Born out of the gold rush of 1862, Arrowtown is a charming and picturesque town where time has stood still, in some respects, for 150 years. The gold-seeking pioneers built small cottages of stone and wood, and they planted avenues of beautiful maple, oak and cherry trees, and over the years these have been carefully preserved, helping Arrowtown retain its strong links with its past and turning the town into a national treasure.
Arrowtown Golf Club has a similarly rich history. A hundred years ago a six-hole course was laid out near the end of the town’s main street. The club moved to its present site in 1935, and nine holes – played as the front nine today – were opened for play a year later. In 1971 the club bought 53 acres of land on the opposite side of Centennial Rd and extended the course to 18 holes.
The design was based on the advice of good amateur golfers. Construction was carried out by volunteers and, in more recent times, greens staff. Considering all that, the layout is an amazing triumph – it is also unlike any other you will read about in this book.
You might miss it if you blink as you drive south out of town, so well does this par-70 blend with its surrounding landscape, including the rugged peaks and sheer cliff faces of the Crown Range and The Remarkables. There are no bunkers on the course . . . Arrowtown doesn’t need them – its equivalent hazard is rocks. Big rocks, small rocks and schist outcrops, all woven seamlessly into the design of many holes, are what make this layout extraordinary.
Arrowtown opens with a challenging downhill par-three that demands you be on target from the outset. Accuracy remains a key theme all round long. What Arrowtown lacks in length – it’s only 5492 metres from the back pegs – it makes up for in the severity with which it penalises crooked hitting.
The 2nd, a 493-metre par-five, is the first of many tight driving holes where you must thread your tee shot between large mounds and schist outcrops to find the rolling fairway. The fairway is a mere 20 metres wide in parts of the driving zone here, though it gets wider the closer you get to the green.
By the time you reach the 336-metre 4th hole, you could be forgiven for wanting to open your shoulders and whack a driver. This par-four is an open but demanding driving hole where a ridge of schist outcrop, separating the 3rd and 4th fairways, extends all the way to the green. Any drive down the right half of the fairway has to clear a steep diagonal terrace that pushes your ball even further right and leaves you with a tough approach shot to a green protected on three sides by rock features and slopes.
Arrowtown’s gold-mining past is commemorated in the names of its holes: ‘Sons of Fortune’, ‘Golden Arrow’, ‘Lady Fayre’. Lady Fayre, one of Arrowtown’s original gold mines, is also the 329-metre, par-four 18th – a fantastic closing hole that can ruin a scorecard at the final hurdle. From the elevated tee, it is possible to see the entire fairway beyond a high rocky outcrop. The fairway doglegs right around the edge of a pond, then turns left and climbs uphill to the green. The pond is in play off the tee, so any player choosing to use their driver here must be confident of carrying their drive on the correct line over the rocky terrace.
Arrowtown can be enjoyed by every golfer: professional or amateur, young or old, man or woman. The landscape is dramatic and memorable and the golf is no different. Arrowtown is golfing gold.
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MEMORABLE HOLES 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 13th and 18th WHERE TO GO 166 Centennial Ave, Arrowtown BOOK A ROUND (03) 442 1719, www.arrowtowngolf.co.nz OTHER 120 GREAT COURSES NEARBY The Hills (3.1 km), Millbrook (3.9 km), Queenstown (21.6 km), Jack’s Point (23.8 km) WHERE TO STAY Millbrook Resort is only a few minutes’ drive away and has beautifully appointed rooms, suites and villas. It is the ideal base for a golfing holiday in the Queenstown–Arrowtown region. BEFORE/AFTER YOUR ROUND If you enjoyed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Walk To Middle Earth tour group will take you to film locations in the company of your own personal guide, who played an extra in the making of the movies. You can also pan for Elf Gold in the Arrow River. |