The Kinloch Club

Overview: The Kinloch Club sets out a par-72 round beside Lake Taupō, where Jack Nicklaus created a 7,152-yard layout over volcanic pumice terrain. The course has the visual scale of a championship venue, with broad landforms, pronounced contours, angular ground movement and views toward the lake and surrounding North Island landscape. Nicklaus Design used the naturally rolling site to produce a course that moves through different elevations rather than following a flat resort grid. The combination of exposed ground, shaped edges and large strategic features gives Kinloch a distinctive character within New Zealand golf.

History: Work on the course began in 2003 and the first nine holes opened in 2007. The full course was completed later that year, with the back nine recorded as opening on December 1, 2007. Kinloch was developed as a major golf and resort project near Taupō, and the design was intended to make the volcanic landscape part of the playing experience. Jack Nicklaus’s involvement was significant for the country: the course became his first Signature design in New Zealand and established a high-profile championship layout in the central North Island.

Did You Know? Kinloch is identified by Nicklaus Design as the only Jack Nicklaus Signature course in New Zealand. The course’s volcanic pumice setting is not just a backdrop; its fast-moving contours and irregular landforms are central to the way the holes are shaped and played.