A weekend away in the Coromandel didn't start well for an Auckland man who was airlifted to hospital after being hit by a golf ball in Whangamata.

The 56-year-old was playing a round at the Whangamata Golf Club on Saturday afternoon when he was struck in the face by someone else's ball from around 50 metres away.

Westpac Auckland Rescue Helicopter paramedic Ati Wynyard says it looked like the man's jaw had been broken.

He says the impact of the ball threw him to the ground, and he was unresponsive for a few minutes.

On board, paramedics treated the man at the scene, before flying him to Auckland Hospital in a serious condition.