KING ISLAND, Tasmania — How good could it be?
A local golf club on King Island, where roughly 1,800 folks live?
The King Island Golf & Bowling Club is nearly 90 years old, built by locals, mind you, not by some big-name architect. Those citizens christened the club’s opening in 1932.
The first two holes – a downhill, dogleg-right par-4 opener and the sweeping, uphill, dogleg-left par-4 second – are worthy of placement on most any golf course.
Then you stroll to the tee of the downhill par-3 third.
Kaboom. You’re met with an expanse of crystal-blue ocean, the rocky shoreline and the emerald strips of the course. And then on the tee at the fourth hole, you think about leaving the clubs behind, taking a few steps and jumping into the water.
For the rest of the round, you’re left amazed at the beauty of the ocean, the challenge of the course and the fact the yearly membership is 350 Australian dollars for unlimited play (about $250 American). It’s 40 Australian dollars for 18 holes, trolley included.
It’s a bit rough on the edges, a tad scruffy here and there. Sort of like a 5 o’clock shadow. But it’s a 5 o’clock shadow on Brad Pitt.
“It’s an unreal golf course, on the ocean, a very special place,” said member Ricky Dean Munday, who is the golf operations manager at Cape Wickham Links. “Some cracking holes. Some of the best views on the island. Probably doesn’t get its just due.”
Located on the rugged west coast of King Island just outside the town of Currie, the golf course has 12 greens on 10 fairways with 17 tees to make a creative composite of 18 distinct holes playing out to some 6,000 yards. The coastal dunes naturally lead to demanding elevation changes. Combined with superb undulating greens, tricky – and at times, maddening – blind shots and rollicking fairways with nary a flat lie, there’s movement from the first tee to the last green.
And when the wind really blows – which is about every single day – you are forced to plot your way around the course that has ocean vistas from every point except the 10th tee. Those 6,000 yards on the scorecard can play like 7,000 and force you to play the game on the ground. Some trees on the course, for example, have been bent in half by the winds coming off the Bass Strait.
“If you made it too long, it would be impossible to play in the worst winds,” said member Geoff “Pud” Watts. “On the third hole, I’ve hit 9-iron and I’ve hit driver.”
Another special surprise hits you like a fierce ocean wave when you visit for the first time. You find out that the course is maintained by volunteers. Aside from the person paid to mow the greens, the entire course is kept in fine shape by a group of people who love the game and their local club.
“A few years ago there were only three of us who volunteered, so we had a lot more work to do. But we needed to do it. It has to be done,” Watts said. “We do it for the island. There is a love here that we want to keep going. When people find this place, they want to come back.
“This is our course, the island’s course. We take pride in that.”
As they should. Gwk
This story originally appeared in Issue 1 – 2020 of Golfweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.