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paradise lost
It’s been the most eagerly anticipated Australian course in years, drawing interest from around the world. Lost Farm in Tasmania has just opened its doors to an expectant public. Golf Vacations editor Jon Underwood was granted a sneak preview. Course photos by Gary Lisbon.
If you build it, they will come.
This is the ghostly prophecy that prompts Kevin Costner to rip up his cornfield and turn it into a baseball diamond in the film Field of Dreams.
While Richard Sattler bears little resemblance to the Oscar-winning actor (nor has he confessed to hearing voices), he has created something equally remarkable. Having converted a stretch of farmland into a golfing utopia, Sattler now owns two of the best courses in Australia.
And the best news is that anyone can play them. Come they most definitely will.
Since opening in 2004, Barnbougle Dunes has already cemented its place among the top 10 courses in Australia. But the talk about Lost Farm has been even greater, with Barnbougle co-designer Mike Clayton predicting it will challenge for the coveted title of Australia’s best course.
Golf Vacations was invited to play the course just before the official opening in December and can report that it certainly lives up to those lofty expectations. Lost Farm will definitely give Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, New South Wales and all the usual suspects a run for their money.
Lost Farm was designed by the American team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, who was looking for the ideal piece of land on which to create his magnum opus. Once he saw this strip of land near Bridport in north-east Tasmania, he knew his search was over.
One of Coore’s ambitions at Lost Farm was to replicate some of the best holes in world golf. Add a hotel to the right of the monstrously difficult par-4 fifth and you’ve got the Road Hole at St. Andrews. A touch of water and some azaleas on the par-3 sixth and hey presto, it’s the 12th at Augusta. And so it goes on.
Like most links-style courses, wind makes or breaks the golfing challenge. One of the main reasons Tiger Woods was able to bring St Andrews to its knees in the 2000 British Open was because of the lack of wind (Tiger’s final score of 19-under remains a record for all four majors). Lost Farm was designed to be played in the prevailing north-westerly wind but with holes running to all points of the compass, and Tasmania’s unpredictable weather, no two rounds are likely to be the same.
Truth be told, I didn’t play the course at its windy worst. I’m sure in bad weather Lost Farm can be a right pig but I found it a little sheepish.
That’s not to say I didn’t appreciate some of the best golf holes I’ve ever seen. The downhill, 105-metre, par-3 fourth is destined to become the signature hole, and not just because it’s called Sally’s Point after Sattler’s wife.
With a deserted beach to the right, Barnbougle Dunes and Bridport in the distance, and a river on the left, you’ll be standing on the tee for a very long time, admiring the view before selecting a club. But it’s well worth taking your time because it could be anything from a wedge to a mid-iron, depending on the wind direction. Just try not to dig up too much of the tees…they cost $80,000 to build.
Those lucky enough to have played the fifth are effusive in their praise. One visiting American scribe who has tackled the top 100 courses in the world called it the best par four on the planet. Augusta National and St Andrews take note.
The 380-metre par-4 is stroke index one on the card and from the back tees (there are four varieties on offer) you can only see a narrow strip of fairway ahead. But you actually have to gird your loins and smack the ball straight over the top of a 30-metre high sand dune to have any chance of getting home in two. A superbly conceived and designed hole that will terrify and electrify in equal measure.
While debate will rage long and hard about the best hole, my personal favourite is the 240-metre, par-4 14th. It’s a great driving hole, with an elevated tee affording sea views and a narrow, two-tiered, raised green waiting below. With the right wind conditions, this is a very driveable par four but beware the classic risk-and-reward element. Miss right and your ball will disappear in a dense clump of the marram grass that was planted all over Lost Farm to prevent the sand dunes from eroding. Go left and you’ll face a daunting shot up and over the steep bank of a green that’s no more than 10 paces wide.
Special mention must also go to the par-3 15th, which is another contender for signature hole, while the finish at 17 and 18 is brutal. The former is a 155-metre uphill par three with a cavernous bunker at the front and a marram-tussocked grave on the right, while the par-4 finishing hole runs 365-metres and into the wind is virtually unreachable in two.
In an interview with Golf Vacations (July-Sep 2010), Sattler said: “The aim is to create something that compliments the serene beauty of the Tasmanian coastline.”
There’s no doubt Lost Farm is a beauty…but I’d hate to see it when it’s a beast.
at a glance
Getting there: Based at Moorabin Airport in Melbourne, Vortex Air provide direct charters to Barnbougle Dunes. For more information, phone (03) 8586 7474 or visit www.vortexair.com.au
Green fees: Lost Farm. $AU98. Barnbougle Dunes. $AU98. All day rate $AU130.
Accommodation: Lost Farm. 30 rooms, ranging from one queen bed per room to two queen beds per room. A further 20 rooms will be added by mid-year. Rates from $AU150 per single.
Barnbougle Dunes. Cottages offering single, double/twin, triple and quad share, and villa accommodation. From $AU150 to $AU800 a night.
For more information, call (03) 6356 0094, email info@barnbougledunes.com.au or visit www.barnbougledunes.com.au or www.discovertasmania.com
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