Tom Doak, of Bandon Dunes fame, had little notoriety beyond the North American continent up to the turn of the century, but a pair of projects in the South Pacific has reversed the industry oversight with expediency. Australia’s Barnbougle Dunes is almost certain to be one of the most talked about golf courses of 2005, but it was last year’s Cape Kidnappers, on New Zealand’s North Island, that instigated a flurry of favourable press that brought Doak’s name into mention with many of the world’s great contemporary golf course designers.

Doak’s mission statement has always been to resist moving earth, and to build courses on the terrain and contour bestowed to him by geology, natural elements, and the passage of time. At Barnbougle Dunes, this meant a layout that charted its way through dunes lying low and close to the sea, while Cape Kidnappers sits higher up on the bluffs, of a bay made famous by Captain James Cook’s landing there in 1769.

Arriving at Cape Kidnappers, the first sense one notes is of isolation, where a long and winding road runs for several miles from the main gate back to the golf clubhouse, when the only sound one might hear is the faint call of inestimable gannets that make their home on the peninsula. Views are magnificent from a variety of positions on the course, and between the holes that tiptoe along the bluffs, and those squeezed into ravines, Doak has discovered a golf course of exceptional drama and playability, one that is more than fit to host national championships and other international competitions.

From the clubhouse, which is situated in a small valley within earshot of the sea, the first few holes of the outward half play northward, away from the water. Before reaching the sea, players get a good chance to bolster their score at the short par-five second, providing the winds are down. A good drive ought to make the green reachable, but a surge of bunkers swell up around the green, making a high, left-to-right approach essential. Find the green in regulation, and birdie is likely, but saving par from any of the cavernous traps can be a tall task.

The par-three third, in the foreground of a gorgeous sea view, demands something played to the right side of this large green. A sharp fall-off down a scraggly cliff on the left, and a series of bunkers short, makes the back-right corner the obvious play, though in spite of the large green, finding its surface can be elusive.

The following hole – the par-five fourth – evokes memories of the fourth at Royal Melbourne, and the similarity are likely well-founded. Alister Mackenzie was a seminal force in golf course design in the area, and Doak has made no apology for his admiration of the man’s work. Climbing uphill toward the sea, a perfect drive is required to find the crowned fairway. From there, the green can be reached, but a miscue, on either an aggressive second or a short third, can leave a difficult pitch from low points around the green, to a pin cut on one of the green’s oblique shelves.

The last two par fours on the front side, the seventh and ninth holes, employ similar situations, where tee shots must be played smartly to the fairway’s crest, from where a strategic approach must be considered. Doak’s designs tend to highlight perilous points around the green complexes, where misses can be disastrous. Further to that, there are bailout areas that appear to be safe havens for missed shots, but in fact leave a very difficult up-and-down.

Moving to the back side, it is the 11^th that signals the beginning of an extraordinary stretch of seaside golf. A long par three measuring 205 yards, it plays longer than it seems, and anything short will usually be deflected down and to either side. More receptive in the back half, and extra club or two is usually the wise play here, even though it may leave a long putt or chip back down the slope.

Just the first in a great string of oceanfront holes, this is where one will draw their Cape Kidnappers memories. 12 features a massive fairway, which allows golfers to blast away, leaving a simple wedge play to a green on a narrow ridge set against Hawkes Bay. The innocuous 13^th, no more than a short iron for even the most modest player, appears easy, but the front-left bunker will snare very good shots, almost unfairly. Play safely away from flagsticks on that side of the green, as tempting as they may seem. From 14, one sees the test at 15, “Pirate’s Plank.” Sure to become one of the most photographed holes in the game, the fairway here steers long and true between a sharp cliff on the left and a severe drop-off right. With a green set 594 yards away, there is no compromise for accuracy here. Three great shots are necessary for a chance at birdie or par.

Moving back inland for the final three holes, the closer demands one final great shot, a strong tee ball that must find a fairway that features an awkward slope and line of play. Approaches to the punchbowl green are usually played out to the left, but that tends to leave a very difficult pitch from a tight lie, to a green running away from the player.