The cliffs of Cape Kidnappers at sunrise
Cape Kidnappers is one of those courses every golfer should play at least once in their lives. It is an experience which leaves an indelible mark on one’s memory. Some courses achieve this effect courtesy of the grand scale on which they are built, the splendour of the land on which they sit, or the majestic views they afford. Of course a wonderful day of golf cannot be achieved without golf holes of great intrinsic quality. Cape Kidnappers provides all these pleasures.
Cape Kidnappers is situated in the Hawke’s Bay region, on the south-east coast of New Zealand’s North Island. The course opened for play in 2004, to critical acclaim. Certainly Cape Kidnappers is the most striking of the three courses Tom Doak created during his southern hemisphere voyage earlier this decade. In one fell swoop, Doak gave us Cape Kidnappers, Barnbougle Dunes and St. Andrews Beach (Gunnamatta). The quality of these courses is without question, with all three warranting a visit, no matter how far one may travel to get to the first tee. Yet Cape Kidnappers is something else again.
Looking back from the 6th green, towards Hawke’s Bay and Napier
The course sits atop dramatic land – a combination of undulating pastures and several ragged yet flat top fingers which spear into Hawke’s Bay and the Pacific Ocean beyond. 500 foot cliffs plunge beyond the margin of some fairways. The course is stretched to the very edges of the cliff tops, and drapes over several steep ravines. Vast bridges connect tees, fairways and adjacent holes. Yet the quality of the course is not merely a result of the locale or its scale.
It exists harmoniously with the breath-taking canvas on which it sits. The course never intrudes or adulterates. Tees are often inconspicuous; never is there a hint of manufacture about the holes. Greens are of good size possessing organic shapes and movement. Many appear as simple extensions of fairway - more closely mown patches, where existing ground contours remain unaltered. The golf holes unfold eloquently, and present clear challenges. Bunkering is harmonious and natural in form, often identifying areas towards which one may drive for advantage. At other times, hazards define zones where one dare not stray, or save balls from a watery grave.
Holes sitting inland, without the benefit of picturesque ocean backdrops, are equal in quality to those at the cliff edges. They offer multiple lines of play depending on skill, bravery, pin positions, and the winds. The front nine boasts an unusual quirk – one does not play consecutive holes of the same par until reaching the 10th tee.
When closer to the water, Mother Nature takes centre stage and the course shifts into a more dramatic mode. Rather than the clear definition of fairways, greens and other targets prevalent earlier, holes in the middle of the round provide grand vistas where framing is much less apparent. Identifying the correct line from the tee on many holes is challenging. The same can be said of several approaches, where the greens seem to meld into the blue horizon beyond.
The dramatic finger-like projections to which Cape Kidnappers owes much of its appeal are not overly divergent. In routing holes oblique and even perpendicular to the lines of these landforms, Doak has ensured appreciable variety in direction of play. He has not been overzealous in the pursuit of holes skirting the cliff edges, or those travelling directly down the line of flat land atop the cliffs. The golf has not been compromised by a quest to maximise views – surely a tempting trap.
There is little at Cape Kidnappers about which one may be genuinely critical. This is to be expected of a course ranked at #10 in the Golf Digest catalogue of great golf courses outside the United States, and at #41 by Golf Magazine in their world rankings of Top 100 courses. Doak’s par 5 holes are somewhat linear, and one sometimes wishes these holes asked more of the second shot. The course features sealed concrete cart paths, which I loath on such a site. Yet, their placement is considered, and their visual impact is minimised. One peculiarity I noted, and often hear others mention of Cape Kidnappers, is that the course is difficult even on still days. Great seaside links are often placid creatures without breezes, yet bear their teeth when the wind blows. I found the course manageable from tee to green, but mainly because my pre-round prayers were answered.
Thankfully, little sign of the windsock moving!
I imagine Kidnappers would be a different beast entirely, and almost unplayable in winds which must surely lash the exposed site with some regularity. Long game aside, putting at Cape Kidnappers is certainly a challenge, with one always scanning areas beyond greens for dominant land movement and topography which may influence putts. Ravines lie to the sides of many greens, and the land atop the cliffs falls towards the bay. The 8th green almost skulks into a nearby chasm, and putting down the slopes towards the front of this, and a handful of other greens certainly tests one’s nerve.
Plainly, a tremendous sum of money has been spent in order to give birth to Cape Kidnappers. The five mile driveway from the intercom point at the course’s entrance is but one sign that no compromise has been accepted.
The drive in affords golfers more than enough time to generate a few pre-game nerves
Every facet of the project has been completed with quality and the best possible outcome in mind. Yet nothing seems lavish for its own sake, or even remotely pretentious. Indeed, the understated feel about much of the experience at Cape Kidnappers is a large part of the appeal. Prior to the drive into the course, one enters via a humble looking farm gate, and drives past some of the locals.
The Clubhouse is decidedly rural in feel, and a perfect match with the surrounds. It’s of high quality yet understated, relaxed and comfortable. It conveys the essence of the experience at Cape Kidnappers.
View of the Cape Kidnappers Clubhouse from the practice range
The comfortable bar, complete with its tongue in cheek décor and artwork
Up soon... a closer look at some of the holes!
Matthew