Tasmania - Tasmania - Australia

Hobart we love you! As well as your great golf courses, your restaurants and cosmopolitan feel down at the water frontage at Salamanca bay is outstanding. Today we played No. 83 on Golf Digest Top 100 list - The Tasmanian GC. With recent tree clearing and tweaks to the holes as well as the already beautiful holes such as the glorious par 5 3rd and the breathtaking par 3 11th, this writer sees a move upward in the rankings come February

To declare my intentions early: I love this golf course. I love the smell of the mature eucalypts lining many of the holes; I love the unpretentiousness of the club; I love the long, curving, signature 3rd, the wee tap at the short, downhill par 3 11th and the short par 4 15th; I love the water views from many parts of the course; but most of all I love the variety of holes on offer at this course. Because it is set on and around a promontory there are many different lies on the sloping fairways. Sometimes the ball is above your feet, sometimes below; uphill lies, downhill lies; and with the large mature trees you also have to consider hazards to the ballflight in the air if out of position.

Mostly the conditioning is excellent, but during periods of dry or hot weather the fairways and surrounds sometimes brown off, which affects the look, but doesn't affect the actual layout or playing experience.

Many years ago, Tasmania GC and Royal Hobart GC located near the state capital city were the best courses in the state, but with the two courses at Barnbougle and the two on King Island, it's the north of Tasmania that is the boss now. Especially if you include games at the lovely bush setting course in Ulverstone, the classic Devonport and nicely conditioned Launceston golf clubs.

certainly it would seem the third best course in Tasmania, although obviously well behind the front runners The Tasmanian is a good gold course in its own right only slightly let down by poor fairway conditioning on this visit. Many quality holes and an interesting first three holes with the signature cape style par five third surely being one of the great australian golf holes. The course has many well designed meandering fairways through the trees that are not overly thick and still offer the odd recovery from a misplaced tee shot. Very reminiscent of the course at Newcastle in parts which is certainly a good thing. If it had top class conditioning then it might even sneak a 5 ball rating but not quite at the moment. worth a play if in the Hobart area but if I had a hundred rounds on Tasmania, 95 of them would be divided between the courses at barnbougle.