Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club

Russell’s links on the Kapiti shore.

Paraparaumu Beach is New Zealand’s classic links, set on sandhills along the Kapiti Coast about an hour north of Wellington, with Kapiti Island lying offshore. It was redesigned by the Australian Alex Russell, MacKenzie’s former partner, and reopened in 1949. It has hosted 12 New Zealand Opens, and Golf Digest’s world ranking once placed it as high as 71st. For a course with that record, it is good value and straightforward to book.

Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club green fees and tee times.

Visitors book online through the club’s public tee sheet. First register as a public member using the Register button on the club website, then choose View Tee Times to see the sheet. You can book up to three months ahead, subject to availability. Monday to Thursday tee times are generally open to visitors; Friday, Saturday and Sunday bookings are at the general manager’s discretion, so keep weekend rounds flexible or email golfshop@pbgc.co.nz. No handicap limit is published for visitors. The dress code is firm: collared shirt and tailored shorts or trousers, with no denim, T-shirts, track pants, board shorts or jandals, and soft-spike or spikeless shoes.

The round, in perspective.

Golf began here in 1929, when a syndicate bought farmland behind the beach, sold about 200 acres as sections and turned the remaining 120 acres into an 18-hole course. After the war the club decided on a complete redesign and brought in Alex Russell of Melbourne, a former Australian Open champion and one-time partner of Alister MacKenzie. Head greenkeeper Jack Hunt’s staff built it, the new course opened in 1949, and Russell returned a year later to declare himself completely satisfied. Fairways bump and roll between untidy dunes and long rough, and the greens are small and well guarded. From the back it is a little over 6,000 metres, so position matters more than length. Reviewers single out the run of strong par threes, including the 2nd, the 5th and the 16th, a near copy of the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon, while the long 13th is a par four with no bunkers at all.

Know before you go.

Visitor days

Monday–Thursday generally; Friday–Sunday at the GM’s discretion

Booking window

Up to three months ahead

Online booking

Register as a public member first

Dress

Collared shirt; no denim, T-shirts or board shorts

Shoes

Soft spikes or spikeless

Golf shop

+64 4 902 8200

Make the trip work.

This is a natural day out from Wellington, or a stop on a drive up the west coast of the North Island. Book a midweek tee time to fit the visitor pattern. The clubhouse is at 376 Kapiti Road, close to the shops and cafés of Paraparaumu Beach, and the sea and Kapiti Island are a few minutes’ walk away. The course is exposed to the wind off the Tasman Sea, and the firm, bumpy fairways reward a low ball that runs. Corporate and group golf is handled through the golf shop on +64 4 902 8200.

Wellington Airport (WLG) is the main gateway, a drive of about an hour north on State Highway 1. Without a car, take the Kāpiti Line train from Wellington station to Paraparaumu, then a short taxi to the beach.

Where it is.

Somewhere to settle in.

Paraparaumu Beach has motels and holiday apartments within walking distance of the club, along with restaurants around the Marine Parade waterfront. Waikanae and Raumati, along the same coast, have more beach houses and boutique stays. If you want a city base, central Wellington has the widest range of hotels and the train makes it an easy day trip.

Make a trip of it.

Royal Wellington at Heretaunga, in the Hutt Valley, is the region’s other championship course; contact the club about visitor play. Closer by, Otaki Golf Club and Waikanae Golf Club make a relaxed second round on the Kapiti Coast. For a day off, licensed boat operators cross from Paraparaumu Beach to Kapiti Island, a nature reserve with rare birdlife, and Wellington’s Te Papa museum is an hour south.

Find your season.

Summer, December to March, gives the most reliable weather and long evenings. The Kapiti Coast is often milder than Wellington, but the westerly wind is part of the test in any month. Winter golf is possible on the sandy soil, though the days are short and squalls come off the sea.