Brian, regarding the logo. I take on board that my logo is a lot ‘louder’ and more colourful than most of the fairly staid, conservative, ‘private country club’ kind of imagery we get around the place, but I don’t want to try and create a homage to the links courses of Scotland, or appeal to that private country club set- I’m hoping to create a new and fresh links golf destination, somewhere that is known for its accessibility, affordability and fun. I’m really trying to mix the superbly natural links courses of UK & Eire, which fit so perfectly into the dunes, with the Australian laid back welcome and our surf culture! Tasmania might have the coolest climate in Australia, but its still the same as Spain’s or Northern California’s. When golfers come to Tasmania they won’t get the old secretarys giving them the up and down and fleecing them of half their wallet for a game of golf, the clubhouse sign reading ‘No dogs or women allowed’, nor will they have to don rain gear very often and play through the mist. Don’t get me wrong, when I lived in St. Andrews nothing thrilled me more than going out at dusk and playing in a stiff, freezing breeze as the hargggh rolled in off the sea, or trekking down to Muirfield to silently whisper in the dining room surrounded by oil paintings of past golfing greats and royalty, but Tasmania will simply never be able to offer that golfing heritage or old world atmosphere. The seaside links courses will be just as special for all the same reasons, but the golfing experience will be just as good for different reasons.
I used to surf when I was young, and I’ve always likened the quest by passionate golfers for hidden gems, for wonderful golf courses in remote locations, to be like the surfer’s search for the perfect wave. What else would put a place like Cruden Bay, Machrihanish, Rosses Point, Cape Breton Nova Scotia, or Bandon on the map? Where the journey to, is part of the experience, to be enriched in a wonderfully natural setting. Whether it be golfing or surfing- you just feel exhilarated to be alive!
I could really go on here, but it is also no coincidence that many of the worlds great dunes are formed where there is great surf! Dunes are like waves, and they are formed by the swell rolling in and depositing sand, which builds itself up over the sea level. Where links golf falls short in comparison with surfing is that surfing is free and for all to share (but is always better when not too crowded), and the natural forms of waves cannot be tampered with by heavy handed developers or designers, unlike some of our great coastlines which have suffered from some unsympathetic golf developments. That is where golf lost some of its soul, when mankind, in its neverending quest to be the master of its own environment, started using bulldozers to build golf courses.
I have said my piece, I’ll now finish watching a Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney film. Us Westerners, we're all the same!
Greg Ramsay
www.barnbougledunes.com‘hear the sounds of the sea,
and the cresting wave
taste the salt on the breeze
on a crisp sunny day
plot your way round the links,
bump’n’run to the flag
and you’ll catch yourself think
‘....i’m alive
and i’m glad’
Ratho, Bothwell, 2002