Christchurch Golf Club

The Christchurch Golf Club has a history stretching back to 1873 and according to our records this makes Christchurch the second oldest golf club in New Zealand. Today’s course is located in the garden suburb of Shirley but once up a time, like many old established golf clubs, life began on another site at Hagley Park, near the city centre.

Nine holes were ready for play at the new Shirley site in 1900, and the course was extended to 18 holes by 1910. It was 1972 when more land was brought into play, and the course took on the routing that essentially remains today, after work by Sloan Morpeth. In the 1990s, the course was refurbished by Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge, who instigated a program of tree removal that gives the current layout its more strategic design.

The course lies either side of Lake Terrace Road. Holes 5 to 11 are on a flatter, more open section north of the road, whilst the rest of the course occupies more tumbling ground, the holes weaving their way in-between mature copses. Unlike many New Zealand club courses, there are features more akin to traditional Northern Hemisphere parkland courses. Many greens have defined tiers, swales or false fronts, and traps are much deeper than those seen on more modern tracks.

Christchurch Golf Club has played host to numerous championships, including hosting the New Zealand Open on no less than eleven separate occasions. However, the club is proud and honoured to have played host to the 1990 World Amateur Championship. The famous Eisenhower Trophy was won by the Swedish team with the New Zealand team achieving a creditable 2nd place, tied with the U.S. squad.

New Zealand’s most famous golfer, Bob Charles, has strong links with the club. He joined the club as a twenty-year-old, and it was from here he launched his career as a professional golfer. He is now the club’s patron.