Private North Island club Tara Iti reigns supreme again.
The exclusive club has retained top spot in the New Zealand Golf Rankings, No1 for the fourth time in eight years.
Dunedin-based NZPGA professional Andrew Whiley, who co-ordinates the rankings, said Tara Iti was "something special".
"The setting, the layout and how the course plays is unique and memorable.
"From the time you drive through the gates, through to holing your final putt on the 18th green, it is absolutely magical."
Tara Iti’s next-door neighbours, also from the stable of billionaire developer Ric Kayne and architect John Darby, are new to the rankings list.
Te Arai South and Te Arai North, the links courses about 90 minutes north of Auckland, are at No2 and No3 respectively.
That means Jack’s Point, the highest-ranked southern course, drops a couple of spots to No4.
The Hills, having also forged a link with Kayne and with plans for redevelopment, drops three spots to No6.
Wairakei, Cape Kidnappers, Kinloch, Kauri Cliffs and Paraparaumu are the other courses in the top 10.
The rankings were extremely close with No4 Jack’s Point and No9 Kauri Cliffs separated by just 0.28 of a point in the ranking system, Whiley said.
Other southern courses to feature are Millbrook Coronet (11th), Millbrook Remarkables (12th), Arrowtown (21st), Balmacewen (24th), Queenstown (26th), Cromwell (29th), Invercargill (31st), Chisholm Links (34th) and Wanaka (40th).
Queenstown was the biggest climber on the list, rising seven positions, rankers highlighting the removal of some trees and improved conditioning of the course.
Courses mentioned by some rankers but missing out on the top 40 included Roxburgh and Tokarahi.
It is the seventh time Whiley has compiled the rankings.
They are based on seven criteria — risk/reward, playability, layout, design, scenic values, conditioning and ambience — up to five points awarded per category.
Whiley said the ranking panel featured 23 people with over 800 years of combined golf experience, including professional and amateur players and golf industry professionals.
