Location: Te Awanga, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand | Ranking: #84
Designer: Tom Doak (2004) | Type: Clifftop | Green Fees: From NZD $475
Editor’s Note: Cape Kidnappers occupies a clifftop headland on the Hawke’s Bay coast — the fairways end at cliffs dropping 140 metres to the Pacific Ocean below. Tom Doak used the extraordinary topography without artifice: no fill, no bulldozing, no compromise with the land’s natural drama. On multiple holes the cliff edge is the right side boundary. The gannet colony at the headland provides one of the great wildlife spectacles in world golf.
Travel & Logistics
- Airport: Napier (NPE) — 30 mins | Auckland (AKL) — 4h 30m by road; 1h by domestic flight.
- Booking: capekidnappers.com | Rating / Slope: 75.8 / 147
Championship Scorecard
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | OUT |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 36 |
| Yards | 395 | 415 | 205 | 548 | 418 | 428 | 192 | 422 | 552 | 3,575 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | IN | TOTAL |
| Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 71 |
| Yards | 415 | 185 | 412 | 548 | 422 | 432 | 188 | 555 | 425 | 3,582 | 7,119 |
Par 4Par 3Par 5
Key Notes & 19th Hole
- The Cliff Edges: On holes 6, 7, 15 and 16 the cliff edge is the immediate right boundary — 140 metres straight down to the Pacific. The combination of vertigo-inducing drops and genuine strategic demands makes Cape Kidnappers the most thrillingly dangerous course in Australasia.
- The Gannets: Australasia’s largest gannet colony nests at the headland — visible from the final holes. 15,000 birds in nesting season (October–April). One of the great wildlife spectacles in golf travel.
- The Farm at Cape Kidnappers (5★): Lodge accommodation on the estate — farm-fresh cuisine, hiking and the most complete New Zealand experience. Book via Expedia →