2026 Australasian Open

PDGA A-tier

Fri-Sun, January 16-18, 2026

Hosted by Taupō Disc Golf

Part of Tour Down Under | 2026

Event at PDGA.com
Follow this Tournament CalAdd to Calendar
Register ›
Registration closes January 10, 2026 at 10:00pm NZDT

Location

Spa Park Taupo, New Zealand

Staff Contact ›

Steve Lawson Tournament Director
Ken Harris Assistant TD / Sponsorship / Media / MC
Richard Atkinson Volunteer Coordinator / Rules Official
Brett Carlyle Sponsorship
Disc Golf Tour Down Under Tour Partner
Henry Pearson TDU Tour Director
Simon Feasey TDU Director of People & Relationships

Schedule

  • Wed
    Jan 14

    8:00am - 8:30pm

    Practice Day 1. The course (both Gold and Blue layouts) will be available to play under tournament conditions. Some finishing touches to venue setup may be happening. Please give way to event crew. Both layouts will be available to score on UDisc.

    2:00pm - 4:00pm

    Australasian Putting Champs. Bring your putters down to show off your accuracy on our custom pop-up putting course. Great way to hone your skills before the big show and claim some early bragging rights!

    6:30pm - 8:30pm

    Australasian Long Drive Champs. Who has the biggest arm of them all?! Come along to the Spa Park driving range to give it the full flex yourself or just be there to watch in awe as the longest crushers in our game wind up to give it the full send!

    8:00pm - 8:00pm

    Final cards and tee times for round 1's TD draw published (on the PDGA event page).

  • Thu
    Jan 15

    8:00am - 8:30pm

    Practice Day 2. The course (both Gold and Blue layouts) will be fully setup and available to play under tournament conditions. Please give way to the scheduled side-events which will be using the course from 11am.

    11:00am - 2:00pm

    OTB Tour Series Skins 'Down Under' is back!
    High stakes. Big personalities. Unmissable disc golf.
    The Tour Down Under and Go Throw proudly presents OTB Tour Series Skins 'Down Under', featuring elite international tour pros alongside New Zealand’s rising stars in fast-paced, high-energy skins matches. Hosted by the one and only Luke Humphries and shot by the boys at Go Throw.
    Be part of the action with the OTB Skins Spectator Experience – your chance to get up close to the drama, banter, and brilliance on every shot. Spaces are limited – Tickets & VIP Experiences available now at: www.tourdownunder.co.nz/collections/proshop

    2:30pm - 4:30pm

    Last years hit side event - Champs vs Chumps - returns to Spa Park! This 9 hole exhibition doubles match see's four teams go head to head, each led by top pros, and paired with a new randomly selected amateur player for every hole. With only 36 tickets available you are guaranteed to play one of the 9 holes with a pro! This best shot stroke-play format is a once in a lifetime, fun, low pressure way to rub shoulders with some of the world's best players! Tickets available here on DGS or soon at tourdownunder.co.nz/collections/proshop.

    4:00pm - 6:00pm

    Check-In at Event HQ. All players can come and collect merch or vouchers they have ordered. Also, all Am players are welcome to collect their player packs. If you can't make it at this time feel free to collect it on Friday before your round.

    5:00pm - 6:00pm

    Coaching Roadshow. Participate in a hands-on coaching clinic hosted by leading touring pros. Get your tickets shortly at tourdownunder.co.nz/collections/proshop.

    6:30pm - 8:30pm

    Pre event dinner. Come down and hang out with the disc golf family, meet some of the touring pros and soak up the pre-event buzz! Venue/meal deal TBA.

    8:00pm - 9:00pm

    Press Conference. Media interviews and question time for leading players from the MPO and FPO fields.

  • Fri
    Jan 16

    8:00am - 5:30pm

    'Day 1' play. 18 holes, TD draw, cards of four, tee times from hole 1 at 10 minute intervals.

    6:00pm - 10:00pm

    $1,500 Hole in One Party presented by Computers@Work. Join in on the fun at Event HQ and step up to take your chance to win big! Guest DJ's, vendor stands, signing session, fun games, food trucks and plenty of good vibes!

  • Sat
    Jan 17

    8:00am - 5:30pm

    'Day 2' play (moving day). 18 holes, cards of four, seeded within division, tee times from hole 1 at 10 minute intervals. Also CTP Day.

  • Sun
    Jan 18

    8:00am - 5:00pm

    'Day 3' play (final day). 18 holes (plus any required playoffs), cards of four, seeded within division, tee times from hole 1 at 10 minute intervals. The inaugural Australasian Open champions will be crowned!

    5:00pm - 5:30pm

    Farewell BBQ. Followed by event prize-giving, celebrations, acknowledgements and farewells.

Divisions Register ›

For help choosing a division, see the PDGA guidelines
GEN General NZD199
MPO Mixed Pro Open NZD199
FPO Women's Pro Open NZD199
MP40 Mixed Pro 40+ NZD199
FP40 Women's Pro 40+ NZD199
MP50 Mixed Pro 50+ NZD199
FP50 Women's Pro 50+ NZD199
MA1 Mixed Am 1 NZD129
FA1 Women's Am 1 NZD129
MA40 Mixed Am 40+ NZD129
FA40 Women's Am 40+ NZD129
MA50 Mixed Am 50+ NZD129
FA50 Women's Am 50+ NZD129
MA60 Mixed Am 60+ NZD129
FA60 Women's Am 60+ NZD129
MA2 Mixed Am 2 NZD129
FA2 Women's Am 2 NZD129
MJ18 Mixed Junior 18 NZD129
FJ18 Girls' Junior 18 NZD129

About this tournament

AustralasianOpen.com
NZD3,000 added cash
NZD1,000 added merchandise
3 rounds of play
Taupō Disc Golf are excited to announce details for the very first Australasian Open! This three-day event is proud to be the feature event of the 2026 Tour Down Under season. It is also sanctioned by both the PDGA (an A-Tier for both Pro and Ams) and NZDG (50 pointer). The Pro divisions will be playing for an estimated $15,000 purse, but hopefully more if our sponsorship efforts go well.

