A small remote Bass Strait island known for its windswept coastlines, prime beef and cheese is now gaining a reputation among golfers.
King Island, with a population of 1,400, has enhanced Tasmania's reputation as a golfing destination with the opening of two world-class courses.
The island's nine-hole course already has a good reputation.
Now the first nine holes of the Ocean Dunes course is ready for players, and on the island's northern tip, the 18-hole Cape Wickham Links has formally opened.
Buffeted by the Roaring Forties, Cape Wickham Links is the country's most anticipated new golf course.
Nine of the holes are coastal and all 18 have ocean vistas.
My feeling is that it will become a Mecca for golfing in the future - it might be a fair way away but it's going happen.Graeme Grant, course designer
American-based Mike De Vries designed the course, making the most of the natural windswept landscape.
Course superintendent John Geary said choosing the right grass for the greens was a challenge.
"The greens are a combination of fescue grasses, which is a little bit different than most golf courses have," he said.
"That grass type has been chosen specifically because of the windier conditions we have here.
"The actual contours on the greens are more subtle, so the golf course will be playable in any conditions.
"The course has exceptionally wide fairways and it is relatively short, so depending on the weather conditions good golfers will probably shoot some very low scores but it's been designed specifically with the weather conditions in mind."
Further south, Ocean Dunes has nine holes ready to play.
Designer Graeme Grant is creating a challenging 72-par layout.
"I saw this coastline four-and-half years ago for the first time and it reminded me of Scotland and Ireland, and that's where all the great links courses are," he said.
"I think that we'll find that if we are successful here and Cape Wickham is successful it will open up this coastline to other golfers and golfing people, golfing people that might want to do the same sort of development.
"My feeling is that it will become a Mecca for golfing in the future - it might be a fair way away, but it's going to happen."
More than 2,000 bookings already
Course director Richard Lees said the new courses would complement each other.
"The combination of the two courses here on King Island will really set this place up for golfers from all over the world to come and play," he said.
Cape Wickham general manager Debbie Fisher said bookings were already flooding in and augured well for the island's tourism.
"We've got well over 2,000 bookings from here to about April," she said.
"They're coming from all over the world - America, Germany, Sweden.
"Once Ocean Dunes gets up and running they'll come and stay the night, or two nights, and see more of the island.
"At the moment they're just flying in and flying out because there's not a lot of accommodation on the island but once we get our accommodation up and running we just want them to come and experience all of King Island."
Mr Grant said each King Island course had its own distinctive character.
"Links golf courses all vary because of the difference in the dunes and the difference in the vegetation and here it's the difference in the coastline," he said.
"We play very close to the water and over the water on two of par-threes."
The two courses are not expected to overshadow the popularity of the island's original course which has been operating since 1927.
The "old course", as locals are calling it, still has plenty of life in it yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment