Barnbougle Dunes
The course that put Tasmania on the world golf map. Tom Doak and Mike Clayton laid a par 71 of 6,724 yards through the towering dunes of a Bridport potato farm, opened it in 2004, and watched it walk straight into the world top ranks, where it has stayed ever since. True links golf, ocean wind, walking only. Here is the verdict, the facts, the holes and how to get on.
Photograph: Laurence Lambrecht, via Google.
The verdict
Barnbougle Dunes is the most convincing argument anywhere that great golf land beats great golf money. Farmer Richard Sattler's dunes beside Anderson Bay gave Doak and Clayton the kind of ground architects spend careers waiting for, and they had the discipline to barely touch it. Fairways heave and tumble exactly as the land does, greens sit in natural amphitheaters and on wind scoured plateaus, and the bunkering looks like the sea blew it there. The result reads on the card as a modest par 71, and plays like a championship examination the moment the Bass Strait wind gets up, which is most days.
It is also half of one of golf's great one stop pilgrimages: the Coore designed Lost Farm and the Bougle Run short course sit across the river, the lodge rooms look over the links, and a three day stay covers everything. In the national conversation only the Melbourne Sandbelt keeps it company; our best courses in Australia ranking sets out the order, and our best courses in Tasmania list covers the island rotation.
Barnbougle Dunes at a glance
- Opened
- 2004
- Designers
- Doak & Clayton
- Par
- 71
- Length
- 6,724 yds
- Type
- True links
- Green fee
- ~A$235
Designer, opening and layout verified June 2026. Barnbougle Dunes was designed by Tom Doak and Mike Clayton and opened in 2004. It plays as a par 71 at around 6,724 yards, 6,148 meters on the local card. Indicative 2026 high season international visitor rates ran to around A$235 for 18 holes, with Australian resident rates around A$149; fees change by season and year, so always confirm directly before booking.
The holes worth the trip
The 4th is the postcard: a short par 4 bending through the biggest dunes on the property, with a cavernous blowout bunker eating the inside of the dogleg and a green benched into the sandhills. It is drivable on the right wind and ruinous on the wrong line, which is exactly the bargain the whole course offers. Three holes later comes the 7th, barely 120 yards and nicknamed Tom's Little Devil, a wedge to a sliver of green between dunes that plays anywhere from flip sand wedge to punched mid iron depending on the day's wind.
The back nine turns for home along the beach, and the stretch from the 14th, a 556 yard par 5 chasing the shore, through the 15th, a 351 yard par 4 where the second shot plays to a green set against the marram grass, is links golf as good as anything in the southern hemisphere. Nothing about the course needs length to defend itself: the greens run firm, the surrounds repel the timid bump, and the wind does the arithmetic.
Walk it, take the firm running shot the ground keeps offering, and play it twice: the same card in a north wind and a south wind is two different golf courses.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | Fully public resort; tee times bookable directly with Barnbougle, with on site lodge accommodation and the Lost Farm and Bougle Run courses across the river |
| Green fee | Indicative 2026 high season, October through April: around A$235 for international visitors and around A$149 for Australian golfers for 18 holes, with lower shoulder and winter rates |
| Booking | Summer weekends and the December to February peak book well ahead; midweek and shoulder season slots are far easier, and multi round packages are the standard play |
| On the day | Walking only for most players, with carts limited to medical need; caddies and push carts available, and the links wind makes club selection the day's real work |
| Getting there | About 70 minutes northeast of Launceston airport near the village of Bridport; most groups fly via Melbourne and drive up the coast |
| Best months | November to April for long days and settled weather; winter is brisk, windy, cheaper and still genuinely playable links golf |
Access and indicative green fees verified June 2026; they change without notice, so always confirm directly before booking with the resort or your trip planner. Check tee time availability.
Where to stay nearby
Stay on the property. Barnbougle's lodge and cottage rooms sit between the two big courses, dinner in the clubhouse looks over the closing holes, and the whole point of the trip is rolling out of bed onto the first tee. Bridport village, ten minutes away, adds a few guesthouses and beach cottages for larger groups, and Launceston works as a city base for a night either side of the golf.
Most itineraries pair Barnbougle with the King Island courses, Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes, or fly on to Melbourne for the Sandbelt and Kingston Heath. Our Tasmania golf guide maps the island rotation and the logistics.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and lodges across Tasmania's northeast.
Build an Australia golf trip
We arrange tee times at Barnbougle Dunes, Lost Farm and the Sandbelt clubs and build them into a full Australia itinerary, flights between legs, lodge nights and every transfer, costed to the head. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge does the rest, with no obligation.
Barnbougle Dunes questions
Who designed Barnbougle Dunes?
Barnbougle Dunes was designed by the American architect Tom Doak with the Australian player turned designer Mike Clayton. It opened for play in 2004 on duneland beside Anderson Bay, on farmer Richard Sattler's potato farm near Bridport.
What par and length is Barnbougle Dunes?
The Dunes course plays as a par 71 at around 6,724 yards from the back markers, 6,148 meters on the local card. The card is short by modern championship standards, but the wind off Bass Strait sets the real examination.
How much does it cost to play Barnbougle Dunes?
Indicative 2026 high season rates, October through April, run to around 235 Australian dollars for international visitors for 18 holes, with Australian golfers around 149 dollars and shoulder rates lower. Fees change by season and year, so always confirm directly before booking.
Is Barnbougle Dunes open to the public?
Yes. Barnbougle is fully public with on site lodging, and tee times are bookable directly with the resort. It is a walking course, with carts limited to players with a medical reason, and most guests pair it with the sister courses Lost Farm and Bougle Run.
When is the best time to play Barnbougle Dunes?
November to April is the prime window, with the longest days and the most settled weather on Tasmania's northeast coast. Winter golf is real links golf, brisk, windy and often brilliant, at lower rates.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designer, opening date and layout verified June 2026; indicative green fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.