Poverty Bay Golf Course Top 100 Review

Awapuni Links is the home of Poverty Bay Golf Club, established in 1893 and the fifth oldest golf club in New Zealand. Located in Gisborne alongside Poverty Bay beach, the course features a links-style layout built on undulating sand dunes with strategic mature pine trees. The men's course measures 6,029 metres at par 72, while women play par 74 from 5,309 metres. Known for its exceptional greens and sand-based, watered fairways with excellent drainage, the course remains playable in wet weather. The undulating terrain and prevailing north-westerly and southerly winds provide a fair but testing challenge for golfers of all abilities. Awapuni has hosted prestigious events including the New Zealand Amateur Championships (1991, 1996, 2020) and the Freyburg Masters Rose Bowl Interprovincial (2023). The course is recognized among New Zealand's top provincial layouts and was listed among the country's top 25 courses by Golf Australia in 2012. Notable scoring records include Ryan Fox's 65 in the 2012 Pro-Am and Peter Zwart's course record 64 in 2013.