Cape Wickham Links
Located on the north coast of King Island, in Tasmania, Cape Wickham is ranked as Australia's #1 modern golf course, and #1 public access golf course.
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The course was developed by Duncan Andrews.
“Darius Oliver first contacted me in 2011 about a project he wanted me to tackle in Tasmania. Over a period of two years Darius kept phoning me about this site for a new golf course on King Island. At the time I knew Darius quite well and also knew he was a man that used measured language. So when he kept insisting to me that the site he had found at Cape Wickham was possibly the best site he had ever seen for a golf course I listened. Darius has probably seen more great golf courses than anyone I know. Nevertheless, I could not help feeling he was probably exaggerating a bit.
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Eventually I capitulated to his entreaties to visit his site, at least look at it. To cut a long story short I did and I was stunned. He was not exaggerating. I was tempted but the problem of building a golf course from scratch on a remote island was daunting. Finally I decided to follow the old maxim – I did not want to die wondering if I could create a golf course that would rank among the World’s Top 100. The site at Cape Wickham demanded nothing less.
I employed Darius to help me with the mass of detail necessary to get the approvals and get the changes I needed at Cape Wickham to make the concept an economic proposition. This included acquiring additional land; dealing with the Tasmanian environmental department; obtaining approval from The Tasmanian Government to use the foreshore for golf; employing a US based course architect, because world golf rankings are US centric and it might stretch credibility that a couple of people in Victoria (i.e. Darius and me) could create a serious world class golf course. On top of this Darius was to assist on the architectural merits of the layout, its routing and each golf hole.
It transpired that the US course architect we employed was a disappointment, and I took the difficult decision to remove him from the project. This was in the spring of 2013. We had built holes 1, 2 and 3 but while the routing was correct these holes lacked that something special that the land deserved. I then took the decision that Darius would design each golf hole, and we would operate with a committee of four – Darius, me, Andrew Purchase (Construction Manager) and John Geary (Superintendent).
I was probably the core person because I owned 100% of the project, but Darius was the key man. He made it happen despite having had limited experience in this role beforehand. Our team all worked extremely well together without the disputes that so often inflict these sorts of projects. The results reflected this.
Golf Digest USA ranked Cape Wickham, when it opened in 2016, at number 24 in the World. Darius was largely responsible for this amazing accolade. Cape Wickham is now ranked the number 2 course in Australia by every serious golf course commentator. Darius is also the current course design consultant at The Dunes Golf Links and at Thirteenth Beach. That is because I think he is simply first class. Yes, his language and manner remain reserved and moderate, but under the calm exterior there is a magnificent golf brain and I am lucky to be able to benefit from it.”
Duncan Andrews, developer Cape Wickham Links (2022)
My involvement at Cape Wickham dates back to 2011, when I first visited King Island and saw the remarkable stretch of coastline. The question that immediately popped into my mind, was would golfers travel to King Island if you put a course like Cypress Point on that site – and made it public access?
I believed they would, and worked tirelessly for several years on the approval process, and then on the design of the course.
While not suggesting that Cape Wickham is in the same league as Cypress Point, I do believe that our site is as close to the MacKenzie masterpiece as any in golf – and that our holes can at least hold their heads high when directly compared.
While the routing of Cape Wickham involved collaboration between developer Duncan Andrews, myself and American Mike DeVries, most of the holes were built to my design and shaped by Lindsay Richter. Having seen the best and worst of the world’s coastal sand dune courses, I agonised over every single green, bunker and fairway at Wickham and strove, first and foremost, to avoid making the common mistakes I had seen elsewhere.
Aside from a couple of greens, such as 6, 10, 12 and 17, our site didn’t need ‘bold’ design. We deliberately kept things quiet in certain areas, knowing the site was breathtaking to start with, and the holes alone were thrilling enough without being too clever, too busy – or adding ‘eye-catching’ design features.
Though proud of all the holes at Cape Wickham, I’m particularly fond of lesser lights like 5, 7 and 13, which I believe are under-appreciated because of the company they keep. Each would be a standout hole anywhere else, and are among the most interesting on the course to play regularly. Both the 5th and 13th change massively when the wind shifts, and require a completely different playing strategy according to the conditions.
Cape Wickham remains a career highlight. Although few sites are as spectacular, the course does showcase my minimalistic design tendencies, as well as the benefits of a more British influenced design mindset. The modern trend toward expansive sandy wastelands, huge bunkers and expensive maintenance regimes is at odds with how many of the best old-school links are arranged.
I think Cape Wickham proves that local designers, developers and shapers are capable of creating world-class golf. Trends come and go in this game, but old school golf course design values will endure.
Photo The Henebrys
Photo Jacob Sjoman
View from 18th fairway. Photo Jacob Sjoman
Photo The Henebrys