Rosewood Cape Kidnappers

After realizing his dream at Kauri Cliffs, American billionaire, the late Julien Robertson, turned his attention to doing the same at another stunning site – Cape Kidnappers on the southern tip of Hawke’s Bay.

The Tom Doak design that opened in 2007 has been referred to as ‘experiencing golf at the edge of the earth.’ Built on a 6,000-acre working sheep ranch, the breathtaking peninsula with several ‘fingers’ sits 140m above Hawke’s Bay as it juts 10km out into the South Pacific.

Doak, a true student of golf course architecture worldwide, set out to create a routing of exceptional golf holes that couldn’t be recreated anywhere else and easily achieved his vision at Cape Kidnappers.

The scenery is distracting but take special care to try and avoid the bunkers. Doak’s design philosophy is old school believing that bunkers rather than trees or water features should be true penalizing elements.

The area gets its name from an unfortunate incident of mistaken identity. When Captain Cook was exploring the region, he had a young Tahitian cabin boy on his crew that the local Māori tribe took to be one of their own.

In an effort to rescue him the indigenous people were mistakenly thought by the crew of the Endeavor of trying to kidnap him and thus fired upon the Māori tragically killing several of them.

The course is minimalist in nature to blend in with the local landscape and was created with little intrusion into the environment.

The ranch is so large that it is a good 20-minute drive from the gate to the Clubhouse and Lodge area.

Since opening the on-site Robinson Lodges have been acclaimed for their luxurious amenities, spa, and appointments. The fall of 2023 ushered in a new era as it was announced that the iconic, luxury hospitality brand, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, would take over management of their properties at Cape Kidnappers, Kauri Cliffs, and Matakauri Lodge in Queenstown further elevating the experience for visitors.