By Ann McAllister
If you’re in a window seat, you get your first hint of wonder and anticipation as the flight swoops down over Dent Island and Hamilton Island Golf Club in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef.
The scenery is spectacular and Dent Island is a fantastic setting for a golf course. Fairways are strung along ridges and steep valleys and even from the air, you can see the thrilling changes in elevation, the dense bushland, secluded coves and beaches, and the adjacent passages of the Whitsunday islands and coral reefs.
Designed by legendary Australian Peter Thomson, the 18-hole, par-71 is a 10-minute ferry ride from neighbouring Hamilton Island – and is part of a private 100 per cent Australian-owned island resort. The course has hosted eight PGA Club Championships.
GOLF: The Hamilton Island Golf Club course is suitable for all levels of golfer – from keen amateurs to experienced professionals. There are two distinctly different nine-hole circuits – both of which return to the central clubhouse. The course layout works with the natural landform – with generally broad fairways taking the line of least resistance. The fairways are literally carved out of the rugged landscape.
The conventional outward holes of the front nine have a more compact layout and are in a series of valleys. If it’s windy the front nine is more protected. The back nine are strung along the ridges to the south and the 13th is the highest at the top of the island. From the 11th, you can see the passage to Whitsunday Island, Hook and Hayman islands and South Molle – with Daydream in behind. To the south, you can see Lindeman Island.
It is a tough course. For those willing to take the challenge, you can expect wicked winds, impenetrable bushland and restricted landing areas. As soon as you’re off the fairways, you are immediately into the native areas of the national park and surrounded by Hoop Pine, Pandanus, Grass Trees and massive granite rocks.
Course superintendent Brad Hole works to keep the course manicured within the limited footprint allocated as part of the construction, which was a feat in itself. There is extensive heritage on the island and he can’t change the areas of rough, the fairways or the design. The designers were set the challenge of not allowing the holes to be visible through the Whitsunday passage – so the whales can’t see the course. They did a magic job. If you’re on a boat sailing past, you can’t see it either.
Planning began in 1992 and the course was opened in 2009. It took eight years to get planning and design approvals and then three years to construct. It was a $50 million build. Brad started six weeks before the opening and is one of four people living on Dent Island. He has been superintendent for 14 years.
“It’s a great job,” he said. “Hamilton Island Golf Club is the only golf course in Australia on its own island. There is planning approval for additional accommodation, but that would turn us into a resort on an island, with a golf course. At the moment, we are a golf course on our own island, which is super special.
We are a destination and on many a bucket list.
“The course can be difficult to maintain, but it has matured over the years. We are all strongly committed to preserving the pristine environment of the world’s largest protected marine area – the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park,” says Brad.
“The grass areas look gorgeous, and you’d think you’d be able to wander through, but it’s thick and dense and the ground is uneven.
“We don’t cut the fairways crazy short because we want to limit the run and we don’t want too many balls rolling off into the national park. In certain areas, we’ve reduced the rough to limit the roll off.
“We get plenty of golfers who tell us, once they’ve played it and gained an understanding, they need to come back and play it again. We suggest if you’re new to the game, you’ll need around three dozen balls for 18 holes to keep the game going.
“We have golf balls on the drinks buggy, and we often sell another dozen to golfers after they’ve played the first nine holes. Titleist do very well out of us.”
Three sets of tees are referred to as Hoop Pine, Pandanus and Grass Tree – named after three native trees of differing heights. The course is challenging from the back tees, and more predictable from the forward marks. What you play off is a choice for each golfer.
The course is 11km to walk and it’s one kilometre from the end of the 17th to the start of the 18th. This was to effectively utilise the land for the perfect hole back to the clubhouse. A golf buggy is essential.
SIGNATURE HOLES: According to Brad, people talk about the 14th and call it ‘the Valley of Death.’ It’s part of a stretch of three holes to the 16th right out on the point of the island: a par-3, par-4 and another par-3. They offer magnificent views of the surrounding Whitsunday islands.
“They are a pretty special three holes. Every hole has water views and to select one is tough.”
The 14th requires courage and instinct, and the breeze is as influential on club selection as the distance. It’s played to an elevated target, with bunkers surrounding the green on three of the four sides. This shot needs to be perfect to find the putting surface.
The bail out, if there is one, is to the left of the green where a relatively easy pitch and putt will follow. Anything short or right off the tee will need to be reloaded, as (in my case) the chances of playing from the trees was nil.
