Windross Farm Golf Course sits on 60 hectares of rolling farmland at Ardmore, on Auckland's southern edge, where a working potato and dairy property has been reshaped into a championship, links-style golf course. Designed by Brett Thomson of RBT Design with former PGA Tour winner Phil Tataurangi in a consulting role, the layout pairs pure Fescue fairways and undulating greens with strategically placed bunkers, several lakes and 50,000 indigenous plants — an understated, sustainable course the club describes as an easy walk that is very playable yet still challenging, especially in the prevailing south-west winds.
The club behind the course has deep roots: its origins trace to 1926, Manukau Golf Club was formed in 1932, and after nearly a century at Takanini the members voted to build anew, opening at Windross Farm on 1 September 2016. Within weeks the course secured New Zealand's first ever LPGA Tour event, the 2017 McKayson New Zealand Women's Open, won by Canada's Brooke Henderson.
Beyond the fairways there is a modern clubhouse with a stylish pro shop, an undercover TopTracer driving range, multiple practice greens, and an inviting bar and café where freshly prepared meals and carefully selected beverages come with panoramic vistas of the course. Membership options suit a range of needs, visitors can choose from golf packages, and the hospitality team hosts corporate golf days and special events. Sustainability runs through everything, from water management programs and native habitat restoration to energy-efficient infrastructure.
Some golf courses hug coastlines and others climb hillsides. Windross Farm took a different path: it grew out of a working farm. Spread across 60 hectares of rolling countryside at Ardmore, on Auckland's southern edge, this championship course was shaped from flat potato and dairy paddocks into a links-style layout of pure Fescue fairways, man-made undulations, lakes and 50,000 indigenous plants. Within weeks of opening it was good enough to host New Zealand's first LPGA Tour event — and today it welcomes players of every skill level to walk the same ground.
The Windross Farm name dates only to 2016, but the club behind it is far older. Its origins reach back to 1926, when two small district clubs — the Everslie Club off Beach Road, Papakura, and the Manurewa Club on Hill Road — played their golf on sheep farms. When the Depression deepened and farmers switched from wool to cattle, both properties became unsuitable, so members of the two clubs met on 24 February 1932, drafted rules and formed Manukau Golf Club, officially opened that 23 April.
The club thrived through the decades. During the war years, US Marines stationed at Hill Road made full use of the course, helped with maintenance and joined its social events. The 1970s and 80s produced national and provincial talent — the men's senior Pennants team won ten titles between 1970 and 1985, and the club claimed the inaugural interclub "Ranfurly Shield" in 1973, winning it again in 1982 and holding it until 1986.
Then came near-disaster. By 2011 the club carried more than $3 million of debt, and with memberships down there seemed little escape through normal trading. An offer exceeding $40 million arrived for its land. In December 2012, 84 percent of voting members backed a sale and a fresh start. The club bought 60 hectares of farmland on Alfriston-Ardmore Road near Ardmore Airport — about seven minutes from its old Takanini home — and on 1 September 2016 it played its first round under a new name: Windross Farm.
Building on a former potato and corn farm that also ran dairy cows came with a challenge: the land had just six metres of fall from east to west. Architect Brett Thomson of RBT Design — whose pedigree included work on Jack's Point and The Hills — led the transformation, with Phil Tataurangi consulting. Significant quantities of fill were imported, several lakes were created, and burns and ridges were added to give the layout the links-style feel of a nearby hillside dotted with sheep.
Grass selection was strategic, chosen to provide excellent playing surfaces year-round across closely mown areas, while out-of-play grasses create a striking seasonal contrast. The result, in the club's own words: an easy walk, understated and sustainable, very playable yet challenging, offering everybody a chance to score well — beware the prevailing south-west winds. Eco-conscious practices, from water management to native habitat restoration, remain integral to how the course is run.
Few new courses can claim what Windross Farm achieved within weeks of opening: New Zealand's first ever LPGA Tour event, the 2017 McKayson New Zealand Women's Open. The final round was battered by extraordinary weather — winds gusting up to 120km/h across much of the North Island — and the leaders managed only six holes before play resumed on the Monday. Twenty-year-old Canadian Brooke Henderson finished five shots clear at 17-under, her first win outside the United States, while tournament host Lydia Ko tied for 22nd. Visitors today can play the very course that tested the world's best.
The golf is only half the story. A modern clubhouse anchors the property, with a stylish pro shop stocking the latest equipment and apparel, an undercover TopTracer driving range, multiple practice greens and a cart barn. After play, the inviting bar and café serve freshly prepared meals and carefully selected beverages with panoramic views over the course.
Windross Farm offers a range of membership options with exclusive benefits, plus golf packages for visitors. The hospitality team also runs corporate golf days, and the clubhouse doubles as a venue for special events — or simply a memorable day out with friends and family. Planning a visit is straightforward: rounds can be booked online, dress and course care guidelines are published on the website, and a daily course status update flags conditions and whether carts, bags and trundlers are on the course.