Hanmer Springs Golf Club

Few golf destinations in New Zealand combine the sport with such a distinctly therapeutic setting. Hanmer Springs is the South Island's premier thermal resort town, a compact alpine village in the Hanmer Basin surrounded by the Hanmer Range, and the golf club here sits comfortably within that unhurried, restorative atmosphere. The surrounding landscape is a mix of exotic plantation forest and open tussock country, with the Waiau River corridor nearby and the Southern Alps providing a dramatic backdrop that rewards anyone who lifts their eyes from the fairway.

The course itself reflects the character of a genuine community club — the kind of place where visitors are welcomed without fuss and local knowledge genuinely helps. The terrain is relatively open and flat by alpine standards, making it accessible, but the mountain winds that funnel through the basin can transform a straightforward layout into something that demands real shot management and club selection.

Hanmer Springs draws a steady stream of tourists who arrive for the thermal pools and leave having discovered an honest, scenic round of golf well off the well-worn Canterbury circuit.