Christchurch Golf Club

Overview: Christchurch Golf Club's Shirley Links presents 18 holes at par 72 on a mature Christchurch property where parkland trees sit alongside rolling, linksy ground. The course is listed at 6,309 metres from the back markers, approximately 6,902 yards, and is known for undulating fairways, pot bunkers, broad greens and a mixture of open and tree-lined holes. The route rewards control rather than simple length: the best lines often depend on the shape of the ground, the angle into the green and the ability to manage the changing texture of the course from one section to the next.

History: Christchurch Golf Club was founded in 1873, first played at Hagley Park and later moved through another Christchurch site before settling at Shirley in 1900. The first nine greens at the present property were ready on 23 July 1900, and the course expanded to 18 holes by 1910. More land was added in 1972, while Peter Thomson and Michael Wolveridge supervised important later improvements, including tree removal and work that strengthened the links character. The club has hosted New Zealand Opens from 1910 through 1982 and the World Amateur Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy in 1990.

Did You Know? The club's Sir Bob Charles Gallery displays the clubs used by Charles when he won The Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 1963. Shirley has also hosted a long list of national championships, giving the course an unusually deep tournament record for a city layout. Its double green shared by the first and seventeenth holes is another distinctive feature of the property.