Paraparaumu Beach G.C. Hole by Hole
In 2025 Alison and I were fortunate enough to play three great New Zealand golf courses, Kauri Cliffs, Cape Kidnappers and the Coronet course at Millbrook Resort. Returning to the North Island in 2026 we only had the chance to play one course, Paraparaumu Beach, which is considered to be the spiritual home of Kiwi golf. Here’s a hole by hole description of this storied layout.
The course was laid out over a tract of volcanic ash sand in 1949 by Alex Russell, one time partner of Alister MacKenzie, in the seaside resort of Paraparaumu Beach with Kapiti Island looming just offshore. Although it is not adjacent to the ocean like most links courses, it definitely has the look and feel of a true links course. It reminded me very much of Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s which is also not on the ocean, but is still considered to be a links course.
Almost instantly recognized as a classic golf venue, Paraparaumu Beach has hosted the New Zealand Open a dozen times, more than any other venue. Noted winners have included five time British Open winner Peter Thomson, New Zealand’s own British Open winner Bob Charles, US Open winner Corey Pavin and New Zealand’s US Open winner Michael Campbell.
However, the most famous name associated with Paraparaumu Beach G.C. was not a winner here. Tiger Woods played in the 2002 New Zealand Open held here and finished tied for sixth.
Alison and I were able to snag the first tee time of the day along with two sets of rentals and a cart.
By modern standards Paraparaumu Beach is not a long course, topping out at 6,592 yards which would be considered too short for most professional tournaments. However, the fellow who checked us in assured us that the lack of length was more than made up for by the difficulty surrounding the greens, many of which are crowned.
I’ll be playing the white tees which are just under 6,000 yards. So without further ado let’s head to the first tee.
Paraparaumu Beach #1 – Alex – 387 Yard Par Four
Named for the course designer Alex Russell, the first hole makes it clear that this is a links course. The view with the hills in the background could well be Royal County Down. This is the first of a number of holes where it is not obvious where you should aim your tee shot. It’s very wide open which allows one to use the driver because distance is at a premium here.
The target is actually the white signboard still up from the New Zealand PGA held here a week ago. The hole is a slight dogleg left and a well struck drive will tend to move that way after landing leaving something like this for the approach.
Now I don’t know if I was having a lucky day or not, but I managed to avoid any of the formidable rough that was still uncut after the pro tournament. However, in the course of the round I did see many golfers thrashing around in almost waist high fescue.
The greens at Paraparaumu Beach are very much in the links style with no real collars and plenty of undulation. They permit the use of the putter from well off the green and lots of bump and run opportunities.
While I was not troubled by the rough, the greens were another matter. Once again the aftereffects of the tournament were in play as the greens were extremely fast. I had a hell of a time both reading them and getting the speed down pat. Almost all my bogeys came from three putts, starting with #1.
#2 The Unseen – 167 Yard Par Three
This is the look from the back tee with the hole playing 202 yards.
This is from the white tees where you get a clearer look at the green.
While I didn’t have any four putts, one Eldrick Woods did on this hole in 2002. While the wind was definitely a factor in today’s round, it was nowhere near what it could be. Even so, there were holes where the wind either pushed the ball well past the hole or stopped it well short. Apparently that was a big factor in Tiger’s four putt here.
Paraparaumu Beach #3 Hollows – 398 Yard Par Four
For a supposedly short course Paraparaumu Beach starts of with two long par fours in the first three holes. This is the #1 handicap hole and it plays like it. There is a decent carry to reach the fairway that is wildly undulating with the hollows for which the hole is named. The one good thing is that the drives will get a lot of roll, just as in most links courses. I found myself with several 250 yard drives during the round which is well above my normal distance.
This gives a good idea of the hollows on this hole. My approach was a low mid-iron that landed a good 20 yards short of the green and still went over the back. Bogey is a very acceptable score on this hole.
#4 Three Kings – 428 Yard Par Four
Things don’t get any easier on #4, the third ranked handicap hole. So just to recap, in the first four holes you face the #1, #3 and #5 stroke holes. That’s a tough start by an standards, This hole is both long and tight with lots of rough protruding into the fairway at multiple points. The good news is that a proper drive will roll forever.
This approach is not as close as the photo makes it look with the three right side bunkers being the Three Kings for which the hole is named. This is a totally sucker pin placement and I don’t go near it aiming for the centre of the green and once again blowing a decent to to green performance with a three putt.
