Cape Kidnappers Golf Course Top 100 Review

Cape Kidnappers is an 18-hole golf course designed by Tom Doak, located on a dramatic peninsula at the southern end of Hawke's Bay in New Zealand. The course occupies 6,000 acres of a working sheep and cattle station, extending 10 kilometers into the South Pacific.

Set atop rolling hills and rugged cliffs 140 meters above sea level, the course offers vast ocean views and spectacular seaside golf. While not traditional links terrain with sand dunes, Cape Kidnappers delivers seaside play characterized by firm, fast conditions and firm turf. The design features a series of ridges jutting toward the cliff edge, requiring players to navigate shots over tea trees and along deep ravines.

Notable characteristics include deep bunkers positioned at green edges and three holes requiring perilous shots across ravines between ridges. Holes 6 and 15 are particularly dramatic, allowing players to hit approach shots off the cliff edge itself. The course challenges golfers to control trajectory in often-windy conditions, rewarding precision shot-making.

The property includes Cape Sanctuary, a 6,000-acre wildlife restoration project protected by predator-proof fencing, allowing golfers to experience rare and endangered New Zealand bird life throughout their round. The course adjoins the luxury Rosewood Cape Kidnappers resort.