Cape Wickham Links

Overview: Cape Wickham Links occupies the northern coast of King Island in Tasmania, where the Bass Strait, coastal dunes and Cape Wickham Lighthouse give the course its visual and physical character. Mike DeVries and Darius Oliver routed the eighteen holes through naturally undulating ground, with the sea visible from every hole and the lighthouse appearing as a constant reference point around the property. The course is listed as a 6,726-yard par 72, but wind and the changing firmness of the fescue surfaces can make the effective length vary from one round to the next. Wide landing areas invite a bold line, while dunes, hollows and sloping greens reward a player who chooses the correct side of the hole. The setting is open rather than enclosed, so the wind is part of the strategy and the ground game remains important. Cape Wickham feels like a modern links because the design allows the coastline, sand and weather to shape the experience.

History: Cape Wickham was developed as a collaboration between American architect Mike DeVries and Australian designer Darius Oliver. The official course material records that construction was completed in late 2015. Their approach was to work with the existing coastal contours rather than impose a heavily engineered pattern, using the land around the lighthouse and the shore to create a varied sequence of holes. The course's identity therefore comes from the relationship between the inland dunes and the ocean edge: some holes feel exposed to Bass Strait, while others use rises and hollows to create shelter and different angles. The completed layout established a new golf destination on King Island while keeping the natural scale of the site in view.

Did You Know? Every hole at Cape Wickham has an ocean view, yet no two holes have the same outlook. The route also circles the Cape Wickham Lighthouse, so the same landmark changes position as the golfer moves through the course.