“I loved it instantly. We had nothing like it in Australia, which must have struck Alex Russell, who did the layout. Course designing approaches an art form, especially done in a perfect modelling medium like volcanic sand. When we all turn to dust, Paraparaumu the golf course should be still lying there as it was when the first golfers came by, with Kapiti an off-shore island standing guard to see that no one steals it away. And the winds will ever blow to test the golfer’s will and integrity. Paraparaumu will be famed for a century yet.”
Peter Thomson, Australia, 5 time winner The Open
Courses / Wellington
Paraparaumu Beach
Established in 1949 and designed by Alex Russell, Paraparaumu Beach remains one of New Zealand’s most important and enduring courses. It has hosted the New Zealand Open on multiple occasions and continues to hold a central place in the country’s golfing landscape.
Built on true links land, it reflects the traditions of classic Scottish design, with firm turf, natural undulation and minimal intervention. Positioning, trajectory and use of the ground are central to scoring. It is a course of restraint and quiet authority — one that would feel entirely at home among the traditional links of the United Kingdom.
