Guide
Best Golf Courses on the North Island
The North Island holds most of New Zealand's most celebrated golf: the Tom Doak and Coore & Crenshaw courses at Mangawhai and Te Arai north of Auckland, the clifftop resort courses at Cape Kidnappers and Kauri Cliffs, and Alex Russell's links at Paraparaumu Beach. Our consensus table shows where each North Island course sits across the published lists.
- North Island's best, in New Zealand
- #1
- Courses ranked
- 31
- In New Zealand's top 20
- 14
- In the top 50
- 31
| NI | Course | New Zealand | Avg | Top100.com NZ 2026T100 ’26 | NZ Top 40 2024NZ40 ’24 | Golf Digest NZ 2025AGD ’25 | Golf Digest (US) NZ 2026GD ’26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Tara Iti | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2Te Arai Links (South) | 2 | 2.75 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 3Te Arai Links (North) | 3 | 3.25 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 4Cape Kidnappers | 4 | 5.00 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| T5 | T5Paraparaumu Beach | T6 | 6.50 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
| T5 | T5Kinloch | T6 | 6.50 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
| 7 | 7Kauri Cliffs | 8 | 8.00 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 |
| T8 | T8Wairakei | T10 | 11.75 | 18 | 5 | 15 | 9 |
| T8 | T8Titirangi | T10 | 11.75 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
| 10 | 10Royal Auckland and Grange | 14 | 14.00 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 10 |
| 11 | 11Royal Wellington | 15 | 14.75 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 14 |
| 12 | 12Muriwai | 16 | 15.50 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 15 |
| 13 | 13Tieke | 17 | 17.25 | 13 | 20 | 17 | 19 |
| 14 | 14Hastings | 20 | 21.75 | 30 | 22 | 18 | 17 |
| 15 | 15Ohope Beach | 21 | 22.50 | 21 | – | 24 | – |
| 16 | 16Windross Farm | 23 | 25.00 | 23 | – | 27 | – |
| 17 | 17Waverley | 24 | 25.33 | 12 | 39 | 25 | – |
| T18 | T18Kaitaia | T26 | 26.50 | 33 | – | 20 | – |
| T18 | T18Hamilton (St Andrews) | T26 | 26.50 | 28 | 25 | – | – |
| 20 | 20Manawatu | 29 | 29.50 | – | 28 | 31 | – |
| 21 | 21Waipu | T31 | 31.33 | 27 | 35 | 32 | – |
| T22 | T22New Plymouth | T34 | 33.00 | 29 | 32 | 38 | – |
| T22 | T22Wainui | T34 | 33.00 | 20 | – | 46 | – |
| 24 | 24Whanganui | 39 | 34.33 | 25 | 37 | 41 | – |
| 25 | 25Mangawhai | 40 | 36.00 | 34 | 38 | 36 | – |
| 26 | 26Carrington | 41 | 36.50 | 47 | – | 26 | – |
| 27 | 27Waitara | 44 | 40.00 | 41 | – | 39 | – |
| 28 | 28Mount Maunganui | 45 | 40.67 | 50 | 23 | 49 | – |
| 29 | 29Omaha Beach | 46 | 41.33 | 46 | 36 | 42 | – |
| 30 | 30Whakatane | 48 | 44.00 | 48 | – | 40 | – |
| 31 | 31Rotorua (Arikikapakapa) | 49 | 49.50 | 49 | – | 50 | – |
The first column ranks courses within North Island; New Zealand is their Golf List position nationally. Based on 4 lists; see the methodology.
Also in North Island, ranked by fewer than two lists so without a Golf List position: Poverty Bay, Formosa, Whitford Park, Rangatira, Gulf Harbour, Waitangi.
The lists disagree most about Waverley, placed from 12 to 39.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best golf course in North Island?
- Tara Iti is #1 in North Island on The Golf List, and #1 in New Zealand. 31 North Island courses have a Golf List position.
- How are these courses ranked?
- By the mean of each course's position across 4 published lists (Top100.com NZ 2026, NZ Top 40 2024, Golf Digest NZ 2025, Golf Digest (US) NZ 2026), lowest first. Every source position is shown in the table.
- How many of these courses are in New Zealand's top 20?
- 14 of the 31 courses listed are in the Golf List top 20, and 31 are in the top 50.