Waimarino Golf Club

Ohakune sits at the base of Mount Ruapehu on the Central Plateau of New Zealand's North Island, a town shaped almost entirely by the seasons — ski resort in winter, mountain biking and tramping destination in summer. Golf here occupies a different register than the celebrated links of Northland or the resort courses of Queenstown, and that contrast is part of the appeal. Playing at Waimarino Golf Club means teeing it up in one of New Zealand's more dramatic inland settings, with the volcanic cone of Ruapehu looming over the course on clear days in a way that few courses anywhere in the world can match.

The club takes its name from the Waimarino district, the broader plateau region that encompasses Ohakune and the surrounding volcanic landscape. As a small-town rural club, it reflects the community character of the area — unpretentious, accessible, and genuinely welcoming to visitors passing through on their way to the mountains.

For travelling golfers, Waimarino offers something the scorecard simply cannot convey: the rare pleasure of playing golf inside a national park landscape, where the terrain is volcanic, the air is clean, and the surroundings feel genuinely wild.