Bay of Islands Golf Club

Overview: Bay of Islands Golf Club, now presented locally as Kerikeri Golf Club, is an 18-hole parkland layout in Northland. The current course information lists par 73 and 6,122 metres, with tree-lined holes, volcanic soil that drains well and a distinctive drop hole among its features. It is a green, year-round style of golf: the interest comes from changing lies, mature vegetation and the way the land moves through the Northland landscape rather than from manufactured drama.

History: The club was first formed in Kerikeri in April 1936, then went into recess during the Second World War before being re-formed in 1970. Merv Andreason designed the present course, whose first nine entered play on 23 March 1974. The second nine followed in 1977, completing the eighteen-hole routing. The club adopted the Bay of Islands Golf Club Kerikeri name in 2010, connecting the local course more directly to the region’s wider identity.

Did You Know? The course’s volcanic ground is one of its quiet advantages. Good natural drainage helps explain why the layout is described as playable throughout the year, even though the character of the round changes with the weather. A signature hole also drops through the landscape, giving the otherwise tree-framed course a sudden change of scale.