New Caledonia is an archipelago of islands in the southwest Pacific, around 750 miles east of Australia and 900 miles north of New Zealand, consisting of the main island of Grand Terre and several smaller islands. British explorer James Cook gave New Caledonia its name in 1774 but by the middle of the following century, the islands were under French control, a situation that remains up to today, with the territory designated as an overseas department of France.

Nouméa, the main city and capital, is home to more than a third of New Caledonian's population of around a quarter of a million people and it's here that the national teams play their football, rugby, cricket and basketball matches.

There are four 18-hole golf courses on the main island, with perhaps the premier layout located in the capital city of Nouméa at Tina Golf Club. However, further up the island’s west coast a Cynthia Dye-designed course opened in 2016 at Golf de Déva, which is attached to a 5-star Sheraton hotel. Golf de Déva hosts the Sheraton Deva New Caledonia Women’s International Pro-Am, a fixture on the ALPG Tour.

The other two 18-hole courses are both parkland layouts, Garden Golf de Dumbéa is located around 25 minutes to the north of central Noumea, and Golf de la Ouenghi, which is set about two hours north-west of the capital.

According to Scarlett, one of our globetrotting reviewers, “anyone coming to New Caledonia with their golf clubs would be well advised to try and play all four courses, as they are each sited in different areas of the island and each has something a little different to offer”.

Our New Caledonia rankings were last updated in May 2019.