Paraparaumu Beach #5 The Island – 139 Yard Par Three
This green is a brute. Pros can hit the ball super high and have it drop straight down to hold a green like this, but not most mortals. You could hit a bucket of balls and not one might stay on this crowned green. One of reasons Kiwi Frank Nobilo took up broadcasting over playing might have been the seven he took on this hole during the New Zealand Open. At least I did better than that.
#6 Deception – 282 Yard Par Four
Finally, a short par four that doesn’t require a grip and rip it drive. Once again the fairway has humps and hollows everywhere. You don’t need anything more than five wood or hybrid off the tee. But you do want to get far enough down the fairway that the two bunkers don’t come into play.
No real choice here but to use a wedge to get to the back tier of this huge green. Anything that lands on the lower part of the green is very likely to get redirected into the left bunker and you don’t want that.
Here is a typical Paraparaumu Beach bunker. They are almost all the eyebrow style that often forces one to pitch out sideways or even backwards. If there is one thing I can be glad about in my round at Paraparaumu Beach is that I managed to avoid any bunkers and never had to face the terror of trying to advance the ball out of one. I’m sure I might have had a better score if I hadn’t been so paranoid about avoiding these round wreckers, but who knows?
Paraparaumu Beach #7 The Perimeter – 480 Yard Par Five
The first of three par fives at Paraparaumu Beach is the toughest rated of them, but unusually none of the par fives on the course is particularly scary. I long ago gave up playing far fives as anything but three shotters which allows me to concentrate on accuracy over distance. The key on this drive is just avoid the left hand rough and a three wood accomplishes that.
That leaves this second shot which looks like its only about 100 yards, but is actually more like 240. A hero could go for it, but finding the bunkers will create a nightmare situation so I opt to play it safe.
From here I have a number of options including bump and run, lob wedge or even putter.The bottom line is that the bunkers are out of play. A not so great bump and run leaves me with two putts for a stress free par in what easily could have been a birdie hole.
#8 Little Danger – 326 Yard Par Four
One of the things about Paraparaumu Beach you begin to realize around this time is that there are next to no fairway bunkers, so you don’t end up with any nasty surprises after hitting what you think is a great drive. This short par four does not require a driver and in fact a well struck five wood will get you within relatively easy pitching range. On the other hand a driver that stays out of the rough may yield real dividends because the approach is to this truly postage stamp green.
The saving grace on this shot is the backstop which will prevent any real trouble for an approach that’s a bit too long. Once again going too far left or right will be disastrous. This is a really fun hole to play with a lot of both upside and downside, depending on how you play it.
Paraparaumu Beach #9 Navigation – 353 Yard Par Four
This medium length par four is the most serious dogleg on the course requiring a tee shot that will challenge the hillock on the tight to obtain a shorter angle to the largest green at Paraparaumu Beach. It’s technically a blind tee shot, but is not as difficult as it might appear as the fairway is wider than it looks from the tee box.
Cutting off as much of the dogleg as possible leaves this approach that must not overshoot the green. This was one of the few pin placements of the day where the ball actually moved toward the pin after landing on the right side of the green.
#10 The Little Stream – 295 Yard Par Four
Navigating your way to the 10th tee from the 9th green requires some imagination as the pathway is not obvious. Unlike many links courses that go out nine and come back, Paraparaumu Beach does pass by the clubhouse after the opening nine. Somewhat strangely the shorter tee boxes are elevated while the blacks and blues are down below to the left.
If you have confidence in your driver, this is a hole that you can let it fly over the mound and get very close to the green, but there is one of the few fairway bunkers on the course lurking if you don’t make it.. If you don’t fancy a driver here, a five wood just to the right of that white boxlike structure should leave one in good shape on this fairly easy hole. The only danger is the little stream on the left and there really is no excuse to find yourself in it.
Well after saying there was no excuse for being in the little stream, I damn near did get in it when my usually reliable five wood went astray leaving this much tougher approach shot than should be. The result of me declaring this an easy hole from the tee box was a bogey on what should have been a par or better to start the back nine. Hubris never wins.
Paraparaumu Beach #11 Narrows – 357 Yard Par Four
The look from the tee box on #11 at Paraparaumu Beach is a bit disconcerting with the fairway slanting at a 45 degree angle towards the green. Playing it for the first time and without a range finder it is just a guess as to how far it is to run through the fairway with your drive.
After taking the chicken’s way out on #10 and paying the price, I opted for driver on #11 and it paid off leaving this approach shot as I got a lot of roll after landing. Just chipping with a seven iron and running on to the green left for a two putt par, making up for the sting of #10.
