Tara Iti

Tara Iti is the Māori term for the fairy tern, a tiny coastal bird that has become exceptionally rare in New Zealand.

It is also the name of a world-class golf club where tee times for non-members are almost as elusive. 

And yet, here were Mrs W and I, playing on the turf laid out by Tom Doak—the creative genius known for producing wildly imaginative layouts in fabulous surroundings.

Playing Tara Iti is an event, partly because the club is so exclusive, but primarily because it is like no other course on the planet.

Before its inception, the land was a dense, commercial pine plantation.  Its potential was spotted by American billionaire Ric Kayne and New Zealand developer John Darby, who purchased the 570-acre site in 2012 to create a dream golf destination.

Doak was commissioned for the project and began by clearing the non-indigenous pines and wattle to reveal the sandy soil beneath. 

Much of the cleared material was buried to form larger dunes, and the team spent two years painstakingly sculpting the landscape to resemble natural, wind-swept links land. 

The result is a course where every hole possesses a "wow" factor. Keep the ball on the grass, and a score is possible; push it into the dunes, and failure is likely.

Our day began with a celebration before a ball was even struck.

Our golf bags failed to appear upon our arrival at Auckland Airport, and for the next day and a half, our inquiries went unanswered. 

We had fretted over being without them—dreading the prospect of renting clubs and buying new gear—but on the morning of our game, we received an email stating they had been found.

They arrived just as we were waiting in a car to be whisked from Te Arai to the clubhouse.

We can vouch that visitors to Tara Iti are treated exactly like members. What we didn’t expect, however, was how laid-back the atmosphere would be. 

At the practice ground, we were introduced to our respective caddies (who are compulsory), and then the moment arrived to strike our opening blow.

The defining feature of Tara Iti is the sand. It frames every hole and, intriguingly, because these expanses are considered "waste areas," players are permitted to ground their clubs.

Furthermore, because the areas are too vast to rake, a local rule allows the ball to be placed outside indentations, such as footprints.

 I avoided the hazards on the bending par-four first, nipped the ball onto the green, took two putts, and walked away rather pleased with myself.

It should be noted, however, that this is the stroke index 17. The course’s teeth were yet to bite.

The azure ocean comes into view on the par-three second, which features a bunker in the middle of the green. It is a fabulous hole, though I could say the same for almost every one. 

Our generous host had suggested we play from the "back" tees (the second furthest of four options).

This seemed a risky choice when faced with the 425-yard par-four third, but the carry over the waste area is less intimidating than it looks because the fairway is so generous.

Doak’s design delivers two of my favourite elements: scintillating par-threes and short, tricky par-fours.

When I nailed another par on the fourth, I began to wonder what the fuss was about. After all, this was meant to be a difficult test. 

The par-five fifth quickly demonstrated that any slight deviation off the tee would be costly.

After a decent drive, my three-wood wandered a yard to the right, leaving the ball perched above a cavernous bunker. 

Comedy ensued as I struggled with my stance, tried to play the ball from inches in front of my feet, and inevitably duffed it into the trap. A likely par quickly became a seven.

The sixth is the stroke index one—a glorious hole running alongside the ocean from an elevated tee.

The seventh is perhaps my favourite: a gorgeous, quirky par-four into what looks like a sliver of fairway.

I pulled my shot into the scrub on the left, but was thrilled to make a great connection on the recovery.  It fell just short, but I was able to putt out of the waste area for a par save. I didn’t take the chance, but the thrill was there.

By the 11th, I had scored a steady 17 Stableford points and was holding my own against our host.

Spoiler alert: my defeat was confirmed by the 16th. 

Put simply, I kept finding the hazards.

I played the par-five 11th well until my approach, which I scuffed into a vast, deep trap. An A-grade bunker game is required here; mine was a D-minus.

The scenery remained spectacular. The backdrop to the 14th is the rocky outcrop known as the Hen and Chickens. I felt like screaming for my mother as I pulled yet another tee shot into the dunes. 

My caddie, inspired by a belief in me I didn’t share, offered me a three-wood for the recovery. I fired it just right of the green, but inevitably missed the par putt.

It is always a disappointment to mess up a famous hole, and I felt a tad unlucky on the wonderful 15th. The ocean sits close to this par-three, with sand encroaching from all sides. 

My tee shot veered only slightly off-line and dropped straight into a Muehlenbeckia bush. The shrub wasn't large, but it was so thick it was likely home to a hundred lost balls.

The 17th is simply magnificent: 145 yards over a "desert" to a green cradled by bunkers. It was my best chance for a birdie, though I settled happily for a par. 

The final hole, a par-five, offers a chance for redemption while still threatening the errant golfer. My ball stayed on the short stuff this time, though the undulations of the final green provided one last challenge.

After months of anticipation, our round was complete. Tara Iti lived up to every expectation and then some. I am still pinching myself that it actually happened.