The Story of Hamilton Island Golf Club

By Quantum, March 10

The Story of Hamilton Island Golf Club

Comprising roughly 1,200 acres, Hamilton Island is one of the largest of the 74 islands in the Whitsunday archipelago, located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. Since 1770, when Captain James Cook and the crew of the H.M.S. Endeavour sailed the length of the reef during the festival of Whit Sunday, the once-uninhabited Hamil­ton Island has been, at various times, a deer ranch, a national park and home to former Beatles member George Harrison.

In the mid-1970s, Keith Williams purchased Hamilton Island with the original plan to turn the island into a massive grazing property. Within a few years those plans were abandoned and by 1982 he had gained government approval to begin development of a marina, commercial airport and resort hotel.

As the popularity of Hamilton Island grew so did the need to expand the offering to tourists. The self-made multi-millionaire developer knew that a quality golf course would add to the tourism value of his resort island but in the years that followed logistics, cost and the politics of constructing a golf course left the proposal a mere pipe-dream.

Flush with cash from the 2001 sale of his wine label Rosemount Estate, Australia’s wealthiest man Robert Oatley acquired Hamilton Island for a reported $179 million in cash and debt with an eye toward building a world-class resort that would be uniquely Australian. In October 2007, he unveiled Qualia, an exquisitely designed complex of Zen-calm pavilions on the island’s secluded northernmost tip.

Qualia was the first of three major development projects that Oatley, his oldest son Sandy and their family company – Hamilton Island Enterprises – undertook after purchasing the island. The Hamilton Island Yacht Club—which features a majestic, aesthetically arresting clubhouse and 35 luxury villas on the water’s edge — held its soft opening during the 2009 Race Week. The Oatleys’ third and final project is the creation of the Hamilton Island Golf Club on nearby Dent Island.

With incredible views over the Whitsundays, the 18 hole championship layout designed by 5 time Open Champion Peter Thomson and Ross Perret is the only course found on its own island in Australia. However, creating the golf course was no easy task. After submitting dozens of environmental management plans and overcoming the massive logistical nightmares of getting course construction equipment onto the island, which could only be done at high tide, the course officially opened at Hamilton Island Race Week in August 2009.

The major design constraint with the Dent Island site was the lack of flat land suitable for fairways and in particular for par-5’s. This dictated the 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 leaving 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.

Being located in a World Heritage Marine Park the project was never going to get planning permission without a total commitment to the environment. A series of Environmental Management Plans (EMP) were developed and worked through thoroughly with the appropriate Planning authorities. These addressed issues such as Coral Reef Protection, Flora and Fauna Protection, Tree Clearing, Landscaping, Erosion Control, Water Management, Drainage and Bush Fire Management. A full-time Environmental Consultant was required to monitor and report on the construction process to ensure that the EMP’s were properly executed.

The construction phase proved to be even more challenging than the planning and design phase. Being a rocky island surrounded by a coral reef, the logistics required to build the course were exceptional. All heavy equipment and materials required to build the course had to be barged in at high tides to avoid damaging the reef. The equipment included bulldozers, excavators, trucks, tractors, site vehicles, crushing plants, concrete batching plants, fuel tanks and eventually golf maintenance equipment.

The materials included approximately 60 kilometres of irrigation pipe, green sand, concrete and turf. An onsite crushing plant made all the sand required for backfilling irrigation trenches, all the gravel for green and subsoil drainage as well as all the gravel and sand for over 11 kilometres of concrete cart paths. The original idea of importing a sand cap for fairways was abandoned due to logistical difficulties. Instead the designers had to carefully manage the precious topsoil available on site and effectively make topsoil by screening all excavated material.

Labour was another major constraint as Hamilton Island could not accommodate the workforce which at times approached 80 personnel. Initially the workforce was ferried to Hamilton Island from Airlie Beach on the mainland and then transferred by smaller craft to Dent Island. This proved to be very inefficient so a worker’s camp was established on Dent Island which at its peak accommodated 65 personnel. The camp itself required extensive infrastructure but proved to be invaluable and critical to delivering the project in a realistic time frame.

Eventually after all the previous considerations were successfully negotiated the course opened to the public in August 2009 during the annual Hamilton Island Race Week. The course itself offers three different teeing grounds all named after three trees of differing heights found onsite. The challenging back markers called the ‘Hoop Pine’ tee measures 6,130 metres from the back tees. With the middle ‘Pandanus’ tees and the front ‘Grass’ tees offering a suitable challenge for the less skilled player.

The opening trio of holes all cut into a ridge on the north side of the clubhouse will ease you gently into the round. Then it is most definitely ‘game on’ when you reach the par-3 4th. From the tips this absolute gem measures 175 metres and is played across a scrub-filled valley to a large, undulating green that is more exposed to the wind than any other hole on the front nine. The putting surface lies on a ridge where shots long and short-left are gone for good. Played against the backdrop of distant Long Island and the mainland, as well as being beautifully framed by rocky outcrops, this is a gorgeous hole that must surely be among the best, if not the toughest, par-3s in the country.

That said, all four of the par-3s here are outstanding. Each demands different shots, clubs and strategies to equal par and poor shots are punished. The 160-metre par-3 16th is already developing a reputation as a destroyer of good scores. The tees and green have been cut out of the side of an escarpment, with the tee elevated high above the plateau putting surface, making the hole play much shorter than the scorecard suggests. Regarded by many as the most spectacular hole on the course and perhaps the most treacherous. The only bail out area here is just short of the green. The deep bunker cut into the front right edge of the green even looks good while standing on the tee. Miss the green right or long and you can drop another ball, while any tee shot drifting left will leave a tough chip from long grass.

What really gives the golf course a unique feel is that there are virtually no parallel holes, which gives the impression your group is the only one on the course. Such is the seclusion of this hilly, island adventure that you might almost forget you are playing golf in a world heritage marine park.

The memorable features of Hamilton Island are not limited to the golf course however. The stunning Clubhouse, designed by Chris Beckingham, is ideally perched to catch the soft sea breeze and to take in the stunning views of the Coral Sea. It’s a great spot for long, relaxed lunches or a relaxing drink after your time on the course.

The course and the overall experience at Hamilton Island Golf Club make it a bucket list destination that any lucky visiting golfer would cherish forever. We believe that the course and location is one of the finest in the world and the state of Queensland should be proud to be home to such a beautiful and memorable experience.

The course was ranked No.11 in Golf Australia’s list of the ‘Top 100 Public Access Courses’ in 2015 and No.1 in Queensland.

To read our blog post on The Top Public Access Courses in Queensland please Click Here.

All images belong to Golf in Queensland unless otherwise stated.