Lunchball
Tara Iti isn’t just a golf course; it is a terraforming miracle where Tom Doak peeled back a dense pine plantation to reveal the immaculate dunes slumbering underneath. The architecture is a masterclass in the ground game, blurring the lines between tee, fairway, and green with a continuous carpet of fescue that demands creativity over power. With no traditional rough and waste bunkers that bleed directly into putting surfaces, the course asks you to use the contours like a skateboarder in a half-pipe, punishing aerial arrogance while rewarding the low-running bump-and-run.
The vibe here is ‘billionaire bohemian’—it is arguably the most relaxed ultra-private club on the planet. You won’t find tee markers, just general areas to start your hole, reinforcing the feeling that this layout was discovered rather than built. It is the ultimate paradox: a ‘wild’ landscape that feels manicured by tweezers, offering a sensory overload of white sand, green fescue, and blue ocean that makes it the current heavyweight champion of visual golf splendor.
Comparison: 2nd
2nd
The Minimalist Benchmark
Sand Hills
Architectural Analysis
Both holes are short, iconic par-3s defined by their natural sand surrounds and the requirement to use the ground contours to get close to the pin.