Seventeen schools from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa will compete in the four-day event at the Eagle Ridge, St Andrews Beach and Moonah courses.
The World Schools Golf Challenge was held in Christchurch in 2007, Adelaide in 2009 and Stellenbosch, South Africa, last year.
Waitaki Boys' competed in the first two events and came 11th in the teams event in Adelaide. Otago Boys' High School competed in South Africa last year.
"It was decided to have an Asia-Pacific version of the event because next year's World Challenge will be held in the United Kingdom and it will be too costly for Australasian schools to attend," Waitaki Boys' head of golf Brent Maw said.
Maw was coach-manager of the Waitaki Boys' team in Christchurch and Adelaide.
"The boys see the event as a big deal," he said. "Regardless of their ability before they go, they return as golfers and grow as people and golfers.
"During the tournament they rub shoulders with the best schoolboy golfers from around the world and play on magnificent courses."
The best player in the Waitaki Boys' team is Kris Rush (17), who is a member of the Otago under-19 team. He has a handicap of 2.
Other players in the Waitaki Boys' team are Cameron Ryder (16), James Savage (16) and Henry Mitchell (17).
They will be accompanied by a composite team of Logan Dunlop (Waitaki Boys'), Zain Pennycook (St Kevin's College), Harrison Maaka (King's) and a player from Auckland Grammar.
Two members of the John McGlashan team - Carter Milne (16) and Ed Davies (16) - come from the golf mecca of Arrowtown and the other six players are from Dunedin.
The team captain is Milne, who has a handicap of 8 and is the best player in the four-man school A team.
"Carter has a good work ethic and has the potential to be a low handicap golf in the future," John McGlashan teacher in charge of golf Andrew Hore said. "He works at Millbrook during the school vacations."
The eight-strong McGlashan squad includes the identical Logie twins from Dunedin. Tom is in the A team and James in the B team. Tom has a handicap of 13.9 and James 14.8.
The experience of competing in the event will be invaluable to team members who have ambitions to make golf a career.
"It is set up just like a professional golf tournament," Hore said. "It's an eye-opener for those who want to have a crack at golf."
It is not a cheap trip and it will cost each boy in the John McGlashan team $2000 and the Waitaki Boys' players $2500 for the trip. Raffles, clearing up after rugby games and collecting firewood were used to raise funds for the trip.
Team members must be pupils or immediate past pupils of their school. The age range is from 13 to 19.
Asia-Pacific Challenge
The facts
Venue: Melbourne.
Dates: April 10-13.
Otago teams
John McGlashan College A: Carter Milne, Tom Sycamore, Tom Logie, Ryan Whelan.
John McGlashan College B: James Logie, Hayden Coutts, Nick Kennedy, Ed Davies.
Waitaki Boys' High School: Kris Rush, Cameron Ryder, James Savage, Henry Mitchell.
Composite: Logan Dunlop (Waitaki), Zain Pennycook (St Kevin's), Harrison Maaka (King's) plus an Auckland Grammar golfer.
