But, like any great short par-4, the outcome is far from preordained. Instead, if you thought Old Tom Morris, Dick Wilson and Harry Colt might make an appearance then you won't be disappointed as they all make the cut. It hugs the northern tip of King Island in the middle of Bass Strait and has been voted the 24th best course in the world. The redeveloped Scone Golf Course should be in the conversation as one of the best nine-hole golf courses in Australia and a template for how to keep costs down, and the fun up. Provided you don’t slice your opening tee shot into Bass Strait a simple par should await. The redeveloped Scone Golf Course should be in the conversation as one of the best nine-hole golf courses in Australia and a template for how to keep costs down, and the fun up. the golf course at Cape Wickham has captured the attention of international golf critics and has already been ranked #3 course in Australian & #24 in the world rankings. At 48 meters in height, it is visible on a majority of the holes, sometimes being the only aiming point you have. Finished in late 2015, Cape Wickham has bolted to the top of the attention list for world travellers seeking an authentic links course in a remote part of the world. Source: Source: Larry Lambrecht. Note: It says something about this golf course when my only criticisms feel like nit-picking at minor aspects of two holes at Cape Wickham. Email admin@capewickham.com.au. Initially blind across sandy scrub, the 8th is a beautifully natural inland hole set down in a valley. The designer says: “Unique is thrown around too liberally in the golf world, but it’s a more than apt description of this place.” – Darius Oliver The resort experience: Cape Wickham’s golf course is the drawcard here with the resort itself being in its infancy. Golf is Australia's number one participant sport and more than 460,000 Aussies belong to a golf club. What established himself as one of the up and coming forces in creating golf courses A strong par five heading east through sand dunes and linking the western coastline with the northern (lighthouse) section of the course. Cape Wickham Road, King Island, TASMANIA, 7256 When a new course comes onto the scene and debuts just in front of North Berwick and just behind Morfontaine in the top 100 golf course rankings, it had better be something special. I had probably read too much about Cape Wickham before playing it and started to have concerns that I had unrealistic expectations and would be disappointed. Designed by renowned US golf architect Mike DeVries, Cape Wickham sits on a magnificent piece of natural coastal land at the far north western tip of King Island, in the windswept waters of Bass Strait. But he wouldn’t change a thing. Sited on a duney headland jutting into Bass Strait, the course occupies a spot made for links golf. The Takeaway: One of the finest golf courses in the world and the most scenic track in the Southern Hemisphere, Cape Wickham is a brilliant collision of rugged coastline, windswept dunes, and unrestricted architectural design. The under-appreciated par-3 17th at Cape Wickham. Andrew Purchase, who first found the land for the golf courses at both Cape Wickham and on Kangaroo Island, will be in charge of construction of what he terms a world-class destination course … The beguiling nature of the property is enhanced by the intersection of land and water. A par 72 course, it is 6,150 metres long. 24 in its list of World’s 100 Greatest Courses – 2016-2017 and Australian Golf Digest ranked it … David Geraghty / The Australian. DeVries, in tandem with Aussie golf writer Darius Oliver, has clearly made a bold statement that his course design profile is indeed rapidly accelerating. Cape Wickham, the spectacular new Golf Course on King Island is now a "must play" for any level of golfer. Construction of the course was completed in late 2015, under the watchful eye of co-designers Mike DeVries and Darius Oliver, and quickly gained international recognition. Each room is twin-share and fitted with a balcony to enjoy the views which makes it the perfect place to unwind after a round of golf on the glorious course that is Cape Wickham. His evolutionary design process respects the original designer’s intent on renovation jobs and results in golf courses of enduring quality and interest with his new course designs. Cape Wickham; Australia’s spectacular new Golf Course on King Island, Tasmania. The world-renowned golfing resort has been eyeing off land it owns north of the historic Cape Wickham lighthouse for the project. Drivable with the summer easterlies at your back, the short par four 5th is an unheralded but dangerous hole with a tight fairway and smallish green that leans away toward the rear. CAPE WICKHAM GOLF COURSE IN PICTURES LINKS GOLF ON KING ISLAND IN THE RUGGED ROARING FORTIES. Sitting under the shadow of Australia’s tallest lighthouse on the remote King Island, Tasmania is Cape Wickham. Wickham wows with an opening stretch of seaside headland holes, three par-3s that skirt the sea and a Cape-style 18th that demands a bite-off-as-much-as-you-dare drive over Victoria Cove. The scenery from tee to green here is magnificent. Cape Wickham is one of those wonderful natural sites where there are literally hundreds of potential golf holes. Cape Kidnappers was also the International winner of a 2012 Environmental Leaders in Golf Award, co-sponsored by Golf Digest. Every hole on the course has an ocean view, which is extremely rare, and no 2 holes are the same. Cape Wickham golf course co-designer Darius Oliver over looking the scenic 18th hole. Plays into the prevailing south-west winds, and longer than its yardage suggests. Mullen, Neb., U.S.A. / 7,089 yards, Par 71 A genuine talking point, the 11th is a short-iron par 3 set right down onto the rocks along the shoreline. requires a significant effort to reach but the end product more Mike DeVries is based in Michigan, USA. DeVries, in tandem with Aussie golf writer Darius Oliver, has clearly made a bold statement and his course design profile is indeed rapidly accelerating. Cape Wickham Links is an 18-hole golf course that was constructed on the northern tip of King Island, 48 kilometres (30 mi) north of Currie, on Tasmania. Cape Wickham is a public course that opened in 2015. Purchase first ventured onto the island in 2011, falling in love with the site and buying a large chunk of freehold land immediately south of the lighthouse. The hole is down a valley and dunes, through convoluted