A Jacks Point resident who says he was refused use of the golf club feels he has been "treated as a second-rate citizen" after believing he would be able to play golf as part of the benefits of living at the resort.
The man, who asked not to be named, and his family moved to Jacks Point during the winter last year after renting a privately-owned house through Queenstown Accommodation Services.
The man thought renting a house at Jacks Point meant he would be able to play golf but he was declined use of the course.
Queenstown Times understands others who have rented property at the resort have also subsequently discovered they could not use the course.
Jacks Point developer and spokesman John Darby rejected any suggestion of exclusivity at the resort, saying anyone was welcome.
Mr Darby said the rules regarding Jacks Point and the golf course were clear and defined a resident as an owner.
He added that whether people owned a property or rented, they would be treated the same.
Once the golf club was opened in November, anyone - including tenants - could play there by paying green fees, similar to any other golf course, Mr Darby said.
"The public are welcome at Jacks Point. We are not a gated community.
"The course has been open for play, [but] we have not been charging. If you are a property owner you can automatically play.
"Under the golf club's rules, a "resident" was an owner of property at Jacks Point, he said.
Defining different categories of people who lived or stayed at Jacks Point was no different from other types of accommodation where there might be hotel guests and those visiting, such as guests at Millbrook, for example, where they paid green fees to use the golf course, he said.
The day after the man and his partner moved in to their rented house at Jacks Point, they received a letter from Jacks Point chief executive officer Mike Coburn welcoming them to the community, and saying he knew they would "love living, playing or just investing" at the resort.
Attached to the letter was the "services information for Jack's Point residents", which, among other things, outlined use of the golf course which was to be "open for use by residents-only some time in November 2007, with the actual date to be advised nearer the time".
Being able to play golf was a big part of the attraction of moving to Jacks Point, the man said.
Although the golf course has not been open and is now due to be officially opened in November this year, when the man observed others using it, he asked several staff at the resort if he could also use it, but said he was declined because he was not a "resident".
"I took on this tenancy on the understanding that I could play golf," he said.
Jacks Point Residents and Owners Association administrator Rod Hodge, who does not live at the resort but owns a section there and works for the development, said membership of the association was for owners only, not residents.
The word "resident" had been used to describe residential property owners, as opposed to commercial property owners.
In future, Jacks Point would have village centres with commercial premises, which the association had been set up to include, he added.
Property owners had access rights to the golf course, either by joining the club or paying concession green fees, Mr Hodge said.
