Paraparaumu Beach GC

Few authentic sand-based links in New Zealand had an international following before the development of Tara Iti and the courses at Te Arai, with Paraparaumu Beach being the exception. James Watt built the course on the Kapiti Coast north of Wellington in two sections, one nine in 1930, the other in 1937. New owners took charge in 1949 and to remodel it they hired Alex Russell, the Australian champion golfer who turned to course design after working with Alister Mackenzie. Russell spent six weeks on the property, reshaping dunes and creating splashy bunkers. Two years later, he returned and altered bunker faces from sand to turf because heavy winds were constantly eroding the steep sand faces. The club has preserved a number of mature trees throughout the links to act as buffers against wind.