The Clearwater Resort

The Clearwater Golf Club at Clearwater Resort in Christchurch is a par-72 championship course that has seen some serious golfing history. It was the home to the ISPS Handa NZ Women’s Open from 2013 to 2016, and also previously hosted the BMW New Zealand Open and the New Zealand PGA Championship. John Darby designed this course in consultation with Sir Bob Charles, blending Scottish-inspired links golf with parkland golf, kind of like what you’d see in Florida.

Back in 2009, Clearwater held the first New Zealand Women's Open, which Frenchwoman Gwladys Nocera won. She was Europe's number one player then and won by six shots. The ISPS Handa NZ Women's Open came back in 2013, and Lydia Ko won it as an amateur, becoming the first New Zealand woman to win her national tournament and the youngest ever to win a Ladies European Tour event. In 2014, South Korean Mi Hyang Lee set a course record with a final round of 63 to win by one shot over Lydia Ko. Then in 2015, Lydia Ko, by then the World number 1, set a new course record herself with a 61, and won the tournament as a professional. She even returned in 2016 to claim her third title, maintaining her record of never shooting over par here at Clearwater.