The Hills

Overview: The Hills is an 18-hole, par-72 course outside Arrowtown, set across a broad glacial valley beneath the mountains of Otago. Darby Partners shaped the route through native browntop grasses, mountain tussock, wetlands, schist outcrops and open land, giving the holes a strong sense of scale without losing strategic definition. The course is listed at 7,228 yards from its longest markers, but its identity comes as much from the changing ground and weather as from its length. Sculptures are placed throughout the property, so the round moves between expansive mountain golf and an open-air art collection.

History: Sir Michael and Christine Hill began building their Arrowtown property after falling in love with the area during a holiday in the 1980s. Michael first created a putting green and several short holes near the house, then gradually acquired more farmland and expanded the idea into a full golf course. The Hills grew to 18 holes with a clubhouse and formal golf operation, and the completed course was inaugurated in 2007 as a host venue for the New Zealand Open. Its development kept the landscape and art collection central to the club's identity rather than treating them as decoration around a conventional resort layout.

Did You Know? The Hills began as a small private par-three project before becoming a championship course spread across more than 500 acres. The property contains works by artists from New Zealand and abroad, while the course vegetation includes native brown-top grasses and mountain tussocks. That combination of golf, sculpture and open valley landscape is unusual even in a country known for dramatic courses.