Cape Wickham King Island

[Padraig Dooley]

The day after Ocean Dunes was Mike DeVries' Cape Wickham. Weather abated as the round went on, so a little kinder then Ocean Dunes.

Opening tee shot



Approach to the first



Par 3 3rd



Approach to the 4th



Looking across to the 1st from the 4th



Approach to the 5th (I think!)



Second shot to the par 5 6th



Looking down to the 6th green



Second shot to the par 5 9th



Approach to the 9th



The author playing a punch to the wonderful downhill 10th



The par 3 11th



Approach to the 12th



The 12th green from the 6th tee



Tee shot at 14, wonderful punchbowl green



A copperhead just off the 16th tee, loads of warnings about snakes!



Approach to the 16th



Par 3 17th with the 18th in the distance



18th



Beach is in play!

[Greg Gilson]

Padraig, nice photos. Thanks for making the journey & for sharing the memories.

[Peter Pallotta]

Thank you, Padraig - the photos gave me a tingly feeling all over, and I could almost feel the wind in my face. I've only played one of Mike D's courses (the Mines), obviously much different in every way than CW. But I do notice a similarity in what Mike does with the green openings/fronts; there is almost always something subtly clever and/or deceptive about them. 
Peter

[Alan Ritchie]

Sensational pics.. I was thinking the other day how the course compares to barnbougle or lost farm.


To those who have played them all, which one do you rate most highly and why?

[Greg Gilson]

Alan, I run a boutique (= small) golf travel company. We send quite a few golfers (100/year+/-) to Barney & have had 4 or 5 groups (30 golfers +/-) do the trip to KI. Informal feedback from retail golfers would be:


Barnbougle Dunes & Lost Farm are great fun & a great experience
Cape Wickham a notch above because a touch more playable & because of WOW factor (views)
Ocean Dunes preferred above Cape Wickham by the pros we send to host our groups


Personally I have not played OD but judges I trust regard it a competent backup (at least) to CW. I have said before in this forum that I am pessimistic about the long term future for KI as a golf destination:


- the playing season is short and conditions are extreme
-flights are EXTREMELY expensive & complicated
-the island lacks for service culture & higher end hotels/restaurants


Unlike Barney's history so far, I think KI will really struggle for repeat business. All the more reason to get there sooner rather than later.

[Padraig Dooley]

Sensational pics.. I was thinking the other day how the course compares to barnbougle or lost farm.


To those who have played them all, which one do you rate most highly and why?

They're all fantastic.

Would say Barnbougle, Lost Farm and Cape Wickham would be my preference but would like to play them a few more times to judge!

Ocean Dunes was the least favoured by our group, the general consensus was that even though there are great holes the routing was a little disjointed. There was similar thoughts amongst the other groups that were playing when we were down there. There was a few that just played Cape Wickham and not Ocean Dunes when they went to King Island.   

[Thomas Dai]

Thanks for posting Padraig. What a trip you must have had.


Based on your photos there are some outstanding looking holes at CW. One nice detail I spotted is the tiny little upslope/mound at the front edge of the 5th green - to the left of the pin in the photo of a green you term "Approach to the 5th (I think)" - such a small feature, with no maintenance impact, yet with effect on playability.


I'm not so keen on that copperhead however, so I hope someone called Padraig duly banished all snakes from this and all other Southern Ocean islands!


Atb

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

OD had not opened when I was there but I did go out and have an extended walk of the property
Certainly a good course to play and a very good reason to also travel to KI.
I agree w its Greg on the future, but the absolute brilliance of Cape Wickham makes me believe that it will survive...it is REALLY that good.
The more you look at think about the routing and layout the more I think it is one of those places that will continue to rise in " rankings" but irrespective of that political process it is wonderful.


Barnbougle is a very special place, the caliber of the entire experience with quality of service etc..is up there with Bandon  and the caliber of courses equal to that venue.
I will certainly make the return trip and look forward to it

[Jim Tang]

Thanks for posting. Fantastic.


Just how extreme is the weather/wind on King Island?  How long will their season be?

[Padraig Dooley]

Thanks for posting. Fantastic.


Just how extreme is the weather/wind on King Island?  How long will their season be?

We played there at the start of November and it was a bit wild but the spring weather was unsettled so it mightn't be indicative of the normal weather. I can't imagine it would be any worse then the West of Ireland where golf can be played year round.

[Matthew Schulte]

Thanks for posting. Fantastic.


Just how extreme is the weather/wind on King Island?  How long will their season be?

Jimbo:

I hope all is well with you!  Cape Wickham is very exposed on the northern tip of King Island.  It is one of the most spectacular settings I have ever seen.  It blew more than 25 MPH both days I was there.  A small sample size to be sure, but I imagine it is always at least breezy. 

I would say Barnbougle, Cape Wickham, Lost Farm would be my preference.  We walked but did not play Ocean Dunes as it wasn't yet open.  From just walking it, I thought the fairways at Ocean Dunes seemed a bit narrow.  I wouldn't want to spend too much time searching for balls off the fairways given the poisonous snake population on the island.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Personally I have not played OD but judges I trust regard it a competent backup (at least) to CW. I have said before in this forum that I am pessimistic about the long term future for KI as a golf destination:

- the playing season is short and conditions are extreme
-flights are EXTREMELY expensive & complicated
-the island lacks for service culture & higher end hotels/restaurants

Unlike Barney's history so far, I think KI will really struggle for repeat business. All the more reason to get there sooner rather than later.

