Royal Wellington Golf Club’s first course at Heretaunga opened in 1908 and was upgraded and refined at intervals over the next 60 years.

In 1974, a new course opened, designed by Sloan Morpeth and J.S. Watson, which utilised existing holes and new land acquired at either end of the original course. A further nine holes, some of them original, were set aside as an ‘inner-nine’. In 1992-93, new sand-based greens, designed by Sir Bob Charles and John Darby, were built for the championship course.

The club’s long-held desire to build a world-class course, tee to green, led to the rebuilding of the championship Heretaunga course, designed by Greg Turner and Scott Macpherson and opened in 2013. It used existing corridors and new land opened up near the Hutt River. Nine holes were set aside for what is known as the Terrace course.

The Heretaunga Course sits on the river flat between the terrace and Hutt River. The ground is either flat or gently undulating and is cut by two water courses, one of which is the Mawaihakona Stream. There are copses of trees, most of which form backdrops to tees and greens. Trees generally demarcate the margins of holes. The course bounds and sometimes intersects with the shorter Terrace nine.

Extract from the club website: