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— Explore New Zealand 18 Holes at a Time —

Muriwai Golf Club
Muriwai Beach, RD#1 Waimauku
near Auckland, New Zealand

        A traditional Scottish links course with grand views of the sea and New Zealand forests, but with some surprises, like black sand beaches and bunkers.

  SCOTTISH GOLF DOWN UNDER AT MURIWAI:        
DRAMATIC, CHALLENGING, AND INEXPENSIVE       

Length & Par:      Blue Tees: Par 73, 5866 meters (6415 yards)
                           White Tees: Par 73, 5550 meters (6070 yards)
                           Ladies Tees: Par 74, 5347 meters (5848 yards)

Greens Fees per ROUND:
    WEEKENDS: NZ$30?
    WEEKDAYS: NZ$25?

Open and Playable Year Round

ADVANCE BOOKING OF TEE-TIMES REQUIRED.
Visitors always welcome.

Bookings (from the USA):   TEL:   011 64 (0) 9 411 8454
                                           FAX:  011 64 (0) 9 411 8454
                                   or e-mail: muriwaishop@golf.co.nz

OR--book Muriwai and your other New Zealand golf tee-times FREE! as you plan your trip
to New Zealand with HOME AT FIRST!
 
Minimum Handicap Required: None.

Facilities:
        Club House
        Full bar and restaurant
Driving Range
Golf Shop

Rentals:
        Clubs: Yes—NZ$30
        Shoes: Yes
        Pull carts (trolleys): Yes
        Golf carts: Yes—NZ$25
        Caddies: No

 LOCATION: Coast Road, Muriwai, New Zealand, about 3/4 hour west of Auckland city on the west coast (Tasman Sea).

Nearest HOME AT FIRST lodgings:
    In Auckland, about 45 minutes east of the course.
    For more information about HOME AT FIRST's New Zealand travel program, see: NEW ZEALAND  and  AUCKLAND.

THE HISTORY: Muriwai opened in 1956, when a group of Auckland area golf enthusiasts purchased the site to be developed in the fashion of a true Scottish links. Course designer H. G. Babbage took advantage of the great natural links setting on Auckland’s west coast. The course is adjacent to a bird refuge, assuring its own protection against the development of neighboring land. The course has significant extra land, some of which is now being used in course redevelopment and expansion. Nine additional holes will be added to the current eighteen. Redevelopment of the course is occasionally necessary by the natural erosion of the links land by the Tasman Sea and the wind. The course is built on sand dunes, unstable land that shifts and changes the nature of the course over time. The volcanic black sand is a notable characteristic of Muriwai found at few other golf courses. Due to the completely natural setting, the course is without traffic or crowd noise—golfers hear only the sound of the wind, the surf, and sea birds.

MURIWAI LINKS—BUILT ON BLACK SAND DUNES
    Photo copyright © HOME AT FIRST

THE COURSE AND SOME NOTABLE HOLES: Because it is built on sand dunes, Muriwai is playable under all weather conditions, and is not subject to frosts—and is, therefore, never closed. Its location provides some fantastic seaside views. The undulating links with long, wild rough, black sand bluffs, hardy scrub pines, and sudden glimpses of the sea is one of the most attractive courses in New Zealand. The course’s beauty is enough distraction to affect your game. On a windy day, the beauty remains, but the game becomes significantly more difficult. Many of Muriwai’s of the greens are elevated, and most are protected by bunkers, undulations, or bluffs. The fairways are never flat, it seems, but are fairly wide, making the course playable and enjoyable by golfers who don’t always follow the straight and narrow. However, in the wind, Muriwai’s fairways seem skinny targets protected by swirling zephyrs.
        The rugged nature of the course begins with the first hole. A short par-5, at 450 yards, the hole’s challenge lies not in its length but in fairway moguls and its elevated, two-tier green. The 4^th tee’s perch—70 feet above the fairway—is, to say the least, panoramic. Daunting is a second adjective that comes to mind.

MURIWAI FIRST TEE—DRIVING FOR THE TASMAN
Photo copyright © HOME AT FIRST

        Number 6 is a beautiful par-3, backed with the sea. But the green, protected by a menacing bunker, looks far less inviting.
        A blind shot to the fairway—not uncommon on links courses, but usually made less difficult by the presence of caddies—starts off hole 11. There is a right way and a wrong way to thread your shot through the mounds that block your line of sight.
        The view from the tee-perch of the 18^th is the way this golf course should end—with a panoramic overview of Muriwai. Though its fairway is large, long, and straight, the green is not visible from the tee or from the fairway. After another blind fairway shot lined to a distant marker and a tree, you find a small green lying almost 50 feet below. Hitting the small green blind in the wind will provide you with one last vivid memory of Muriwai.

 THE REGION: Muriwai is on Auckland’s west coast. Auckland is one of the few cities of the world to be located on the coasts of two oceans. Most who know a little about Auckland may know that its Pacific (east) coast includes the broad, sheltered sailing playground of the Hauraki Gulf before the open seas of the broad Pacific. It is here in these relatively calm, warm waters that New Zealand now defends its hold on the America’s Cup. And, it is also here that Auckland’s primary residential, commercial, and resort land is located. Indeed, Auckland’s the internationally known golf resorts of Gulf Harbour and Formosa are located on the Pacific coast.
        Muriwai Golf Club’s Tasman Sea (west coast) location makes it subject to the incoming weather, prevailing west winds, and roaring surf. This wild, beautiful scenery is within Ύ hour of downtown Auckland.

AUCKLAND--CITY ON TWO OCEANS
Photo copyright © HOME AT FIRST

        Auckland, home to one-third of New Zealand’s population, is the cultural hub of the nation, a multi-ethnic city and a key economic center of the Pacific Rim. Typically balmy, often sub-tropical weather provides Auckland with an island climate. As a result Auckland is ideal for outdoor activities—especially water sports of all kinds. Afterwards, however, unlike New Zealand’s scarcely populated hinterlands, there are many places for fine dining, trendy shopping, theatre, opera, art and entertainment.

Want to learn about other courses throughout New Zealand including some of the greatest tests of golf in the world? See our NEW ZEALAND COURSE GUIDE for more information.