#12 Northern Journey – 462 Yard Par Four
As I noted on the front nine, the par fives at Paraparaumu Beach are not the most difficult part of the course and by not trying to overpower them as the pros would, you can still create birdie opportunities. The fact that you are going to get a lot more distance on your drives than you would on a parkland course makes accuracy off the tee all the more important. That is why I chose three wood and not driver on this hole.
That left this look for the second shot which despite the foreshortening of the photo, is still about 230 yards to the pin. I opted to play it safe and not take any chances on reaching that bunker on the left.
That left this fairly benign approach shot, which if my short game was any good should have left a decent birdie putt, but it’s lousy and so I settle for par.
Paraparaumu Beach #13 The Divide – 423 Yard Par Four
After two out of three relatively mild holes to start the back nine here comes The Divide, an absolutely gorgeous looking par four that is usually considered the signature hole at Paraparaumu Beach. As I noted on the front nine this course has some similarity in looks to Royal County Down and nowhere is it more apparent than on this hole. Instead of the Mountains of Mourne as a backdrop, here we have the Tararua Range.
In terms of playing this hole, it’s all about distance off the tee. and the landing area is one of the narrower fairways on the course. Fortunately today there is a very helping tailwind taking some of the sting out of the tee shot.
Even with a descent drive I am left with this absolutely terrifying approach over Russell’s Ravine. The right side looks to be the best place to aim and a hybrid gets me close enough to the green to escape with a bogey. No complaints about that on this hole.
#14 Descent – 139 Yard Par Three
This is the #18 stroke hole at Paraparaumu Beach and it’s one of my favourite par three designs. I love holes where the green is well below the tee box and you need to avoid trouble both short and long making club selection the most important decision on the hole. No doubt members eat this hole up, but for first timers, guessing how much to take of your usual 140 yard club is just that. I opted for an easy eight iron and barely got over the trap after which the ball went wickedly to the right and all the way down to the fringe. This was another green I just couldn’t read properly and a bogey was the consequence. Still I really liked this little hole.
Paraparaumu Beach #15 Blind Faith – 323 Yard Par Four
The chap who checked us in warned me about this hole and said you just have to aim at the marker and have faith. Completely blind tee shots like this where you don’t even see an inkling of the fairway do require an unfaltering follow through. I opted for a three wood which did go straight over the marker.
And here we are with this quite acceptable approach shot with a nice backstop behind the pin. This time I didn’t three putt for a change.
#16 True Spirit – 130 Yard Par Three
This might be the shortest par three on the course, but it’s got all the difficulty of #5 and maybe more. The tee shot here has to be literally perfect to get anywhere near this pin. Anything less and you’re going to find yourself with the dreaded second shot up a steep face that also needs to be perfect or you could find yourself in one of those situations where the ball just keeps rolling back to you stroke after stroke. I bet there have been some snowmen on this hole by some very good golfers. I don’t consider myself one and was not tearing my hair out about a double on this beastly hole.
Paraparaumu Beach #17 The Jewel – 421 Yard Par Four
From the tee on this very deceptive hole it looks like there is a giant Y in front of you and you have to guess which side of it to aim for. I absolutely guessed wrong as to where the proper fairway was and ended up on the 3rd fairway, making the next shot next to impossible. The correct fairway is down the right side and after I reteed, I ended with this approach.
There’s still a lot of trouble with three bunkers and a steep drop off to the left. Five is a good score on this hole, even with a mulligan.
#18 Distant Home – 459 Yard Par Five
This shortest of the par fives at Paraparaumu Beach collectively has more fairway bunkers than the rest of the course combined. If you avoid them, chances are you are in for a big reward as this is another fairway that gets a lot of roll.
That’s my drive of about 250 yards. Earlier I said I never went for par fives in two, but I cannot resist this temptation. The ball needs to be struck perfectly to avoid the two front bunkers and make it through the narrow gap to the green. I hit my best shot off the day and ended up with an eagle putt. If you look real closely you can just see the ball about three feet from the left edge.
This is such a rare event for me that it made my whole round.
I wish I could say I made the eagle putt. I wish I could say I made the birdie putt. While par should have felt like a letdown, it wasn’t, because I had just finished an absolutely fabulous round of golf on this amazing course.
Trust me, if you are going to New Zealand to play golf you have to include Paraparaumu Beach GC on your itinerary.