The 15th is a long downhill par-4 and playing into the prevailing wind is the reward for those who can hit a low ball. Although a generous landing area, the tee shot is played from an elevated tee and falls some 20m. A bunker located 230m on the right-hand side of the fairway is the last salvation for any ball catching the wind and heading west.
The second calls for a long accurate shot under the wind to a large green protected by two bunkers on the right and then, careful reading of the wind is required for the shot into the green.
Turning for home with Hamilton Island to the right and the clubhouse in the distance, the 16th offers no respite. It’s an elevated tee shot that plays over a steep escarpment to a plateau green with a small pot bunker on the front right.
With just a couple of majestic rock relics poking out of the surface to the right of the green, wind plays a pivotal role and only shots ending up on the green or short with remain in play. This hole is one of the most spectacular on the course.
Brad’s favourite is the fourth.
He says, you can be standing on the tee at certain times of the year and watch the humpback whales breaching as they migrate north from their feeding grounds in Antarctica. They travel along the east coast to the north of the Great Barrier Reef where they give birth and mate, before returning home.
“In the whale season, I’ve been up there and seen pods of whales heading north through to the Whitsundays. It’s mostly during June and July or when they’re returning south between August and October. There is a private beach you can see down below and it’s something special. The beach isn’t accessible – it’s at the bottom of a cliff – but it’s an impressive view.”
The fourth is the first of the par-3s and in windy conditions, it’s one of the most treacherous on the course. You might be protected at ground level, but the wind rushes up the side of the rocks and you’ll find when the ball is 20 feet above you, it will do things you didn’t expect. It plays across a valley to a large, angled green which sits on a ridge with spectacular views of Long Island. It’s framed by a rocky outcrop to the right of the target. If you’re short and left on this one, your ball will be gone forever.
TEE TIMES: The ferry timetable breaks up the tee sheet organically – as the ferry comes across at the top of every hour from 8am. Mostly, six tee times are booked from 9am, 10am and 11am. Transfers up to the clubhouse take a few minutes so by the time the first group is organised and teeing off, the next group is arriving.
Groups feel like they have the whole course to themselves.
The last tee time for 18 holes is at 12.30pm. After that, bookings are for nine holes, which often includes groups who come for lunch and tee off at about 2pm. The pressure is on to be finished by the last ferry at 4.30pm.
Forty buggies are booked on most days and around 80 golfers play.
THE CLUBHOUSE: The contemporary clubhouse includes a welcome hand towel from friendly staff, a stunning view and a glorious restaurant. The lunch menu is inspired by fresh, local and seasonal produce.
Indoor and outdoor seating offers an opportunity to relax with a cool or hot drink before or after golf … or while friends or family play. Often, families with children arrive for morning tea while a partner plays the first nine, or a parent will come over and play, and the family will arrive for lunch. The club is very supportive of this idea and promotes a family friendly venue.
The restaurant doesn’t open at night.
PRO SHOP: Apparel in the Golf Club Pro Shop carries the Hamilton Island Golf Club logo. The pro shop doesn’t provide hardware, but it does have clubs, golf shoes and golf shirts for hire. The choice includes top of the line Titleist clubs – stiff shaft options with Scotty Cameron putters.
BUCKET LIST OPTION: You can arrive by helicopter and staff will have a golf buggy and clubs waiting. The option is available from Hamilton Island airport, Airlie Beach or Hayman Island.
Brad talks enthusiastically about weddings on the course and says “it’s a stunning location”.
“We do it late afternoon as the sun’s going down – usually on one of the back nine holes. We line up the golf buggies and bring the guests out.
“We have the service on the green or the fairway and we have the helicopter arriving with the bride or the bride and groom on the tee. And then a procession of golf buggy back to the clubhouse for the celebration.”
BEST TIMES TO TEE OFF: May to November – particularly during the Victorian or the NSW winter. The wet season is from January to March, but you still get the island breeze when hot.
FACT FILE
Hamilton Island Golf Club
Par-71
Designer: Peter Thomson/Ross PerrettGreen fees: Nine holes – $135; 18 holes – $195
(includes GPS fitted golf buggy and return Hamilton Island transfers)
Club hire: $55 per person
Shoe hire: $15 per person
Email: golf@hamiltonisland.com.au
www.hamiltonislandgolfclub.com.au
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