Cape Kidnappers Golf Course, Hawke's Bay, fairways running along cliff ridges above the Pacific
Best of · Hawke's Bay, New Zealand · Ranked

The Best Golf Courses in Hawke's Bay

One of the world's great clifftop courses sits half an hour from some of New Zealand's best value club golf. Tom Doak's Cape Kidnappers charges international visitors up to NZ$739 in high season on recent published cards; the Waiohiki course at Napier Golf Club costs NZ$80. Between those two numbers lies a wine country golf week that very few visitors plan properly. Here are the five courses that decide it, ranked.

See the ranking Plan a Hawke's Bay trip

By the GolfForKings editorial desk · Editorial policy · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Cape Kidnappers Golf Course, via Google

How we ranked them

We rank on the quality and character of the golf first, then on what each course adds to a traveling golfer's week: architecture, setting, the welcome, and what the fee buys. Hawke's Bay is a one anchor region, and we say so plainly: Cape Kidnappers is the reason a golfer flies here, and the club courses around Napier and Hastings are the reason the week works, because they are good, cheap and minutes from the wineries. Every fee below is an indicative 2026 figure verified from official club rate pages this June, GST inclusive, the New Zealand way; always confirm directly before booking.

A note on geography. Everything on this list sits within a 35 minute drive of Napier or Hastings, the twin towns of the bay, and three of the five courses cluster around the Bridge Pa and Waiohiki flats inland of Hastings, which is also the heart of the Gimblett Gravels wine district. No region in New Zealand makes the golf and wine arithmetic easier.

The ranking

01

Cape Kidnappers

Tom Doak, 2004 · clifftop, 140 meters above the Pacific · indicative NZ$370 to NZ$739 international by season

One of the modern wonders of golf. Tom Doak draped fairways along fingers of cliff that run out toward the gannet colony at the cape, the land falling away on both sides to the sea far below, and the 650 yard par 5 15th, playing to a horizon green on the bluff edge, has become one of the most photographed holes anywhere. Recent published international rates run NZ$739 in the November to March high season, NZ$517 in the shoulders and NZ$370 in winter, GST inclusive, with New Zealand residents on lower cards. It is a fixture of world top 100 rankings and worth every dollar once; our full profile covers tee times, the lodge and how to get on.

Read the full Cape Kidnappers profile

02

Hastings Golf Club, Bridge Pa

Bridge Pa, 10 minutes from Hastings · indicative NZ$160 non affiliated, NZ$130 affiliated · carts available

The region's premier club course and the natural second round of the week. Bridge Pa runs across the free draining inland flats through avenues of mature trees, kept in the kind of condition that surprises visitors who walked in expecting country golf, which is exactly why the club calls itself the most spectacular club course in the bay and largely gets away with it. The standard 18 hole card is NZ$160 for non affiliated visitors and NZ$130 affiliated, with carts at NZ$50 and clubs for hire at NZ$60, so a touring golfer lands fully equipped for a fraction of one Cape Kidnappers fee. The Gimblett Gravels cellar doors are minutes away; the afternoon plans itself.

Plan a Hawke's Bay golf trip

03

Napier Golf Club, Waiohiki

Waiohiki, between Napier and Hastings · indicative NZ$80 non affiliated, NZ$60 affiliated · card from October 2025

The value play of the entire region. Napier Golf Club's Waiohiki course occupies easy ground roughly halfway between the twin towns, an honest, well kept members' course where the visitor card from October 1, 2025 reads NZ$80 for non affiliated golfers, NZ$60 affiliated and NZ$45 for 18 holes after 3pm. That twilight rate may be the best golf per dollar in New Zealand wine country. The welcome is classic small town New Zealand, the reciprocal board covers half the clubs in the bay, and a morning here before an afternoon in Napier's art deco quarter is the local rhythm done right.

