News:

Welcome to the Golf Club Atlas Discussion Group!

Each user is approved by the Golf Club Atlas editorial staff. For any new inquiries, please contact us.


David Davis

  • Karma: +0/-0
King Island - future golf mecca?
« on: March 02, 2017, 05:32:17 AM »
I just returned from an adventure down under and one of the items I've been discussing with friends is King Island and the excellent courses there. I was fortunate to have multiple plays at Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes and agree with most of what I've read and various people have commented. For all of us I would suggest these are must visit locations even though they are far away and tough to get to if you live outside of Australia/New Zealand.


I believe I was very lucky as I saw the courses on different days in varying wind conditions. Two days of what I'd call serious wind from opposite directions and the last day at Cape Wickham with literally no wind at all. I'm not sure how rare it is that they have benign conditions on King Island but that felt strange to me.


There is serious talk about more courses on the island and that leads to the question of whether or not those of you who have made the journey believe it will be a future golf mecca or not? There are most certainly issues on the island with lack of infrastructure to accommodate the crowds, few restaurants and then there are the conditions which were great for my visit but on the other hand many have said they are too extreme in terms of the consistent wind that batters the island.


What does the rest think? Personally I love the place as is but I'm not sure how generally accepted my opinion is, I also love playing in high winds and given my home course do it quite often. That doesn't mean the average golfer would run there to get beat up. Or does it?
Sharing the greatest experiences in golf.

IG: @top100golftraveler
www.lockharttravelclub.com

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +3/-1
Re: King Island - future golf mecca?
« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2017, 08:54:39 AM »
I see it as similar to the Sand Hills of Nebraska.


It's great land for golf, but between the harsh winters / restricted season, and the difficulty of getting there, it's a difficult place for anyone to make money in golf development.  Indeed, to date, no one in the Sand Hills has made any money in golf development.


I'm more skeptical than most because of the little I know about the Australian golf market from my experience at Barnbougle Dunes.  Barnbougle is extremely successful by most people's standards, but they only play between 20,000 and 25,000 rounds per course there, and they believe the customers are very price-sensitive ... it's only a bit over US $100 to play two of the top courses in the world, because Aussies won't pay more.  That tells you that the same customers are influenced by the cost of getting there, and Barnbougle is cheaper to get to than King Island, because the government subsidizes the air connection to Tasmania in some form. 


Also, the Australian market is not a bottomless well of golfers, as in America.  Most of the people who would go to King Island are already going to Barnbougle, as often as they are inclined to go.  As for overseas visitors, they are a tiny fraction of the business ... perhaps 1,000 rounds per year.  They're the gravy, but there's got to be some meat and potatoes underneath, and those would be regular Australian customers.


There may be more courses, just as in the Sand Hills, because there are more people who dream of building a great links course.  Really, the best chance of making money is for an existing project to build a second 18 - because they only have to pay for the additional course, and not much additional infrastructure.  If those guys aren't building more courses themselves, then it's probably a bad move for anyone else.

Thomas Dai

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: King Island - future golf mecca?
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2017, 11:56:48 AM »
How many full-time staff would be working at one of the new King Island courses?
Similarly, what are typical staff levels at clubs in Aussie?
Atb

David Davis

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: King Island - future golf mecca?
« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2017, 12:45:21 PM »
Thomas, I was just told this and for some reason can't remember. However, it was not out of the ordinary. Ie.. they don't need any more staff there than they would on the Aussie mainland.
Sharing the greatest experiences in golf.

IG: @top100golftraveler
www.lockharttravelclub.com

Josh Stevens

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: King Island - future golf mecca?
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2017, 04:03:25 AM »
to draw a US analogy. King island is to Sandhills as Barnbougle is to Pinehurst. There is something for the wife and kids at Barnbougle while King Island is just for tragics

Don Jordan

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: King Island - future golf mecca?
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2017, 03:36:33 AM »
Tom has hit the nail on the head - I am an Aussie in the target market and am struggling to justify a trip to King Island. Being in the middle of Bass Strait makes it difficult to get to and the weather is a higher than average chance to be less than ideal when you get there. I go to Melbourne for a week of golf once a year and it is more economical and plenty of options with Mornington Peninsula or the Surf Coast an easy add on by car. To go further afield NZ and mainland Tasmania have great options and more things to do.

I did some rough calculations and I don't think I would get much change out of $2000 for a short trip without add ons.