Te Arai Links (North Course)

Overview: Te Arai Links North Course is an 18-hole, par-71 layout on the Pacific coast near Tomarata, north of Auckland. Tom Doak routed the course through a broad coastal landscape of dunes, native vegetation and sandy ground, with the North Course extending to 6,931 yards from the listed back markers. The holes use the natural movement of the land instead of imposing a rigid geometric pattern, so the round changes character as it climbs, falls and turns through the property. Firm fescue surfaces, exposed greens and the proximity of the ocean give the course a clear links identity, while the surrounding landscape provides much of the visual drama.

History: The North Course dates from October 2023 and became the second 18-hole course at Te Arai Links. It followed the South Course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, whose layout dates from October 2022. The two layouts were planned as separate expressions of the same coastal setting: the North Course brings Doak’s interest in strategic ground contours and memorable green complexes, while the South Course has its own routing and design language. Together they form the golf component of a coastal destination built around the dunes, wetlands and Pacific shoreline rather than a conventional inland resort landscape.

Did You Know? Te Arai Links places two different design teams on the same stretch of coast: Tom Doak on the North Course and Bill Coore with Ben Crenshaw on the South. The North Course is also one of the newer ranked layouts in New Zealand, having opened in 2023.