Isn't all of the above also true for Bandon and Cabot Links but they dealt with the problems and are thriving regardless of these issues.  Of course the difference may be that there are 360 million people in North America compared to a fraction of that amount in Aus?NZ.

[Greg Gilson]

Wayne, you hit the main nail on the head. 


However, the other issues (extreme weather*, lack of facilities, poor customer service standards)  apply even more to KI than the others IMHO.


*I know Bandon & esp Inverness aren't Hawaii. However, KI is basically a small rock in the middle of Bass Strait. The ferocity of the weather can be extreme


PS. I hope I am wrong. I love the course I have seen & trust the reports I have read on OD. I am in awe of the balls shown by the investors. They are probably much smarter than me & I hope they are reading a different set of tea leaves.

[Matthew Mollica]

Wickham is exposed. Not a month goes by where the wind doesn't hit 60mph at some point. The weekend before last the weather down there was divine. Guys playing in short sleeves, in a 2 club wind. Today, the start of our second week of summer, the weather around lunch time was 1/4 inch of rain since sunrise, 50mph NW wind gusts meaning the 60F temps actually felt like 40F. Having said that, most golfers I know don't go out there to sunbathe. The course is wonderful, as we all know. The setting spectacular. The experience is epic. The course is public access, and the green fee, in world terms, is modest.

They are planning to be closed from June 15 to September 15. On-course accommodation is now open, which makes things easier.


A shameless plug to my own thread on the course earlier this year.
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,62850.msg1495984.html#msg1495984

[David Davis]

Cape Wickham looks awesome. I hope all these threats of windy conditions from you guys don't let me down in February when I make my maiden visit.


With my luck it will be 85 degrees and benign conditions. I'd be disappointed with anything less than 25 mph. Fingers crossed. 

[Tim Gallant]

Padraig,


Wonderful photos, and thank you for sharing. Is that really OB just left of the 12th green? Seems awfully narrow with no option to take a safer line due to the thick rough on the right. Curious how playable you found it, particularly in windy conditions?

[Brian Walshe]

Tim,


I'm not sure left of 12 is OOB, I think the ropes are there to stop people falling off the edge of what is a pretty steep slope.  The hole isn't long and is drivable.  What works  well about the hole is that the further you lay back the more room you have.  Perhaps similar to the likes of 3 at Kingston Heath it tends to be 4/5 iron or driver.  Anything in between the two and the reward doesn't justify the added risk.  It does get tight at around 3 wood length and probably more so for any righthanders that fade it.

[Padraig Dooley]

Padraig,


Wonderful photos, and thank you for sharing. Is that really OB just left of the 12th green? Seems awfully narrow with no option to take a safer line due to the thick rough on the right. Curious how playable you found it, particularly in windy conditions?

As Brian said, I don't think it's OB left of 12, just a rope keeping you away from the cliff edge. Also as Brian said it's a driveable hole so plenty of options to play the hole safely.

Even with the wind on that day there was some searching for balls but not as much as other courses, and after meeting the greenkeeper on the 5th green where he was giving us about a warning of a tiger snake on the 6th tee we were less likely to head into the long grass anyway!

[Matthew Mollica]

A closer look at the left of CW #12 green

[JohnH]

I had the privilege of hearing Mike DeVries speak today at the Detroit Spring Management Meeting conducted by the MiGCSA and thought of this thread. He spoke in great detail (mostly hole by hole) of his restoration at Sewanoy and Cape Wickham. Incredible slides of Wickham as it lay pre-project. Quite a guy who does top notch work in my opinion. Now if I can just play one of his courses.

[BCowan]

I had the privilege of hearing Mike DeVries speak today at the Detroit Spring Management Meeting conducted by the MiGCSA and thought of this thread. He spoke in great detail (mostly hole by hole) of his restoration at Sewanoy and Cape Wickham. Incredible slides of Wickham as it lay pre-project. Quite a guy who does top notch work in my opinion. Now if I can just play one of his courses.

Diamond springs, Pilgrims run, and Greywalls are all outstanding.  No member card to ride that train. 

[David Davis]

Cape Wickham looks awesome. I hope all these threats of windy conditions from you guys don't let me down in February when I make my maiden visit.


With my luck it will be 85 degrees and benign conditions. I'd be disappointed with anything less than 25 mph. Fingers crossed. 

Ironically, of the 3 days I had on King Island. 2 were very windy indeed, I loved it. The last day was literally wind still and shorts and short sleeves and about 75 degrees. So my above post was not far off. I simply spent 3.5 weeks chasing awesome weather around OZ and NZ after being told that they were having the worst summer ever. I didn't notice any of that.


I would also rate things: Barnbougle, Cape Wickham, Lost Farm and then Ocean Dunes. I played 36 at Ocean Dunes and enjoyed it but I felt the greens may be a little too wild and too fast (bent grass) for that very exposed spot. I'd say we had about a 30 mph wind the first day and perhaps in a strange direction as it was behind me on the first tee. It was a course I needed to play a couple times to kind of get and have any idea where to hit it. But I ended up with an opposite wind the second time. Huge difference.


The two courses make for a solid combination there. Cape Wickham is very good but windless its very getable. I made the turn at -4 (14th hole) then chocked away 3 shots on the last holes but it tied my best round ever from Sand Hills of -1 (one under) so can't complain about extreme conditions too much.