Russley Golf Club

Overview: Russley Golf Club is a parkland course close to Christchurch Airport, with a current 18-hole par-72 card measuring about 5,700 metres. The layout has grown from dry riverbed land into a more sheltered course of open fairways, mature pines and native planting. Greg Turner’s work on the back nine has added a broader set of green-side challenges, while the airport location makes Russley an easy first or last round on a South Island golf trip.

History: Russley grew from Hagley Golf Club members who wanted more land and a greater challenge. The Hagley Links Company bought 120 acres in 1927, and 12 holes were ready for the official opening on 12 May 1928. Joe A. Clements shaped the original layout. Thousands of pines were planted in the 1930s, and Greg Turner redesigned the back nine between 2012 and 2014. Russley has hosted the New Zealand Open and the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship.

Did You Know? In its earliest years the course was a stark, windswept riverbed covered in stones. Early golfers picked up rocks into piles before play, and the rows of pines planted in the 1930s later transformed the visual character of the property.