Two national championships at one historic venue
New Zealand's men's and women's national amateur golf championships begin on 4 November 2026 at Royal Wellington Golf Club in Heretaunga, Upper Hutt. Scheduled for 4–8 November, the New Zealand Amateur Championship and New Zealand Women's Amateur Championship will decide two of the country's most prestigious amateur titles at the same venue. NZ Golf Magazine previewed the championships on 3 November, with the location and official competition pages cross-checked against Golf New Zealand and Wellington Golf.
Royal Wellington previously staged the men's and women's national amateur championships in 2016. The return a decade later marks a notable week for New Zealand's domestic amateur calendar, immediately following the international Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Te Arai Links.
Stroke-play qualification and match-play pressure
The championship pathway combines qualifying stroke play with a match-play knockout stage. In stroke play, every stroke counts towards the aggregate score. In match play, the contest is decided by holes won against an opponent: a disastrous hole can cost one hole, but does not automatically end the match.
That distinction matters for the tactics competitors adopt. A player who loses an early hole can recover by winning later holes, while a good aggregate score in the qualifying rounds does not guarantee progress through a head-to-head draw. Course management, putting and risk selection can all change according to the opponent's position.
The pre-event programme outlines stroke-play qualifying rounds followed by match-play elimination. Draws and live results are subject to Golf New Zealand's official updates. No 2026 winner is being claimed in this preview.
Defending champion and Royal Wellington's record
Chloe So enters the week as the 2025 women's national amateur champion. Her final against Teresa Wang last year went to 40 holes: the scheduled 36-hole match was tied and needed four extra holes. The 2025 men's champion was Mitchell Kale, who beat Isaac Steel 1 up. These are historical results, not predictions about the current field.
Founded in 1895, Royal Wellington sits beside the Hutt River in Upper Hutt. Its Heretaunga parkland course was redesigned by former New Zealand professional Greg Turner and architect Scott Macpherson, reopening in 2013. It hosted the Asia-Pacific Amateur in 2017 and the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in February 2026.
Only days after the 1 November finish of the Asia-Pacific Amateur at Te Arai, attention now turns to New Zealand's own title races. Qualifying, the knockout draw and ultimately two champions will define the week at Royal Wellington.
Sources: NZ Golf Magazine (3 November 2026); Golf New Zealand event pages; Wellington Golf; AmateurGolf.com and Local Matters for 2025 championship background.
