Your golf trip to Australia: Tasmania

All Square has planned the perfect itinerary for a golfing vacation to the Australian island state of Tasmania.

Our itinerary includes three fantastic golf courses and excellent nearby accommodation. Take the trip of a lifetime to this rugged paradise for golfers.

Suggested arrival airport: Hobart International Airport – flights are available from Melbourne or Sydney.

1. Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links

Getting there

Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links is just over a three hours drive north from from Hobart Airport.

The golf course

Rated by All Square as the world’s 38^th best course, and the 3^rd best in Oceania, Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links is the closest you’ll find in Australia to a traditional Scottish or Irish seaside links. It more than measures up to those esteemed courses and it’s completely open to the public. A 2004 collaboration between American legendary designer Tom Doak and Australian former golf pro Michael Clayton, this is a tremendous course built on a fantastic stretch of sand dunes along Bass Strait, the sea that separates Tasmania from Melbourne. The holes, with wide fairways and naturally contoured greens, are routed through the dunes, some of which stand at over 100 feet. Challenging, beautiful and secluded, this is truly a golfer’s paradise.

Suggested accommodation

Barnbougle Cottages: The accommodation, built on site at the golf course, offers affordable nightly room rates across all lodging options, from the beach-front 2-bedroom cottages to the premium 4-bedroom villas. Room prices start at €100 per night.

2. Ratho Farm Golf Links 

Getting there

Ratho Farm Golf Links is just under a three hours drive south from Barnbougle Dunes.

The golf course

Located in the Central Highlands, this is Australia‘s oldest golf course created by homesick Scots in the 1830s. You’ll feel like you are stepping back in time to the game’s early roots. Both historic and charming, it still has fenced, square putting greens and the fairways are maintained by resident grazing sheep, reminiscent of the early days of St Andrews and Prestwick in Scotland. It still includes many original features and ‘hazards’ including paddocks, hedges, rock walls and vegetable gardens. Fittingly, it is also home to the Australian Golf Museum. Despite the historic setting, the course is also extremely fun, strategic and challenging. It’s also a public course with affordable prices, so it’s well worth a visit.

Suggested accommodation 

Ratho Farm: Opened in 2014 on the site of the golf course, Ratho Farm was built from former convict barns and stables from the early 19^th century. With accommodation for up to 50 people, the boutique rooms have been lovingly restored but are also equipped with modern amenities. Singles, twins, as well as entire families or groups can be catered for. Prices start at €120 per night.

3. Royal Hobart Golf Club

Getting there

Royal Hobart Golf Club is just over an hours drive south from Ratho Farm Golf Links.

The golf course

Rated as the 97^th best course in Australia, Royal Hobart is located at Seven Mile Beach about 15km east of the capital, Hobart. It’s a traditional parkland course where Jack Nicklaus claimed the third of his Australian Opens in 1971. The layout is gently contoured, with well conditioned broad sweeping fairways and large and fast greens protected by extensive bunkering. There’s 80 of them! The grounds are in excellent condition all year round and this course is a must play when visiting Tasmania. There’s also a fantastic driving range. 

Suggested accommodation

Shoreline Hotel: 3.5 star air-conditioned accommodation where the rooms open up to patios. The hotel offers a restaurant and a bar/lounge on site where guests can unwind with a drink after a day on the golf course. Only 5km west from Royal Hobart Golf Club. Prices start at around €90 per night.

For the truly adventurous…

4. Cape Wickham, King Island 

Getting there

Cape Wickham is located on King Island which is an island in the Bass Strait, off the north-western tip of Tasmania. You will need to fly there, either from Tasmania (Burnie Airport or Launceston Airport) or from mainland Australia (Melbourne Airport). Launceston Airport is only around 40km from Barnbougle Dunes, the first stop on this itinerary. 

Cape Wickham is located in the north-west corner of the island around a 40 minute drive from Currie Airport. 

The golf course

Rated as the 18^th best course in Australia and the 30^th best in Oceania, Cape Wickham is one of the most stunningly beautiful links courses in the world that wouldn’t look out of place on the coast of Ireland. Opened in 2015, it now rivals highly regarded courses like Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania and Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand as the best oceanside layouts in the southern hemisphere. The natural routing across cliff-tops and dunes features only the clubhouse and the Cape Wickham lighthouse as constructed buildings. Mother nature rules here. Eight holes run alongside the jagged coastline and the Bass Strait is visible from every hole, some with elevated tees and some right by the ocean. A wonderful haven for golfers. 

Suggested accommodation

Cape Wickham Links has 16 ocean view accommodation units perched on the side of the 1st hole, overlooking Victoria Cove and Cape Wickham Lighthouse. 2 king single beds or 1 double bed with ensuite. Prices start at around €155 per night. 

Dreaming to have a golf trip to Tasmania with your friends? Let us know the details: