''Far too much money has been sucked out of the game by the professionals and they don't put anything back,'' he told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
Morris (68) was speaking about the professional tours and not about professionals attached to clubs.
''I don't think golf was intended to make lead players richer than others.''
It is the first trip to New Zealand for Morris and his wife Marie, who are competing in the New Zealand Masters Games.
He has played in the Irish Open and in the British amateur and ''everything else that was available for me to play in''.
Morris is a member of the Limerick, Lahinch Doonbeg and Valley Ballybunion clubs and has a handicap of six. He was a scratch golfer for 30 years, and played rugby in his youth for Munster as a fullback and midfield back.
He has already written four books on golf and has co-authored two other books. His latest assignment is on nine-hole golf courses around the world.
Morris played on the Port Chalmers course yesterday and at Balmacewen on Tuesday.
''They are very hilly and are both great tests of golf,'' he said.
''I'm not used to playing on hilly golf courses. Both courses are well maintained.
''One of the things I like about New Zealand golf is the modesty of the clubhouse, which means golf can be kept reasonably cheap for the players.
''We made a big mistake in Ireland by building palatial clubhouses, which cost a fortune. Golf suffers and you end up paying for these big clubhouses.
''In America and Ireland, the sport is slipping back into being a rich man's game again and is too exclusive.''
Morris will speak about his latest book, Life As A Way of Golf, at the Port Chalmers club's centennial celebrations on February 7.
He writes a weekly column on golf for the Limerick Leader newspaper, and was voted golf nut of the year by the Golf Nut Society of America in 2002. He remains the only non-American to receive this accolade, which followed the publication of his first book in 2001, Only Golf Spoken Here.
The following year, Morris published The Life of O'Reilly, followed by The Doonbeg Ghosts (2006).
His address is a highlight of the Port Chalmers club's centenary, which will be celebrated throughout the year.
Port Chalmers has been a nomadic club and has been at six different courses during its 100 years.
During one of the changeovers, the records and honours boards were temporarily stored in the James Matthews Pharmacy, which was destroyed by fire in 1950.
When W.A. Wright wrote a club history for the 75-year celebrations, he relied on the recollections of members.
The inaugural event started on the Caberfeidh site in 1914 and moved to Reservoir Rd in 1931. The club moved to Hall Rd in 1949 and then Aramoana and Poulters before returning to its current site in Reservoir Rd.
For a small club with a nine-hole course, Port Chalmers has punched above its weight in recent years. Mahal Pearce, the 2003 New Zealand Open winner, and 2001 New Zealand Amateur champion Ben Gallie both began as schoolboy members at Port Chalmers.