Plan a Hawke's Bay golf trip

04

Maraenui Golf Club

Off Marine Parade, 5 minutes from Napier · 18 holes, par 72, 6,132 meters · flat, tree lined

The city convenience round. Maraenui sits just off Marine Parade five minutes from central Napier, an 18 hole par 72 measuring 6,132 meters that is flat and easy walking but defended by tightly sculptured tree lined fairways and creative bunkering, the classic New Zealand members' test where straight beats long all day. It is the course to slot in when the group wants golf without a drive, before the gannets or after a long lunch in town, and its reciprocal arrangements with the other bay clubs tell you how the local golf economy works: friendly, affiliated and cheap. Club fees are modest; check the current card when you book.

Plan a Hawke's Bay golf trip

05

Hawke's Bay Golf Club

Valentine Road, Bridge Pa · 18 holes, 6,107 yards from the blue tees · 10 minutes from Hastings

The hidden gem of the Bridge Pa flats. Hawke's Bay Golf Club shares the same free draining inland country as its grander Hastings neighbor, ten minutes from town on Valentine Road, an 18 hole layout of 6,107 yards from the blue tees that locals rate as one of the region's quiet pleasures. It is shorter and more relaxed than Bridge Pa next door, which makes it the right second club round for mixed ability groups, and the green fee sits at small club levels that barely dent a trip budget. Visitors who play it tend to report the same thing: conditions beyond expectation and a clubhouse that treats strangers like members by the ninth.

Plan a Hawke's Bay golf trip

Editorial ranking by the GolfForKings desk, June 2026. Fees are indicative 2026 rates verified from official club rate pages, GST inclusive; always confirm directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Building the trip

The honest sequencing advice: book Cape Kidnappers first, because its tee sheet and the lodge drive the calendar, then wrap the club rounds and the wineries around it from a single Napier or Havelock North base. Hawke's Bay slots naturally into the great North Island road trip: Kauri Cliffs waits in Northland, the Auckland courses cover the arrival city, and our 7 day North Island itinerary strings the whole run together with real drive times. The national context lives in the best courses in New Zealand ranking and the New Zealand destination guide, the New Zealand fee guide covers costs nationwide, Australia vs New Zealand settles the trans Tasman question, and the New Zealand golf holidays page prices the whole adventure.

Plan your Hawke's Bay golf trip

Tell us your dates and group, and one concierge books the Cape Kidnappers tee time, sequences the club rounds and the cellar doors, and costs it to the head. No obligation.

Hawke's Bay golf questions

What is the best golf course in Hawke's Bay?

Cape Kidnappers, the Tom Doak design opened in 2004 on cliffs 140 meters above the Pacific, is the best course in Hawke's Bay and one of the most spectacular courses on earth, a fixture of world top 100 lists. Its international green fee runs from about NZ$370 in winter to NZ$739 in the November to March high season on recent published cards, GST inclusive and indicative for 2026.

How much does golf cost in Hawke's Bay?

The spread is one of the widest in New Zealand. Cape Kidnappers charges international visitors roughly NZ$370 to NZ$739 by season on recent published cards, while the region's club courses are a bargain: about NZ$160 non affiliated at Hastings Golf Club's Bridge Pa course and NZ$80 at Napier Golf Club's Waiohiki course on the card from October 2025. All figures are indicative; always confirm directly before booking.

When is the best time to play golf in Hawke's Bay?

Hawke's Bay is one of New Zealand's sunniest and driest regions, so golf is genuinely year round. November to April brings the warmest, most settled weather and Cape Kidnappers' high season pricing; the June to August window cuts the Cape Kidnappers international fee to about half the summer rate, and the club courses play well through winter on free draining ground.

Is Cape Kidnappers worth the green fee?

For any traveling golfer, yes, once. Tom Doak routed the course along cliff edge ridges with fairways falling away to the sea on both sides, and the 650 yard par 5 15th, played to a green perched above the Pacific, is one of the most photographed holes in golf. Pair it with the region's club courses, where a week of supporting golf costs less than one Cape round.

Related

Golf in New Zealand Cape Kidnappers Best courses in New Zealand Best courses in Auckland 7 day North Island itinerary New Zealand golf holidays New Zealand green fees Australia vs New Zealand

The Tee Sheet

Course openings, ranking shake ups and the booking windows that matter. Every other week.

Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and fees verified June 2026 from official club rate pages, including the Napier Golf Club and Hastings Golf Club published cards; fees indicative, always confirm directly before booking. Last reviewed June 2026.