Arrowtown Golf Course, NZ
A review of Arrowtown Golf Course, Otago, New Zealand
First stop on our Queenstown golf tour - Arrowtown Golf Course! Set below Mount Soho, and surrounded by Mt Remarkables and Coronet Peak. Beautiful mountain views on every hole - snow-capped peaks making you wish you were out there skiing.
Guard dog of the clubhouse
How did you get there?
Arrowtown Golf Course is a five minute drive from Arrowtown where we stayed the night before heading through to Queenstown. We paid about NZ$360 for the two of us, and this included free waterbottles, a couple of hats, balls and markers.
We received a warm welcome from the lady at the clubhouse, and this cute dog in the carpark!
Tell us a bit about the history.
Arrowtown is an old gold mining town established in the 1800s about 20 minute drive from Queenstown in Otago, New Zealand. The town itself is so cute - one main street full of bars, restaurants and boutique shops, and a lovely walk along the Arrow River. Definitely recommend at least one night if not two in a bnb and playing the courses around - not too busy and lots to do (including skiing which closed the weekend we arrived).
The course began as a six hole course in 1911 and grew to a nine hole in 1936 and 18 holes across the road in 1971.
Condition /20
Very wet underfoot as this area has had a lot of rain. Volunteer members told us they've never seen it so wet before - they were repairing divots on the tees and fairways.
Favourite hole!
Biodiversity /20
Some lovely birds - New Zealand raptors soaring above, paradise shelduck and common chaffinch. Lovely flora between and surrounding each hole.
Vistas /20
Stunning internal and external views of Mt Soho, the Remarkables and Mt Coronet. We were lucky to be joined by a local young player who gave us tips and advice on how to play the course best.
Organisation /20
Really warm welcome, although they are in the middle of renovations, the clubhouse and facilities are great.
Design /20
Very interesting design with every hole offering a different layout and challenge. Although there are no bunkers, distance and lie proved to be difficult on a number of holes as was some of the rough. Didn't mind though, as the views of the snow-capped mountains were truly spectacular at every moment.
Suggestions and strategy
Something the course taught you: look external to the fairway to see where you want your ball to end up (sloping gradients on each side can be tricky)
Favourite hole: punchbowl 14
Some advice: make an effort to join with locals - you learn a lot and get to make new friends!
Mental approach: deep breath before committing fully to the next shot.
Hazards and Highlights
One surprise: how much snow there is on the mountains at this time of year! And the super cute jack russell guard dog in the car park.
One birdie: paradise shelduck
Biggest challenge: recovering from the rough on the back nine - quite steep with poor visibility so best to try and stay on fairway.
Teeing up on the third...
Cheers to the beers afterwards
Mental approach: very easy to maintain positive emotions strong because of the beauty of the place. So a focus on gratitude, for the opportunity to play this amazing course.
Overall review
78/100
Our review of this course on this specific day. Can we come back soon?!
