WORLD heritage golf
RossPerrett
AUSTRALIA can now lay claim
to having a golf course in a World
Heritage Marine Park –possibly a world
first. The recently opened Hamilton
Island Golf Club on the adjacent Dent
Island proves that, with responsible
planning and design, golf has an
exciting future in Australia — despite
the existence of an arguably overly-bureaucratic planning environment,
which is a major bug-bear for the Golf
Development Industry.
It does, however, demand an holistic
commitment to the environment by
the development team — including the
Developer/Owner, the Architect and a
raft of consultants with expertise in a
diverse range of subjects. At Hamilton
Island, the experts covered local
flora and fauna, marine biology, reef
geomorphology, civil engineering, soil
and turf agronomy, naval architecture,
cultural heritage and so on. Apart
from considerable scientific expertise,
determination, patience and financial
resources are fundamental to success.
The story of Dent Island is nearly
20 years in the making and provides
an interesting case study of what
is required to create a special golf
experience. Similar stories could be
told of projects in other countries
where golf has had to prove that it is a
good corporate and environmentally-
responsible citizen. The heady days
between the 1890’s and the 1930’s
— where great golf courses like
Royal County Down, Turnberry,
Sunningdale, Royal Melbourne and
Cypress Point were built without much
fuss or fanfare — are gone forever.
That is not to say we won’t be able
to build courses of their calibre, but
it will take considerably more effort
to get permission to do so and the
strategically-located natural sites are
not readily available.
use of elevated tees with large carries
and the concentration of holes on
ridges and in valleys. Side slopes were
avoided as the slopes were too severe
and would have required massive
earthworks and would have left
unsightly scars. The resulting routing
plan responds well to the contours
and creates two nines of contrasting
character. The front nine is more
conventional with holes concentrated
in a series of valleys whereas the back
nine generally runs along the island’s
central ridge. The course is a 6120m
par- 71 with four par- 3’s and only three
par- 5’s which, given the site’s prevalent
wind, is challenging enough.
Designing a course that could be
enjoyed by golfers of all levels was
non-negotiable in the design brief, yet
difficult to achieve on such a rugged
piece of land. The owners wanted the
course to appeal to the golf purists
as well as tourists, many of whom
would not be accomplished golfers.
To overcome this potential dilemma, it
was decided early on not to present the
course with conventional arrangement
of tees — i.e. championship tee, male
and female tees. Instead alternative tees
offering differing degrees of difficulty
are available to all players and are
referred to as Hoop Pine, Pandanas
and Grass Tree, named after three
prominent trees onsite of differing
heights.
