Golf Course Architecture - Issue 66, October 2021

16 TEE BOX that is visually connected but not immediately adjacent to the ocean. “Te Arai is on a more linear dunes site that parallels the sea for the majority of the course. Easily, thirteen holes could be described as seaside, with all but the more inland second hole having views of the sea from some point on each hole. It could be argued that the Te Arai site has a greater variety of dramatic landforms than Tara Iti but like Tara Iti, the character and the golfing strategy of each hole was determined by the natural dune contours on which each hole was routed.” Construction of the South course began in September 2020 and is now complete. It is the first Coore and Crenshaw project in New Zealand, with Coore saying he has enjoyed the design freedom afforded to him by Kayne and Rohrstaff. “For those of us in the golf design profession, an opportunity like Te Arai is a dream come true,” said Coore. “Relating to the routing, I’m prejudiced but I think the Te Arai routing showcases the amazingly varied topography of this dramatic site and the sequence of holes and individual character of each hole was determined and defined by each hole’s natural landforms as presented through the routing.” For Rohrstaff the front nine is a personal highlight. “Holes four, five and six will absolutely blow people away,” he said. “It is incredibly dramatic and is early in the round. Then the finishing stretch starting at fourteen will be as exciting as any course I’ve seen. I speak of these as personal highlights, but there is not a weak hole on the course. The hole pre-construction that I wondered most about was the fifteenth, but that has turned out to be great, too. I think Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have made use of undulating sand and dunes for their first course in New Zealand