Guide
Best Golf Courses on the South Island
The South Island's golf is concentrated around Queenstown and Arrowtown, where Jack's Point, The Hills and Millbrook's two courses sit beneath the Remarkables, with Christchurch's established clubs and the Otago coast beyond. Our consensus table shows where each South Island course sits across the published lists.
- South Island's best, in New Zealand
- #5
- Courses ranked
- 18
- In New Zealand's top 20
- 6
- In the top 50
- 18
| SI | 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 | 1Jack's Point | 5 | 6.00 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | 2The Hills | 9 | 9.25 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 11 |
| 3 | 3Millbrook (Coronet) | 12 | 12.00 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| 4 | 4Arrowtown | 13 | 13.75 | 8 | 21 | 10 | 16 |
| 5 | 5Christchurch | 18 | 17.75 | 19 | 15 | 19 | 18 |
| 6 | 6Clearwater | 19 | 20.25 | 22 | 16 | 23 | 20 |
| 7 | 7Millbrook (Remarkables) | 22 | 23.67 | 38 | 12 | 21 | – |
| 8 | 8Otago | 25 | 26.33 | 26 | 24 | 29 | – |
| 9 | 9Queenstown (Kelvin Heights) | 28 | 26.67 | 32 | 26 | 22 | – |
| 10 | 10Chisholm Links | 30 | 31.00 | 24 | 34 | 35 | – |
| 11 | 11Cromwell | T31 | 31.33 | 37 | 29 | 28 | – |
| 12 | 12Terrace Downs | 33 | 32.67 | 31 | 19 | 48 | – |
| T13 | T13Harewood | T34 | 33.00 | 35 | 30 | 34 | – |
| T13 | T13Russley | T34 | 33.00 | – | 33 | 33 | – |
| 15 | 15Pegasus | 38 | 34.00 | 45 | 27 | 30 | – |
| 16 | 16Nelson | 42 | 38.50 | 40 | – | 37 | – |
| 17 | 17Invercargill | 43 | 39.67 | 44 | 31 | 44 | – |
| 18 | 18Roxburgh | 47 | 42.00 | 39 | – | 45 | – |
The first column ranks courses within South Island; New Zealand is their Golf List position nationally. Based on 4 lists; see the methodology.
Also in South Island, ranked by fewer than two lists so without a Golf List position: Wanaka, St Clair.
The lists disagree most about Terrace Downs, placed from 19 to 48.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best golf course in South Island?
- Jack's Point is #1 in South Island on The Golf List, and #5 in New Zealand. 18 South 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?
- 6 of the 18 courses listed are in the Golf List top 20, and 18 are in the top 50.