Day 4- The Hills- Arrowtown
20minutes drive towards Arrowtown from Queenstown is The Hills Golf Club. The Hills is a private members club with very limited opportunity to play as a visitor. We were very lucky and privileged to be able to play here and the experience was luxury from start to finish. Designed by New Zealand designer John Darby, opened in 2007, the course is set over 250 acres of former deer farm on the outskirts of Arrowtown. The Hills has hosted a number of NZ PGA and NZ Open tournaments since opening. To describe the setting, I would say it’s like playing golf in an expansive park. Everything was beautifully maintained; the planting was architectural and seemed to frame the holes perfectly. There are numerous lakes and ponds with a mountainous backdrop and then to add to the already exceptional experience is the art installations throughout the course. Even if your golf is not going well, you will be rewarded with an art tour like no other.
The day started at a bone chilling minus 2 degrees C and on the drive from Queenstown to Arrowtown it got colder, and we were conscious of the silver white frost and ice on the ground. However, knowing that in the South often a frosty start is followed by clear blue skies and sunshine we were not deterred.
When you arrive at the gate an intercom is available to gain access, once we had said who we were the gates opened and we began the very picturesque drive up the access road to the carpark and clubhouse. Passing some sculptures on the way and an impressive driving range area.
The clubhouse is a concrete bunker style set into the hill with a grassed roof and central stairs up to a viewing platform to the left of the entrance way. The platform affords you with a 360-degree view of the course and surrounds and the first glimpse of one of the famous sculptures installed here. The wolves are coming by Liu Ruowang.
Because of the frost, play for the day was delayed slightly so we took time to sit in front of the fire in the clubhouse and enjoy coffee. One of the fun moments was briefly chatting to owner Michael Hill when we arrived. We were shortly invited to warm up on the range before teeing off and our club car was stocked with water flasks and towels ready for the day. We have to admit to being very nervous, we wanted to make the most of this opportunity but for normal public golf club members the exclusivity and mana of the club can be daunting to begin with.
The course
An 18hole, Par72 course. I played off the red tees, slope 131 (vs 119 at home), 5193metres (5679yards). Scott played off the White Tees, slope 125 (vs 124 at home), 5671metres (6202yards).
The course feels and looks like it’s in a valley, most of the holes were wide and open and not at all hilly. There is undulation and slope in places but not steep. The back nine have a bit more climb to tees but playing in a cart makes this all very relaxing. This course does not run up and down, back, and forth. There are no parallel fairways, and every hole was quite different. The various styles of planting and landscape plus the happy addition of the sculptures makes the whole day out glorious……who cares about the score.
The greens were paced well but more challenging with their dips and lumps than Jacks Point. The fairways were wide but off the fairway was proper trouble.
Best holes?
#6 is tough but beautiful. It’s a 326m Par 4 curving tightly around Dragonfly Lake. Off the Tee you are tempted to hit left to avoid the waters edge but too far left as I found rolls into heavy undergrowth and a slight drop. If you manage as Scott did to hit the fairway then your second shot is all carry across the lake to the Green. Scott played textbook and parred whilst I for the purpose of being informative in this blog tiki toured around the edges and finished in the hole with a 7. But the Dragonflies were really impressive.
#14 is visually very fun. A 311m Par 4. A rolling fairway with golden grasses along the left, the snow-capped mountains ahead and the green set into a curved rock face.
#15 This is the highest tee position (for men) on the course. It’s a short 299m Par 4 and for me the biggest challenge was to not have my eye & then ball drawn to hit the sculpture to the left of the fairway. I actually managed to bogey this hole and Scott parred so I’m giving this hole the thumbs up.
#17 A narrow doglegged fairway, with a large bunker beside the lake and if you make it past there you then have to precisely hit your next shot between overhanging schist rock faces on either side. Then it’s still another 250metres to the green on this 450m Par 5.
Post Round
Although the course won on the day for me and I felt slightly crushed by it, finishing with a 110, 15 shots beyond my handicap I still had the most amazing time and I consoled myself with my improved back 9 versus front and the slope difference versus home. Scott on the other hand played well, conquering the nerves after the first two holes, and finishing with 83, 1 over his handicap and 11 over par.
Back in the clubhouse we enjoyed a light lunch and a drink before thanking everyone for the very fine hospitality and saying goodbye. The bill for the day was a breath-taking $750.00 but this was happily settled given the full days entertainment in a spectacular and very special part of NZ.
The summary – 35/45
| How did the Course rate? | Rating 1=bad, 5=great | Comment |
| How many balls lost? | 3 | Lost a couple, but deserved to given my shot |
| How many out of bounds or hazards did I go in? | 4 | One hazard on #6-trying to avoid lake on right |
| Did I get out of bunkers in 1? | 5 | Yes, most bunkers were large and medium depth |
| Could I play to my handicap? | 3 | No, but this did not take away from the great day. |
| Were there ladies comfort stops on course? | 2 | There were two on course toilets, you need to watch for them carefully as placed discreetly |
| Were they clean? | 5 | Yes |
| Did the course staff engage with me or just my husband? | 5 | Yes very friendly |
| Was there ladies apparel in the pro shop | NA | Not really a pro-shop. Souvenirs |
| Was the club/bar welcoming at the end of play | 5 | Yes and warm |
| Would I go back | 3 | I think this is a bucket list course. I wouldn’t say no but it’s not an easy course to get onto |