elevated green and fine view of the Remarkables range is his favorite hole, despite it being 7^th toughest on the course. The long (550-yard) par-5 5^th hole is the most difficult at Millbrook, with a couple of devilishly placed fairway bunkers guarding the shortcut over the dogleg right on the tee-shot. Two large ponds make the second shot even more troublesome to those spraying right from the fairway. The 5^th green is bordered along the left by a bunker that is fed golf balls from sloping terrain just off the green from the back and the right. Completing the varied triumvirate of holes is the 175-yard, par-3 6^th, ranked 17^th hardest at Millbrook, but intimidating nonetheless owing to an elevated tee hitting to a green protected by two bunkers and two ponds. Once again, those who stray to the right will not remember this hole as particularly easy to play.

        A Notable Finishing Hole: But intimidation at Millbrook can best be defined by the finishing hole, the 560-yard (longest on the course), par-5 18^th, ranked 4^th hardest, but certainly the most nerve-wracking. A solid tee shot flies a plateau to a blind landing on a broad fairway. So far, so good. Long hitters arriving at their ball see the next challenge: whether to lay up or try to reach the distant, secluded green by flying a pond placed directly in front of it. The green, while not small, is flanked by trees on both sides and by a steep embankment and out-of-bounds on the back. Of great concern to many is the restaurant perched on that embankment, its terrace full of golfers eyeing the green to see your last shots of the round. Joining them at for a drink at 19 after just landing in the drink at 18 under their gaze is probably the greatest fear at Millbrook.
        But plan to stop at a restaurant (there are three, plus the Hole-in-One Bar) at Millbrook—the service is welcoming and the food selection varied and excellent, making Millbrook the best total golfing experience on New Zealand’s South Island.

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*Bob Charles has retired following the 2004 tour season.
Now 65+ and based in Florida, Charles was knighted for
services to the sport in January, 2003, and remains the only
New Zealander—and the first left-hander—to win a major:
the 1963 British Open.          Photo Ed Lacey

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