Tasmania’s wild links: Barnbougle, Lost Farm and Cape Wickham
Three of Australia's highest-ranked courses are public links on the Tasmanian coast. How to play them, and how to build the trip.
Tasmania has, in twenty years, gone from having no international golf reputation to holding three of the highest-ranked courses in Australia. Cape Wickham sits second in the country and 24th in the world, Barnbougle Dunes fourth in Australia and 31st in the world, and Lost Farm seventh and 40th. All three are public-access links, which is the part most visitors do not expect.
Barnbougle: three courses in one place
On the north-east coast, Barnbougle runs three courses: The Dunes, Lost Farm and Bougle Run, cut through natural coastal contours and built to play like the links of Scotland and Ireland. Lost Farm is unusual even by links standards, with twenty holes, all of which are playable in a single round.
The practical consequence is that Barnbougle is a destination rather than a stop. Two or three days there gives you three distinct courses without moving the car.
Cape Wickham, on King Island
Cape Wickham sits on King Island, in Bass Strait, with the ocean visible from every hole and in play on several. Getting there means a flight, which is why it stays quieter than its ranking suggests, and why the golfers who make the trip tend to stay several days rather than one.
Playing links in Tasmanian conditions
These are genuine links: firm ground, wind that changes the club selection every hole, and fairways that run into greens. Three adjustments make the difference.
- Play the ball low. A knock-down with an extra club, ball back, is the shot that survives the wind.
- Land it short. The ground will take the ball to the flag if you let it. Flying approaches to the pin is how visitors run up big numbers here.
- Respect the sand. Links bunkers exist to cost you a shot. Play out sideways when the face is against you.
When to go
The Tasmanian season runs opposite to the northern hemisphere: the settled months are the Australian spring and summer, roughly October to April. Even then the wind is part of the design rather than an interruption, and the weather changes within a round.
Pack waterproofs regardless of the forecast, and shoes with grip. These are coastal courses on exposed ground.
Building the trip
A week works better than a long weekend. Three or four days at Barnbougle, playing The Dunes, Lost Farm and Bougle Run, then the flight to King Island for Cape Wickham, then home. Two rounds a day is possible in summer daylight and unwise on the first day.
Book accommodation and tee times together where the resorts offer it, because on-site stays hold priority on the sheet.
Where to book
- Barnbougle: The Dunes, Lost Farm and Bougle Run, with accommodation on site.
- Cape Wickham, on King Island: book the golf and the flights together, since the flight schedule dictates the tee time rather than the reverse.
Rates change by season and by package. Confirm the total, including any transfers, when you book.