Taking place at the world class and upgraded Spa Park (ranked #75 in the world), this 54-hole tournament is limited to 160 competitors and will feature the most challenging layout we have presented to date. This is our club's premier annual event, and we are expecting top professionals from North America, Europe and throughout Australasia to compete. Accordingly, the registration schedule will be structured using ratings-based tiers, to allow us to accommodate the strongest possible field.

Format
All divisions: Three 18-hole rounds, one round per day, tee times.
Group 1 (MPO, MP40, MP50, MA1) will play the 'Gold' layout: Par 62, estimated 2654m (8,708ft).
Group 2: (FPO, FP40, FP50, FA1, MA40, FA40, MA50, FA50, MA60, FA60, MA2, FA2, MJ18, FJ18) will play the 'Blue' layout: Par 66, estimated 2500m (8,203ft).

Venue
Two championship level layouts will be built for this event utilising the majority of the Spa Park permanent disc golf course. They are similar to those used for the 2025 Taupō Classic, however we have incorporated some changes after learnings from that event and player feedback. Last year even par across all three rounds on the Gold layout rated 1000, while even par on the Blue layout rated 930. We expect the course changes for the 2026 Australasian Open will make the layouts slightly more challenging. A caddy book (including elevation profiles) will be released in December. Additional information can be found in the integrated event Google MyMap on our website: AustralasianOpen.com (maybe subject to changes).
Here is a link to the UDisc course profile for Spa Park: www.udisc.com/courses/spa-park-x1cC

Player Pack & Prizes
All amateur entries will receive a player pack. This will have a range of goodies, including a premium tournament stamped disc, event merch and a hole in one party voucher. There will also be a stacked prize table up for grabs.

Added Cash/Merch
We are happy to announce that sponsorship has allowed us to contribute a minimum of $3,000 added cash to the pro purse, and $1,000 added merch to the amateur prize pool.

Pass-Through Fees
There will be $9 per entry allocated for pass-through fees (made up of $3pp for venue rental and $6pp for temporary toilet facilities), in accordance with PDGA Competition Manual 5.04.A.3. For transparency, there are no pass-through TD fees.

Food & Beverages
We are fortunate to have a huge range of cafes, bakeries and supermarkets within 3 minutes of Spa Park, providing a great range of options to cater for everyone's tastes and dietary requirements. We will also have food trucks and a coffee cart on site right at Event HQ. Based on last year's feedback we have decided to leave food purchases up to the individual and not include vouchers in the player packs. This has been reflected in the reduced entry fee for amateurs.

Waitlists/Entry Acceptance
There are 90 places currently allocated for amateur entries (subject to change).
All divisions (apart from MPO and FPO) have caps and individual waitlists.
Entries may be promoted from the waitlists at the discretion of the organising committee and will typically be made to assist with field balancing, making a division viable or to complete a card of 4.

Sponsors and Event Support
If you or your business would like to be involved, please reach out! If you would like to help with this event as a volunteer, visitor host/guide, experience provider or in any other way, we would love to hear from you! Please contact us at [email redacted].

Updates and Event News
Keep an eye out on socials! Please follow the event Facebook page (www.fb.me/e/mUDz81Grd) and the official website (www.australasianopen.com). Also, for all the latest TDU news visit www.tourdownunder.co.nz.

Be part of the action!
If you haven't had the chance to experience disc golf in Taupō playing the awesome Spa Park yet, make 2026 your year! Come and rub shoulders with some of the best disc golfers on the planet and witness disc golf at its highest level! Get your crew together and setup a summer disc golf roadie to Taupō and be part of Oceania disc golf history!

Please note: As an A-Tier event all competitors must have a 2026 PDGA membership.

Details last updated: August 8th, 2025

Refund policy

Taupō Disc Golf is responsible for all refunds/cancellations. We understand that circumstances may change, and you might need to cancel your registration for the Australasian Open Disc Golf Championships. Please review our refund policy below:

Full Refund Period - A full refund (minus a $10 processing fee) will be provided for cancellations made before November 21, 2025 (final order date). To request a full refund, please use Disc Golf Scene.
Partial Refund Period - Cancellations made between November 21, 2025, and January 5, 2026, will receive a 50% refund of the registration fee. Processing fees are non-refundable during this period.
No Refund Period - We regret that no refunds will be available for cancellations made after January 5, 2026.
Transferring Registration - In lieu of a refund, you may transfer your registration to another eligible player. Both players must contact the tournament director via email at [email redacted] to facilitate this transfer. Registration transfers must be completed by 9pm January 12, 2026.
Player Pack and Merch Considerations - If you cancel your registration but would still like to receive your player pack and merch, we can arrange for it to be shipped to you at an additional cost, or you can designate someone to pick it up on your behalf during the tournament.
Special Circumstances - In the case of injury, illness, or other extenuating circumstances that prevent your participation, please contact the tournament director as soon as possible. These situations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Tournament Cancellation - In the unlikely event that the tournament is canceled by the organisers, all registered players will receive a full refund, including processing fees.
Contact Us - If you have any questions about our refund policy, please contact us at:
Email: [email redacted]
Australasian Open Disc Golf Championships
Taupō, New Zealand