GOLF TRAVEL
Lost Farm Found
This brand-new Tasmanian track, sister course of the much-heralded Barnbougle Dunes, has the potential to be a world beater, writes Paul Myers
A Player’s Guide
F
inally, the question antipodean gofers and worldwide aficionados of the game have long been asking can be tackled: will The Lost Farm, the sister course of the renowned Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania, be as good as its older sibling? The answer is an emphatic yes – at least as good and maybe better. Time will tell, but it would come as no surprise to find this brand-new layout sitting comfortably inside the top 50 courses whenever the next global rankings are released.
Seaside stunner: Coore and Crenshaw's Lost Farm takes advantage of a wonderful site hard by Tasmania's rugged coastline. Photo by Paul Myers 78
HK Golfer・DEC 2010/JAN 2011
HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・DEC 2010/JAN 2011
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GETTING THERE The nearby town of Bridport is 50 miles away from Launceston, the state capital and Tasmania's main gateway. Car hire is available from Launceston airport, but by far the quickest and most stylish way to get to The Lost Farm is by charter flight direct to the club's airstrip from Melbourne – Vortex Air (vortexair.com.au) fly direct from Moorabbin municipal airport (55 minutes). Launceston has direct flights from both Sydney and Melbourne.
par 72, one more than Barnbougle Dunes, which is an entirely upwind-downwind course with two distinct nine holes on either side of the clubhouse. In this respect, The Lost Farm is more varied. Skirting around the lodge, restaurant and spa perched high on soaring sand dunes overlooking the ocean, it plays up, down and cross wind and goes from dramatic holes carved between the dunes to flat, wide fairways adjoining the river flats. The heavily undulating bent and fescue fairways and greens largely reflect natural contours. The most dramatic hole is the long par-4 fifth alongside the Great Forester River that separates the two courses. From the tee, the green can be seen right on the river’s edge, with straight-line access to the fairway blocked by a huge marram grass-covered sand dune. For big hitters it’s a 275-yard carry to the fairway over the dune from the back tees or, for mortals, the hole is played as a stern dogleg right. There are many other great holes – the par-3 fourth and 15th that both play along the oceanfront are standouts. And the par-4 18th back to the clubhouse from an oceanside tee is as good a finishing hole as you’ll find. At $A98 (approximately HK$740) or an allday rate of $A130 (HK$985) for either course, Barnbougle Dunes and The Lost Farm are great value, and on-site accommodation is available from $A150 (HK$1,135) per person. But be warned: these are mandatory walking courses, without drink stations along the way. This is pure golf as the game was originally intended.
Courtesy of Barnbougle Dunes
Sister act: Now with 36 world-class holes, the small town of Bridport has become a fullyfledged golfing hub.
Once you see and play this rugged, windswept track, which officially opens on December 10, you’ll know why. Like adjacent Barnbougle Dunes, Australia’s top public-access course which sits on a narrow stretch of sand dunes separating Bass Strait from river flats just a few hundred metres away, The Lost Farm is built on the type of perfect links land rarely found outside the British Isles. Architects Bill Coore and business partner, the 1995 US Masters winner Ben Crenshaw, are no strangers to creating ultimate links-like layouts. Last year, their Sand Hills layout in Nebraska was named by an American publication as the best new course built in the past 50 years. Barnbougle Dunes, designed by Tom Doak and opened in 2004, came in fifth. Apart from this pedigree by association, The Lost Farm captures all the drama, nuances and appeal of a natural sand dune links landscape. And when the elements come into play – especially an often-stiff wind blowing straight off the sea – you could be excused for thinking that here in northeast Tasmania you have been spirited over 10,000 miles away to the eastern Scottish seaboard. In one sense, it’s a quirky course because there are actually 20 holes. When owner, Richard Sattler, a one-time potato farmer, was asked by Bill Coore to choose 18 of 20 holes on the master plan, he decided to build them all. Consequently, there are two extra par 3s – 13a and 18a – which can be played during a normal round. The other 18 holes make the course a standard
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HK Golfer・DEC 2010/JAN 2011
HKGOLFER.COM