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PARAPARAUMU BEACH GOLF CLUB
376 Kapiti Road, Paraparaumu Beach, Kapiti Coast
North Island, New Zealand
Tel:
+64 4
902 8200
Email:
bookings@paraparaumubeachgolfclub.co.nz
WEB SITE:
PARAPARAUMU BEACH GOLF
Despite
serious challenges from new international resort courses elsewhere,
this spectacular true links just north of Wellington may still deserve
its
long-held title of New Zealand's best golf course.
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Photos courtesy Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club. |
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Paraparaumu Beach
Golf Club is New Zealand’s
third highest rated golf course—currently
rated number 65th best course outside of the USA by
GolfDigest.com,
behind two recently constructed resort courses:
Cape Kidnapper's
(#10) near Hastings, Hawkes Bay, and
Kauri Cliffs
(#30) near Kerikeri, Northland.
That two new courses have rocketed past the venerable
Paraparaumu links in the world rankings pains the club's proud
membership in the Wellington region. But, because
of a home-boy caddie named Steve Williams, Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club
remains for now New
Zealand’s best known course throughout the world. Steve Williams is Tiger
Woodss caddie, and Steve came to Tiger from |
Paraparaumu's Steve Williams and
his current employer, Tiger Woods. |
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Paraparaumu Beach Golf
Club via Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch, and Ray Floyd. At Steves urging
Tiger played at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club in January, 2002, in the New
Zealand Open. And Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club was solidly placed on the
worlds map of great courses. |
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The 6th hole at
Paraparaumu Links is a short par-4 at 326 yards. There is no water and
little sand. There are no trees. But, be advised, the rugged moguls of
the fairway and the
bordering thick rough make this hole a classic test of links golf. |
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Paraparaumu Beach course is
a true
ocean-side links built on the site of an earlier nine-hole course which was
established in 1929 with a second nine added in 1937. The modern course was designed in
the 1940s. Former Australian Open Champion, Alex Russell, a student of the great Alister
MacKenzie (other credits: Cypress Point, Augusta National,
Lahinch,
St. Andrews Eden,
Titirangi), completed the
course design by 1949. A traditional links (but built on
volcanic sand), the course features well-drained, undulating
fairways, fierce rough, fast greens and intimidating bunkers combine with the naturally
windy coastal weather to create a truly challenging golfing experience. |
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The
13th hole at Paraparaumu Links is a long
par-4 at 446 yards. May
your drive be long and
lie flat in the bottom of a swale, that your second shot can reach the
tabled green and hold.
To be short is to roll away from the pin into a depression. To be long
is to roll further away
from the pin into deeper trouble. And if the wind is blowing, think
kindly of bogey. |
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Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club is a private club.
Visiting
golfers are welcomed, but it is essential to book at least a week in advance
of play. The weather is usually excellent, the course is spectacular, and the price is
unbelievably low.
Paraparaumu Beach Links has been
the
site of 12 New Zealand Golf Opens (the first in 1959;
the most recent: 2002; winners include Peter Thomson, Bob Charles,
Corey Pavin, and Michael Campbell), and numerous other major
tournaments. The club has a well-equipped clubrooms with locker rooms,
bar and restaurant. The bar is open daily from mid afternoon. The restaurant is open seven
days for breakfast and lunch from 9AM-6PM. The clubhouse is open seven days from
8AM to 6PM.
If you would like to play Paraparaumu Beach links as part of your New Zealand vacation,
contact
Home At First anytime. |
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The short (146 yards) par-3
14th hole requires accuracy and touch,
especially in windy conditions.
Aim for the center of the green, and hope the pin location is right
where it is pictured. |
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Length & Par:
Blue Championship Tees:
Par 71, 6,635 yards
White Tees:
Par 71, 6,447 yards
Yellow Tees:
Par 71, 6,005 yards
Red (Ladies' Tees):
Par 73, 5,682 yards
Greens Fees per ROUND:
NZ$110
Credit Cards Accepted: VISA,
AMEX, MASTERCARD
Open and Playable Year Round
Booking of Tee-Times
Required in advance of play.
Visitors welcome every day.
But, this is a busy course: many days
& times may be
unavailable due to scheduled club
events.
Minimum Handicap: NONE
Booking Tee-Times:
Phoning from outside of New Zealand: Tel: +64 4
902 8200
OR e-mail:
bookings@paraparaumubeachgolfclub.co.nz
OR have
Home
At First book a tee-time for you as part of your
New Zealand travel itinerary;
there's no extra charge for this service.
Facilities:
Changing rooms for men and women
Pro Shop: fully-equipped
Practice area and putting green
Cafι restaurant
& Bar
Rentals:
Pull carts
motorized (trundlers):
NZ$15/round
Pull carts
standard (trolleys):
NZ$5/round
Golf carts (Buggies):
NZ$40/cart
Club rental:
steel & graphite; men's & ladies'; right- and left-handed
Golf Shoes
Caddies (request these
in advance)
LOCATION:
Three minutes west of
Paraparaumu town
center on Highway 1.
Forty minutes north
of Wellington city to Paraparaumu, five minutes
south of Waikanae to Paraparaumu. Once in
Paraparaumu, turn west from Highway
1 onto Kapiti Road. Follow
Kapiti Road past airport to
golf course entrance on right side near the beach.
Address:
Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club,
376 Kapiti Road, Paraparaumu Beach,
New Zealand.
Nearest HOME AT FIRST
lodgings:
KAPITI COAST SUITES, 10 minutes
north of Paraparaumu Beach G. C. along the Kapiti Coast.
More about
HOME AT FIRST's
NEW ZEALAND travel program.
More about
WELLINGTON AND THE KAPITI COAST.
Other Golf in the region:
WAIKANAE GOLF CLUB, 18-hole
coastal parkland course, 15min. south of Levin along Highway 1.
LEVIN LINKS GOLF CLUB,
one of New Zealand's unknown gems,
near the Tasman Sea west of
Levin 25min.
north of Paraparaumu along Highway 1. |
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THE
WELLINGTON/KAPITI COAST
REGION: New Zealand’s
Kapiti Coast
is named after a large island just offshore, now home to an important nature reserve and
bird sanctuary. Like a mini-Chile, the Kapiti Coast is a fertile, narrow corridor of land
between ocean and mountains. There are long, broad, empty beaches here, and productive
farms. As Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city an hour to the south, has grown, the
former small towns of the Kapiti Coast have grown with it, and many have become bedroom
communities to Wellington. As such, the city’s cultural influence has brought fine
restaurants and upscale shopping into the region. But |
Wellington city and
harbor viewed from
above the city's famed Botanic Gardens.
Photo credit: WellingtonNZ.com. |
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Photo © Home At
First |
Wellington, often compared to San Francisco, remains the regions
cultural center. Its theater, botanical gardens, museums, shops,
restaurants, and harbor continue to be the focus of visitors.
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Kapiti Island Nature Preserve lies only 15-minutes
by boat off the coast from Paraparaumu Beach. Only
50 persons may visit the island each day, making
bird-watching at Kapiti Island more exclusive than
chasing birdies at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club. |
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