We conclude our extensive search for the nation’s best golf community with some strong contenders in Tasmania.
For everything that Tasmania supposedly lacks – a physical connection with the rest of the country, a large population and commensurate infrastructure, warmth for longer than a few months each year – it makes up for in spades. No other state has experienced greater growth in its world-class golf offerings so far this century, plus Tasmania is where Australian golf began. The world’s 26th-largest island also offers a far better year-round climate for playing golf (and growing grass) than it gets credit for.
The state is littered with a vast number of charming, intriguing nine-hole courses, in many instances the size of the adjoining town predicating that nine holes is enough. Yet Tasmania’s contribution to Australian golf is far greater than its size, location and 575,000-person population might indicate. Between golfers and golf courses, our island state has given the game more than many realise.
While several Tasmanian towns you may never have heard of are home to unheralded golf courses and unacclaimed contributions, we narrowed it down to five clear candidates to determine the state’s best golf town.
Bothwell
Bothwell is the town that started it all for golf in Australia. The nation’s oldest golf course, Ratho Farm, is located in the town on the edge of Tasmania’s Central Highlands. While some holes have been renovated – even reclaimed – in recent years, they remain entirely true to their 19th-century origins. So if history counts for anything, Bothwell possesses attributes no other Australian town can replicate.
“Bothwell, with Ratho Farm and the Australasian Golf Museum, would be my first thought,” says Stuart Eaton, the long-time Tasmanian event and operations manager for Golf Australia and the PGA of Australia, of the leading candidate town in his state. “It’s named after the Earl of Bothwell, the last husband of Mary Queen of Scots. Golf was played at Ratho some time before 1840, although not formally set up at Bothwell until 76 years later. Some thought that play commenced in 1822. If so, Bothwell is the oldest course outside the UK. The course at Ratho is the oldest in the Southern Hemisphere.”
The fairways continue to be kept short by grazing sheep with fences protecting the greens – and yes, those fences are integral parts of the course and so need to be factored into your play. As an added bonus, you can also stay on-site in one of the modern-yet-rustic cottages.
Meanwhile, the Australasian Golf Museum is a worthy destination and completes Bothwell’s golf offerings. Open daily between 11am and 3pm, bank on spending a good few hours getting lost among the many fascinating collections.
Bridport
If Bothwell is representative of the ‘old’ in Tasmanian golf towns, Bridport reflects the ‘new’. Home to a neat but nondescript nine-hole course that was established in 1967, the town on the state’s north-east coast began to attract global attention in 2004 when the first of two world-class courses opened on its eastern edge. Barnbougle Dunes became synonymous with Bridport as golfers from around the world started to visit in growing numbers. The appeal doubled when the Lost Farm course was added in 2010, and it tripled in 2021 when the 14-hole Bougle Run layout welcomed play.
With 61 holes across four courses in two locations, Bridport surely boasts more golf than any other town of a similar size (1,742 residents, as of the 2021 Census). While the town’s population is famous for swelling as much as threefold each summer, overall Bridport has flourished in the two decades since Barnbougle opened. Property in town sold for a song in 2004; today you need to part with at least half a million dollars and can easily spend twice that amount. Locals always knew of its seaside charms, but golf put Bridport on the map.
Barnbougle quickly became a treasured favourite in not just Tasmanian but Australian golf, a love affair that has only blossomed with time. These days, repeat visitation to Barnbougle is strong. Admittedly, courtesy of the on-site accommodation, sports bar and restaurants, not every visitor to Barnbougle stays in or even sees Bridport itself. Nevertheless, the town remains inextricably linked to Tasmania’s public-golf mecca.
Currie
Much like Bridport, Currie – the main town on King Island – has entered the golf consciousness only in recent years. Also like Bridport, there was a nine-hole layout already established in the town, but it took the emergence of a world-class course to fully show Currie’s appeal.
Ocean Dunes’ unveiling in 2016 added weight to the exceptional King Island Golf & Bowling Club – which is arguably the best nine-hole layout in Australia – and gave the island a golf course of genuine acclaim. Ocean Dunes followed on the heels of Cape Wickham Links, which is perched on the northern tip of the island, 45 kilometres north of Currie. Together, they helped turn King Island into a formidable golf destination in a far-flung location. Currie remains the hub, however, and in a tremendous pairing of old and new, nine and 18, the Golf & Bowling Club/Ocean Dunes duo makes for 27 holes of scintillating golf.
King Island is yet to fully embrace its status as a global golf destination – some sceptics remain among the locals and there’s long been a shortage of accommodation in Currie – but the Tasmanian Government can see its value. Construction of 64 new hotel rooms at Ocean Dunes, along with reception, restaurant and bar facilities, has been aided by a $10 million loan from the state government, with the $35.5 million project due to be completed later this year.
Devonport
Tasmania’s third-largest urban centre is known for being the entry point to the island state for those travelling via the Spirit of Tasmania. Golf in the town of 25,000 people centres on Devonport Country Club, a venue that deserves praise for its innovative merger in 2020 between Devonport Bowls & Croquet Club, Devonport Golf Club and Spreyton Bowls Club. Aided by $7 million in state and federal government grants as an incentive to amalgamate, the merged entity constructed an impressive, $10.5 million clubhouse that includes a vast indoor bowling green that’s ideal in poor weather or whenever the outdoor one is closed. Bowls, croquet and golf operating side-by-side as part of a broader community asset is a model for more sporting clubs to follow.
The Devonport Country Club course is a Vern Morcom design, with some recent additions by Graeme Grant, including a new par-3 10th hole that was the only section of the layout compromised by the new clubhouse. Mostly flat but with pockets of undulation, the quality of the Devonport course was high enough to earn it a place in Australian Golf Digest’s Top 100 Courses ranking until the early 2000s.
And if you’re brave enough to include nearby Ulverstone as ‘part of’ Devenport (they are separate towns, about 15 kilometres apart), there is another tremendous 18-hole layout to be found along the River Leven on the western side of Ulverstone.
Kingston
Officially on the outskirts of Hobart rather than being part of the Tasmanian capital, Kingston comes into consideration for two primary reasons: Kingston Beach Golf Club and the players it has produced, including the famous Toogood family that called the club home for a time.
“Peter and his brother John are legendary in Tasmania and their achievements on a golf course range from multiple Tasmanian Open titles to Australian Amateur wins and Eisenhower Trophy representation,” Stuart Eaton says. “The club has won seven men’s Division 1 pennant titles, including five from 1952 to 1956 and seven Claremont Shield titles.
“Kingston Beach Golf Club was also the home of Leonard Nettlefold, the 1926 and 1928 Australian Amateur champion. Captain of the 1938 Australian team [sent] to Britain and with a course record at St Andrews in the first round of the 1927 British Open, Len won eight Tasmanian Open and eight Tasmanian Amateur titles among many others. Len was also a fine administrator and held the positions of Tasmanian Golf Council and Australian Golf Union president for periods of time. Kingston Beach Golf Club was also the home of Laura Richards and Bradley Bone, two more of Tasmania’s best.”
The Kingston Beach layout offers a beautiful parkland setting with repeated beach and river views. Bookended by par 3s, there’s even an inclinator from the 17th green to the 18th tee, as the first and last holes occupy a plateau set high above the other 16.
And the winner is: Bothwell
History and community connection tipped the scales in favour of the Central Highlands town. We now have a winning town for each state, as Bothwell moves on to our national final in the February issue as the Tasmanian representative.
