AUSTRALIA’S 50 MOST-FUN SHORT COURSES
TASMANIA
BOUGLE RUN
Bougle Run only officially opened for play six months ago and is already regarded as one of the best short courses in the world.
The 14-hole layout – consisting of 12 par-3s and two short par-4s – is already proving as popular as its older siblings, Barnbougle Dunes and Lost Farm.
Designed by Lost Farm creator Bill Coore, Bougle Run is all about fun golf for players of all abilities as it twists and turns over and through dramatic sand dunes.
One of the highlights of a Bougle Run round is the first of the two par-4s. At 253 metres, and slightly downhill, the 4th is easily reachable. The tee shot must carry a scrub-filled chasm to reach the fairway, which is littered with bunkers on a direct line to the receptive right half of the green. You can, however, play left off all the sandy trouble, but it will leave a more difficult short pitch to the flag.
Forward tees, even on the 4th, were specifically created to allow novices and beginners to play the hole with a putter. Brilliant!
Green fee: $70 (14 holes).
FLINDERS ISLAND
Covering rolling and sandy terrain, the Flinders Island course enjoys picturesque views over Bass Strait to the west and the island’s rugged interior to the east.
This links layout is a wonderful design – kneaded and pushed into shape primarily by Mother Nature – that is well-exposed to the wind adding plenty to the challenge. Apparently, the layout – which runs primarily north and south with some sharp doglegs – has only been parred (as 18 holes) once in the past four decades.
Green fee: $15 (nine holes).
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GREENS BEACH GC
Drive as far as you can north of Launceston, on the western side of the Tamar River, and you will eventually roll into the beautiful seaside village of Greens Beach.
Lying in the centre of town is the Greens Beach GC, home to one of Tasmania’s most enjoyable nine-hole courses.
The natural bumps and swales of the terrain laid the foundation for a simple but challenging layout, that is great fun for all players.
Green fee: $25 (day fee).
KING ISLAND G&BC
The King Island Golf and Bowling Club will celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2022, but its only in recent years that it has become more widely appreciated.
The opening of Cape Wickham in 2015 and nearby Ocean Dunes the following year not only put the little Bass Strait island on the global golfing map, it also led a legion of golfers to discover the aforementioned nine-hole links gem.
And what an impression it has made. Long considered one of Australia’s top short courses, King Island G&BC was recently named among the best nine-holers in the world by an American golf publication.
The course – with 12 greens and alternate tees for both nines – covers rolling links land, exposing all its holes to the violent antics of the Southern Ocean’s ‘Roaring Forties’ winds.
The opening two holes set the scene for a fun round. The first drive is blind to a fairway angled away and off to a green set hard against the base of a long sand dune. It’s not by any means the most difficult par-4 you will play but it is a lot of fun.
The same can be said for the 2nd/11th, which plays along the ridge of the aforementioned sand dune. The fairway is wide enough but the player who is too aggressive will watch as their ball bounds off the firm fairway into the rough, only to be left with a difficult shot into the smallish green, which slopes markedly from left-to-right and is cut into the edge of a high dune.
By the time you reach the holes nearest the shoreline, you’ll be trying to work out if