landforms. Cape Wickham Golf Course is now named as one of the top six places to tee off around the globe. The hole commences along the cliffs with the water pounding the surf below. Those able to hug the beach with their drive are rewarded with a shorter and simpler second shot. It opened to the public on 30 October 2015. Cape Wickham Links is an 18 hole, par 72, links style golf course on the northern tip of King Island, 48-kilometres north of Currie, Tasmania. … Not just any Old Tom, Dick or Harry has made our collection of Top 100 Golf Course Architects. A hands-on golf architect, personally shaping his greens and bunkers while being on-site throughout the construction of his projects. Those who aim their drive at the lighthouse are rewarded with a simpler approach into a partly obscured green site. The first course built on King Island is called Cape Wickham. clearly cemented Mike DeVries as one of the most talented course creators Little more than a year after its opening, the Cape Wickham course on King Island off the northern coast of Tasmania, has been put on the market by agents Knight Frank. sold for almost $16 million, is among the best in the world. cropped fescue turf allows for a myriad of situations and options for the One of the great tests for any architect is being able to provide Experience the windswept green pastures and dramatic coastal views of King Island at Cape Wickham Golf Links. Share ‘Fair go cobber” — this is how one slightly miffed Australian golfing expat here in the Land of Smiles started his email to me! The 12th turns slightly left with the green in the distance tugging the cliffs in the same manner as a youngster holding onto his mother’s skirt on the first day of school. Without further ado here’s my trip pecking order, with the course’s ranking in the GOLF Magazine Top 100 in parentheses. A must visit for every golfing enthusiast! DeVries’ most notable works are Cape Wickham Links (Tasmania, Australia), Kingsley Club (Michigan), Greywalls (Michigan), Meadow Club (California), and Siwanoy CC and Sunningdale CC (New York). Cape Wickham Golf Course is among the most scenic courses in world golf. Cape Wickham … Were it … Located on King island, situated between the mainland area of Australia and Tasmania, the small island is most known for its omnipresent lighthouse — the tallest structure of its kind located on a golf course . Ranked number twenty-four in the world and Australia's number one ranked public course, Cape Wickham Links - King Island is truly a spectacular golf course. Critically acclaimed, it has been ranked third in the Australian Golf Digest Top 100 Courses rankings, and 24th in the world. Posted at 23:30h in Course Review by Brett Brasier. Cape Wickham Golf Course Leon Ridge-Cooke 2017-11-08T00:49:01+00:00 Cape Wickham Opening in 2015, Cape Wickham had already ranked as Australia’s No.3 and the world’s No.24 golf course. The great dilemma was to extract the best layout which was also consistent with the owner’s requirement that this be pure golf – easily walkable with each hole flowing from one to the next. serve as a guide for those wishing to play a safe tee shot. Follow our trip to King Island playing Cape Wickham Links and Ocean Dunes. While building a second golf course is “a fair way off”, Cape Wickham Links is forging ahead with plans to dramatically expand supporting infrastructure at its main attraction. It joins Barnbougle's Dunes and Lost Farm courses (on nearby Tasmania), Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers (in New Zealand) and Pinnacle Point (in South Africa) as world-beating oceanside layouts in the southern hemisphere. The 12th hole plays just 322 yards but the range of options from a strategic standpoint will certainly provoke plenty of decisions to be decided upon before executing. There’s also ample Just recently rated NUMBER 1golf courses in Australia! Tees, Fairways and Greens are all seeded with fescue grass, following in the footsteps of the old traditional links courses in Scotland and Ireland. (03) 8586 7430 info@bassstraitgolf.com.au It hugs the northern tip of King Island in the middle of Bass Strait and has been voted the 24th best course in the world. Source: Source: Larry Lambrecht The 3rd is a strong par 3 that heads straight toward a pair of distant offshore islands. DeVries, in tandem with Aussie golf writer Darius Oliver, has clearly made a bold statement that his course design profile is indeed rapidly accelerating. 1. Cape Wickham Golf Course is a new links course on King Island in Tasmania. All three believe that the Cape Wickham site is the best for golf they have ever seen. Back pin positions challenge players to carry a large mound in the middle of the green. While Cape Wickham has been a dream start to his golf course architecture career, Oliver says it was certainly earned. 17) Sand Hills G.C. An island that is isolated to the rest of the mainland in such a stunning and serene environment you truly feel a world away! The opening of Cape Wickham has “The hollowed out, windblown sandstone cave under the green was there and just too cool not to incorporate,” said DeVries. Cape Wickham golf course co-designer Darius Oliver over looking the scenic 18th hole. The Cape Wickham lighthouse, built in 1861, sits at the norther end of the course. But his last major project—Cape Wickham, which opened five years ago on the shores of King Island, Australia—is the 21st best course on the planet (and rising) according to Golf Digest. The first hole away from the coastline, the 4th is a long par 4 that turns back inland toward the imposing Cape Wickham lighthouse. 1. Cape Wickham is on the far end of King Island about a 45-minute drive through sheep filled pastures which is lovely. A shortish par 5, due west into the prevailing wind. It opened to the public on 30 October 2015. Since then avid golfers have continued to travel from all around the globe to visit King Island in order to experience Cape Wickham Links for themselves. Cape Wickham (73) 2. Designer: Mike DeVries/ Darius Oliver Established: 2015 Location: approx 45 minutes north of Currie Facilities: clubhouse with bar (inc light food) & change rooms. Those taking the risk in attempting to drive the big tee shot have to marry sufficient distance and the wherewithal to turn the ball from right-to-left. As you arrive at the tee, the arresting beauty can be quite distracting. sufficient challenge for all levels of play. 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