Golf in Tasmania
The greatest modern links golf in the southern hemisphere, built on wild treeless dunes at the edge of the Bass Strait. Barnbougle, Lost Farm and the two King Island courses, the rounds that matter and how to reach them.
Photograph: Tasmania Golf Club, Tasmania Golf Club, via Google
Why golf in Tasmania
Tasmania did something nobody expected. On a remote stretch of farmland on the island's northeast coast, a potato grower and a pair of architects, Tom Doak and the former tour pro Mike Clayton, found a band of pristine dunes and laid out Barnbougle Dunes in 2004. It was an instant sensation, a public links to rival anything in the old world, and Bill Coore's Lost Farm followed alongside it in 2010. Then came King Island, out in the Bass Strait, where Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes opened within months of each other in 2015 on cliffs and dunes so dramatic they redrew the world rankings overnight.
What makes Tasmanian golf special is the purity of it. These are treeless, walking links on sand, shaped by the same wind and ocean that built the great courses of Scotland and Ireland, but with the space and the wildness that only a near empty island can give. The courses are public, the green fees a fraction of the marquee names in America, and the crowds blissfully thin. Add Tasmania's food, wine and wilderness for the days between rounds, and you have a golf trip that justifies the long flight south many times over.
The regions
The northeast coast
Barnbougle, near Bridport, is the anchor: two of the world's best modern links, Dunes and Lost Farm, plus the short Bougle Run, all on one farm about an hour from Launceston with lodging on site. The easiest world class golf in the state to reach.
King Island
Out in the Bass Strait, a short flight from Melbourne or Tasmania, this tiny island holds two clifftop links, Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes, that vaulted straight into the world top hundred. Remote, raw and unforgettable, with a famous local cheese and crayfish.
Hobart and the Midlands
The south holds history rather than dunes: Ratho Farm at Bothwell, the oldest golf course in Australia, laid out by Scottish settlers in the 1830s, and the cliff edged Tasmania Golf Club near Hobart, an easy add on to a wilderness and food trip.
The courses that matter
Barnbougle Dunes
The course that started it all, a rumpled, firm and fast links through towering dunes on the northeast coast, with the tiny par 4 fourth and the wild bunkering of the seventh among its signatures. Public, walkable and world ranked.
Barnbougle Lost Farm
Coore and Crenshaw's twenty hole companion next door, set on higher, bigger dunes above the river mouth, with broad fairways and greens perched against the sea. Many visitors leave unable to choose between the two.
Cape Wickham Links
The course that stunned the golf world, laid out around a wild headland at the northern tip of King Island with the ocean in play on hole after hole and a closing stretch right on the beach. Often rated the best public course in Australia.
Ocean Dunes
King Island's second links, a dramatic, exposed layout on the west coast with carries over rocky inlets and the surf crashing below. A muscular, thrilling complement to Cape Wickham on the same wild island.
Bougle Run
A wickedly fun fourteen hole short course in the dunes at Barnbougle, all par 3s of real variety and beauty. The perfect dusk round after thirty six holes on the big courses, and a favorite of every group that plays it.
Ratho Farm Golf Links
The oldest golf course in Australia, laid out by Scottish settlers in the Midlands village of Bothwell, recently restored to eighteen holes with new work by Crafter and Mogford. Sheep still graze the fairways. A piece of living golf history.
Tasmania Golf Club
A handsome links and parkland course on the cliffs of Barilla Bay near Hobart airport, long the best course in the south of the state and an easy round to fold into a Hobart food and wilderness stay.
Launceston and the north
The northern city of Launceston is the natural hub for a Barnbougle trip, with established parkland clubs of its own and the Tamar Valley vineyards on the doorstep, an easy place to rest a leg between links days.
Designers, opening years and rankings verified June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. King Island is reached by light aircraft and tee times on the marquee links book out well ahead. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking.
When to go
| Season | Conditions | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| December to March | Long, mild days, the most settled coastal weather | The peak window, book lodging and flights early |
| October to November | Spring, fresher and greener, the wildflowers out | Excellent and quieter, pack for changeable weather |
| April | Cooler autumn days, firm fast turf | A fine shoulder month before the season closes |
| June to August | Cold, wet and short on daylight | The off season, save it for another year |
This is links golf at the edge of the Roaring Forties. Wind and a passing squall are part of the day in any month, so pack waterproofs and play the ball low.
Indicative costs
| Item | Indicative 2026 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Barnbougle green fee | Around AUD 175 to AUD 260 | Per round on Dunes or Lost Farm, lower for a second round |
| King Island green fee | Around AUD 180 to AUD 250 | Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes, plus the light aircraft fare |
| A week, all in | Around £2,500 to £4,500 per person | Lodging, several rounds, inter island flights, excluding international airfare |
Indicative third party figures for the 2026 season, shown to set expectations only. We are a guide, not an operator, and never quote our own pricing. Always confirm directly before booking.
Getting there and around
Most golfers fly into Launceston, the northern Tasmanian city served from Melbourne and Sydney, and reach Barnbougle by an easy hour's drive along the coast to Bridport. King Island is the logistical puzzle and the reward: it sits out in the Bass Strait and is reached by a short scheduled flight from Melbourne, Launceston or Burnie, with the two links a short transfer from the airstrip. A typical trip pairs a few nights at Barnbougle with a couple on King Island, then perhaps a swing south to Hobart for Tasmania Golf Club and the food scene. A planner ties the small island flights and the tee times together so the days line up.
Where to stay
At Barnbougle the lodging is on site, from the dunes cottages and the Lost Farm lodge to the clubhouse rooms, so you can roll from breakfast to the first tee. On King Island the accommodation is simple and the appeal is the golf and the wild island itself, with a handful of comfortable lodges near the courses. Around Hobart and Launceston the choice widens to boutique hotels and vineyard stays. Book the Barnbougle lodging and the King Island flights well ahead for the December to March peak, and let one planner sequence the islands so nothing is left to chance.
Plan your Tasmania golf trip
Tell us the courses you want and roughly when. One concierge handles the island flights and the tee times, costs the whole trip to the head, and replies within one working day, with no obligation.
Tasmania golf questions
When is the best time to play golf in Tasmania?
October to April is the season, the southern hemisphere spring through autumn, with the long, mild days of December to March the most reliable for the coast. Tasmania is a links climate, so wind and a passing shower are part of the experience in any month. Winter, June to August, is cold and wet and the daylight short.
Is Tasmanian golf worth the long journey?
For a serious golfer, yes. Barnbougle Dunes and Lost Farm and the two King Island links at Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes are routinely ranked among the best modern courses in the world, built on wild, treeless dunes hard against the Bass Strait. There is nothing like this quality of links golf elsewhere in the southern hemisphere, and the courses are public, walkable and free of crowds.
How do you get to Barnbougle and King Island?
Barnbougle is about an hour from Launceston airport on Tasmania's northeast coast, an easy drive from the city. King Island sits in the Bass Strait and is reached by a short scheduled flight from Melbourne, Launceston or Burnie. Most trips combine the two, and a planner sequences the rounds and the small island logistics so nothing is left to chance.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Barnbougle tee times, King Island flights and the best windows for southern hemisphere links. Every other week.