Cycleways to Fairways

Rental bikes and golf club hire are both readily available across the region, so there really is no need to rent a car if you’re visiting on holiday. Or, if you live here and there’s secure storage at your local course, why not store your clubs there so you can bike to the golf club? The planet and your health will thank you!

There's even a handy guide for those that want to carry their clubs to the golf course on their bike.

To get your started, here’s a breakdown of golf courses either located right next to one of Otago’s five Ngā Haerenga Great Rides cycle trails, or just a gentle 7-iron away. With a choice of premium championship courses and authentic local golf clubs offering great value green fees, you can experience 18 holes from grassroots all the way to PGA standard. 

Queenstown is New Zealand's premier golfing destination. It’s home to some of New Zealand's most stunning fairways and iconic holes and regularly hosts the New Zealand Open. Queenstown has no less than seven golf venues, which includes four championship courses (two of which are located at Millbrook), and four experience courses. 

Four of these courses are situated along the Queenstown Trail network: 

• Queenstown Golf Club, located at the end of the Kelvin Heights peninsula 14km from Queenstown, is regarded as one of the most picturesque golf courses in the world and is connected to central Queenstown by the Frankton Track and Kelvin Peninsula Trail. This easy grade 2 trail is 16km (one way) and connects Queenstown Gardens to Jardine Park. The trail is ideal for families, beginners or those wanting a spectacular scenic ride along the shore of Lake Whakatipu. 
• Jack’s Point Golf Course is ranked number one on the South Island, and with the imposing 2,300m high backdrop of the Remarkables mountain range and panoramic lake views it’s easy to understand how it’s earned its reputation. The course is connected to Queenstown by the aptly named Jack’s Point Trail, an advanced grade 4 cycle track which links to the Kelvin Peninsula Trail. 
• Millbrook – the grade 3 Countryside Trail actually passes right through the heart of Millbrook Resort, near Arrowtown. A world class golf & lifestyle resort, Millbrook has two championship 18-hole courses that have been shaped from the rugged mountain landscape making it a breathtaking environment from which to tee off. The resort also offers a selection of cafes, restaurants, and bars which are open to the public. It also has a day spa and extensive luxury accommodation options.
• Arrowtown Golf Club has been listed as one of Golf.com's top 25 best short courses in the world. It’s located not more than a gentle pitching wedge away from the Arrow River Bridges Trail, on the opposite side of the river. 

Despite more than a wee dram of Scottish heritage, you won't find a St Andrew's in Central Otago. But you will find the most inland links course in New Zealand and a selection of very welcoming local clubs with extremely reasonable green fees and, of course, some of New Zealand’s best cycle trails. 

• Cromwell Golf Club is the most inland links course in New Zealand and the sand-based fairways guarantee year-round dry underfoot conditions. Cromwell is home of the NZ Open Final Qualifier, and the 18-hole championship course is ranked #9 in the South Island. Cromwell Golf Club is just a lazy 3-wood drive from the Lake Dunstan Trail.
• Dunstan Golf Club in Clyde is located at one end of the Lake Dunstan Trail and sandwiched (not sand-wedged) between the Otago Central Rail Trail and Alexandra -Clyde River Trail. This scenic and beautifully manicured 9-hole course is close to both the cycle trails and the cafes and restaurants in the historic centre of Clyde. Green fees are a very modest $25.
• Alexandra Golf Club offers an undulating 18-hole course where accuracy is important to avoid the rough areas consisting of the dry remnants of the original desert-like land and native grasses. New Zealand’s original Great Ride, the Otago Central Rail Trail runs parallel to the course, and Alexandra is also the northern end of the Roxburgh Gorge Trail.
• Roxburgh Golf Club is located just a short distance from the Clutha Gold Trail which connects to the Roxburgh Gorge Trail at the Roxburgh Dam. Known as the “Hidden Gem” this par 68 course is not long, but with fairways surrounded by unforgiving rocky outcrops it’s a course considered more suited to the thinker rather than the big hitter! Green fees are only $25.
• Omakau Golf Club is a delightful nine-hole course, about as far from the sea as it is possible to get in New Zealand with Central Otago Rail Trail bordering one side of the course. Every hole offers beautiful panoramas of the surrounding countryside, which includes Central Otago’s famous outcrops of schist rock. Thankfully, there are not too many of these on the course itself, so your ball is unlikely to take off in a strange direction unless, of course, you hit it there!
• Maniototo Golf Club is situated on the edge of the Ranfurly in the vast Maniototo plain and about a par 4 distance from the Otago Central Rail Trail. The flat 9-hole country course offers unique summer and winter weather conditions, which can be challenging at times for even the most experienced golfers! For golfing enthusiasts, take up the challenge and play three 9-hole rounds in a day, and include the other two country courses on the Maniototo, Naseby and Patearoa.

With the origins of golf hailing from Scotland there is no surprise that there are excellent golf courses in Dunedin, the 'Edinburgh of the south'.  

• Middlemarch Golf Club is a picturesque 9-hole course not far from the southern terminus of the Otago Central Rail Trail. The club hosts regular community events where you’re guaranteed a warm welcome, a cold beer and a good yarn.

The Clutha District is home to a number of golf courses, all set on picturesque grounds. 

• Lawrence Golf Club was established 1894, making it one of the oldest clubs in New Zealand. The 9-hole course is situated just outside the historic town of Lawrence and nestled in the beautiful surroundings of Clutha country. The course is just a short detour from the Clutha Gold Trail and offers green fees for just $15.