Cape Wickham: 2026 Access and Booking Update
A decade after it opened beneath the lighthouse on King Island, Cape Wickham still tops the rankings of Australia's public courses and sits inside the world top fifty. Here is where it stands in 2026, how access works, and how to play it.
Photo via Google.
The news: still Australia's finest public course
Cape Wickham Links opened in 2015 as a Mike DeVries and Darius Oliver design laid out along the cliffs, dunes and beach at the northern tip of King Island in Bass Strait, and it announced itself instantly, taking a place near the top of Australia's rankings and inside the world top fifty almost from the day it opened. Into 2026 it remains the most acclaimed public access course in the country, the round that pulls travelling golfers across the strait to a remote island most had never heard of a decade ago.
The headline for 2026 is continuity. The par 72 links still runs hard along the coast, with the closing holes playing right down to the beach beneath the lighthouse, and it continues to welcome visitors who book ahead. There is no gimmick and no need for one: wind, firm fescue turf and one of the most dramatic stretches of golfing coastline anywhere do the work.
The course, and King Island around it
Cape Wickham no longer stands alone on King Island. Its sibling Ocean Dunes, a Graeme Grant design on the island's west coast, gives King Island a genuine two course draw and turns a long trip into a proper golf destination rather than a single round. Few islands anywhere offer this much clifftop links golf within a short drive.
What sets Wickham apart is the routing's relationship with the sea. The course wraps around a beach and rises onto the headland by the lighthouse, so the ocean is in play or in view on most holes, and the wind off Bass Strait can change the round entirely from morning to afternoon. It is a walking links best understood over more than one round, when the shifting conditions reveal the design in full. The detail sits on our Cape Wickham Links course page.
How to play it in 2026
Cape Wickham welcomes visitors on weekdays and weekends, but it must be booked in advance, and the remoteness rewards a stay rather than a flying visit. The resort runs sixteen onsite cabins with Southern Ocean views, and guests booking an onsite stay can play all day for the price of eighteen holes, which makes a multi night trip the value play as well as the practical one. Motorised carts are limited and must be reserved ahead.
King Island is reached by short flights from Melbourne and Tasmania, so the smart 2026 itinerary builds in a couple of nights, pairs Wickham with Ocean Dunes, and ideally extends to the Barnbougle links in Tasmania for a full Bass Strait tour. Green fees sit at the premium resort end and move with season and package, so treat any quoted figure as indicative for 2026 and always confirm directly before booking.
Our take
Our take is that Cape Wickham is essential for any golfer serious about links architecture and willing to travel for it. The course earns its ranking on merit, and the journey to reach it is part of the reward: this is a destination you commit to, repaid by some of the most thrilling clifftop links golf in the world.
For 2026 the advice is to give King Island several days, stay onsite to unlock the all day golf, play Wickham more than once and add Ocean Dunes, and you come away understanding why this corner of Bass Strait now sits on every serious golfer's list. Our Australia golf hub and the best golf courses in Australia list set the wider trip in context.
Plan your King Island and Tasmania golf trip
From Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes on King Island to the Barnbougle links in Tasmania, tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge builds and costs the trip, working the right channels, with no obligation.
Questions
Who designed Cape Wickham Links and when did it open?
Cape Wickham Links was designed by Mike DeVries and Darius Oliver and opened in 2015, laid out along the cliffs, dunes and beach at the northern tip of King Island in Bass Strait. It is a par 72 links and is consistently ranked as Australia's finest public access course and inside the world top fifty.
Can anyone play Cape Wickham, and how do you book?
Yes. Cape Wickham is a public access course that welcomes visitors on weekdays and weekends, but tee times must be booked in advance. The resort also runs sixteen onsite cabins, and guests booking an onsite stay can play all day for the price of eighteen holes. Carts are limited and must be reserved ahead, so book early.
When is the best time to play Cape Wickham?
King Island plays best through the southern spring, summer and autumn, when daylight is longer and conditions milder, though the links is exposed to Bass Strait wind year round. Reach the island by short flights from Melbourne or Tasmania, and plan a multi night stay so you can play more than once and add Ocean Dunes.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts, rankings and access verified June 2026 from club, ranking panel and golf travel sources; conditions, access and green fees change, so always confirm directly before booking. Last reviewed June 2026.