Although it is only 70 miles across the Cook Strait (the stretch of water that separates North and South Islands) from ‘windy Wellington’, the city of Nelson has a noticeably more pleasant climate than New Zealand’s capital. It is the gateway to the stunning Abel Tasman National Park, and also has a prominent fishing and seafood industry.

It is also home to one of the better links courses in New Zealand. After a brief spell with a 9-hole set up nearby (in 1901), Nelson Golf Club moved to a new links course in 1905, occupying essentially the same space as the current routing. World War II interrupted play for a few years (the course was used as an RNZAF base), but in 1945, golf was back, initially as another 9-holer, and then swiftly extended to an 18-hole layout in 1948. Planes still feature heavily, with the 7th green being only 70m from Nelson’s runway, although do not be discouraged – this is far from being Heathrow or JFK.

The course has been gradually evolving, and in recent years over 450 trees have been felled, revealing a more traditional links layout that was obscured by the foliage for years. In keeping with this restoration work, there are around twenty extra bunkers, and almost every trap on the course has been converted to have Scottish-style revetted faces – many of them are now devilish pot bunkers.

Standout holes include the par three 6th, which hugs the shoreline, playing to a kidney-shaped green, and the two-shot 7th, arcing left, with its green cut into the dunes.