Kelvin Heights Golf Course

As I said in the intro, Kelvin Heights must be one of the most beautiful courses in the world. It is not a great test of golf but the scenery will more than make up for that. It does have a few testing holes but these do not include the first couple. But as you stand on the third tee gazing at the Remarkables Mountain Range, you will stop thinking about golf and be lost in your surroundings.


The third is is a challenging hole, demanding both accuracy and length off the tee. This hole often plays into a stiff breeze and requires two very well struck shots to reach the green in regulation.









The fourth hole brings us to one of the most scenic parts of the course, with a backdrop of mountains with the waters of Lake Wakatipu reflecting the snow-clad peaks - well on a calm morning, if you are lucky.

This shortish par-5 is a dogleg to the right - a long drive down the centre will tempt the longer hitter to go for the green with their second shot. More average golfers would be well advised to avoid Lake Wakatipu to the left of the fairway and the large pond on the right.


There is often healthy debate about which is the signature hole for Kelvin Heights but the fifth hole must be considered one of the signature holes of this course.

Looking back down the fifth fairway to the Remarkable Mountains. Lake Wakatipu frames the left side of the fairway that doglegs to the left.

A well-struck drive can carry the lake and reduce the length of your approach shot, but any mis-timed drives will definitely result in a wet ball. The elevated green needs one to two more clubs than you might think and adds a degree of dificulty to this great hole.

Possibly the most deceptive hole on the course, the 10th hole is a 110 metre par three that at a glance may seem simple, but club selection can be very difficult and will vary considerably with the wind direction and tee level on the day. Be wary of the pond on the left of the green.

 

 

The 18th is a dog leg left par five, rather straightforward unless you are wayward off the tee. The preferred line for the tee shot is down the left hand side as close to the trees as you dare. Finding the trees down the either side of the fairway will make par difficult to achieve.

The comfortable Clubhouse gives you the chance of sipping a beer and gazing out on Walter Peak in the distance. Even if you will have had a lousy day on the golf course, you will still go leave Kelvin Heights with a feelling that all is well with life.