Travels WithJohn and Janice
Gulf Harbour Country Club, Robert Trent Jones design on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula north of Auckland
New Zealand3 min read

Dateline January 26, 2015, Golf at Gulf Harbour

New Zealand2015 TravelGolf#new-zealand#gulf-harbour#gulf-harbour-country-club#robert-trent-jones#robert-trent-jones-trail#1998-world-cup-of-golf#auckland#panorama-heights#wairakei#pete-and-bunny-warenski#golf#new-zealand-australia-2015

After an excellent breakfast at Swallow Ridge, we said our goodbyes to our wonderful hosts Mike and Chris and to the place itself, and pointed the car south back toward Auckland for the second round of golf of the trip.

Gulf Harbour.

Gulf Harbour Country Club sits on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, about an hour north of central Auckland. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior, and hosted the 1998 World Cup of Golf. It has hosted many professional events in the years since. Jones himself once likened the routing to Pebble Beach.

Pete and Bunny had been with us on the Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama in May of 2012, so playing another Jones course together had a nice continuity to it.

Bunny teeing off
Bunny teeing off

We arrived in time for an early afternoon tee, got a sandwich in the clubhouse, hit a few balls on the range, and made it to the first tee.

The unfair comparison.

A note on what we expected. We had just come off Kauri Cliffs, which sets a bar that almost no other course can clear. We were reminded of how we had felt on the Canadian Maritimes the year after we did Alaska. Eastern Canada was beautiful in its own right, but you couldn't really fairly compare it to Alaska, and you shouldn't try. The same goes for Gulf Harbour compared to Kauri Cliffs, keeping in mind that the green fees at Gulf Harbour are about twenty percent of what you pay up at Kauri Cliffs.

Front nine at Gulf Harbour
Front nine at Gulf Harbour

The front nine was a pleasant layout to play, challenging in places but not punishing.

Par 3 number 15
Par 3 number 15

The back nine is where Gulf Harbour starts to make its case. The routing climbs up onto the cliffs that overlook the Hauraki Gulf, and the views begin to do what views do to the rest of your golf game.

Back nine, climbing up to the cliffs
Back nine, climbing up to the cliffs

Off in the distance you can see Auckland itself across the water, the Sky Tower poking up in the middle of the city.

Auckland through the trees
Auckland through the trees

We absolutely loved the back nine. It was a pleasant afternoon of golf.

Heading west.

From the course we drove on into Western Auckland to a B&B called Panorama Heights for the night. In the morning we would head south toward our next golf adventure at Wairakei Golf Club and our next B&B.

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