At Kauri Cliffs, the world top-100 stunner at New Zealand’s subtropical northern tip, some rounds take seven to eight hours — and instead, players often come back totally blissed out. When they come back at all.

According to Kauri head pro Mitch McMurtry, a Tennessean with an MBA, Kauri typically accommodates just 50 rounds a day. Combine that with a raft of otherworldly diversions visible from the course — world-class hiking, birdwatching, private beaches — and many golfers tend to go rogue. “Sometimes they go off the first tee like any other group — only, we never see them again,” he explains. “By the seventh, they may decide to visit Pink Beach, which you can see from the tee. Or maybe they’ve had the kitchen pack them a lunch and they spend a couple of hours picnicking past the 14th tee. Pretty incredible view of the Cavalli Islands from there… We usually check on their whereabouts before we close the shop. In all my time here, we’ve never lost anyone!”

Since opening in 1999, Kauri has been on the short list of “most beautiful golf courses on Earth,” thanks largely to its stunning cliff-top location. McMurtry says staff are obliged to warn visitors against hiking the cliffs — too dangerous. The golf course and its opulent boutique lodge, the Rosewood Kauri Cliffs (a favourite of Condé Nast Traveler), are surrounded on three sides by a 5,000-acre nature reserve and working cattle farm. The pro keeps four carts reserved at all times for self-guided, non-golfing tours. “We tell them: Don’t feed the animals or jump a fence,” McMurtry says. Beyond that? Knock yourselves out. No matter how long it might take. “Once you tee off, you’re out there by yourself. You might not see another player all day. Stop, picnic, restart two hours later — it’s all good. Around here, folks play their own game.”