Despite officially opening only last December, the past nine months have seen a raft of improvements at Tasmania’s latest wonder course.
No golf course stays the same as it looked and played on the day it first opened. They are living, breathing, evolving entities that require constant reassessment and occasional revision. Such is the case for the South course at 7 Mile Beach in Hobart. The site alongside the banks of Tiger Head Bay with views to Bruny Island has welcomed golfers on all 18 holes for nine months now, which has given the owners and operators enough insight into how the Mike Clayton/Mike DeVries-designed course plays and which areas require closer attention.
For the South course (the adjoining North course is in the early phases of construction), the key reveals were the need for two tee extensions and an additional tee as well as thinning or removing a hefty proportion of the wiry marram grass that rings every hole. There were no rewrites, no overhauls, no do-overs. Just minor additions and alterations to limit wear and tear plus improve playability.
Two of the par 3s – the second and 14th holes – now boast expanded teeing areas. At the second, the highest tee is now a good 10-12 paces wider, which flares the angle to the horizon green even more. It was already a hallmark of the hole – a near-90-degree difference between the lowest tee on the left and the high-right pad. Now, there’s even more angle-driven interest. The change at the 14th is less dramatic but also gives a little more width for the most used teeing ground on that hole.
The brand new tee is a back block at the par-5 18th. It adds 20 to 30 metres to the overall length and sits up higher to afford more of an outlook across the bay behind the golfer but also a better view down the fairway. The landing area on the right side of the heavily contoured sixth fairway has also been widened, which is likely to see far fewer balls carom into the adjacent marram grass. All are welcome additions and adjustments.
As for the marram, it has been pulled out or burnt off in places where it was most problematic, leaving the golf course more playable and enjoyable. Aiding this approach is the ongoing maturation of the fescue rough, which in most places is lush enough to stop trickling balls from finding the really thick stuff.
“A particular highlight has been the engagement of a cultural burning specialist, whose approach has been a revelation in how we think about land management,” says Mathew Goggin, the veteran touring pro and visionary behind 7 Mile Beach.
It’s not unusual for tweaks to happen in the period after a new course opens. Much like moving into a new house, you only figure out what needs altering once you’re living there. With golf courses, only golfer traffic reveals what’s working and what perhaps isn’t. It might be as minor as tee extensions or the softening of a slope or two, yet can also be the complete revamp of a hole. Magenta Shores slashed back its thick rough soon after opening. Cathedral refined the terrain of its steep fifth hole. Metropolitan is up to its umpteenth iteration of the par-3 13th. Even Augusta National went on to redesign its 16th hole several years after opening to become the version the golf world now knows.
The golf course at 7 Mile Beach opened at an appropriate time last December with respect to the condition of the surfaces. It wasn’t in peak shape, as patches within the fairways were still growing in, but it was more than ready to welcome golfers. However, now the layout has really hit its straps on the conditioning front. Where last December you were perhaps a 1-in-10 chance of drawing a poor lie in the fairway, now it would be 1 in 100. That’s thanks partly to a general ‘ripening’, but also to the consistent water supply that began in March. It’s also been a kind winter in Hobart.
The golf course closed throughout July, which allowed for several key off-course improvements to take place. For those who experienced the first season of play, you will notice upgrades for the second season before you even reach the golf course. Gone is the slow, bumpy ride along the four-kilometre-long entrance road that angered more than a few Uber drivers, as the road now moves towards a total seal. That will be completed this summer, but it’s already a smoother entry. The portable marquee that served as the clubhouse is still in use while the permanent structure is built, but it’s now in a new location adjacent to the main carpark and below the first tee. This means play will begin from the true first hole rather than from the 18th as it did until July, with much better access to the practice area. The Himalayas putting green is also open for some post-round fun. The retail area has doubled in size and now includes a dedicated women’s boutique. The food and beverage facilities are upgraded, along with the offerings.
Meanwhile, the North course will continue to unfold before golfers’ eyes. Whereas the original course evolved behind closed gates, the North course will materialise in full view of golfers. There is no visual barrier between the two layouts, and so anyone playing the South course during the next couple of years will see the North further transform with each visit.
It’s been a busy winter in our nation’s south, with more activity to come if Goggin’s words are any measure.
“We are creating the best golf experience in the world,” the Tasmanian enthused in his most recent email update. “Are we there yet? No. But we will never stop improving, and every time you return to play, we will be better.
“When we re-open for our second season, you will see how serious we are about that goal. Compliments and complaints are given equal weight. Adjustments are constant. Improvement is never finished. We are genuinely excited about what we can achieve over the next few years.”
FULLY ENGAGED
The first summer of play at 7 Mile Beach was abnormally windy. Those conditions coupled with a lack of course familiarity and hungry marram grass devouring balls that only just exited the fairway led to some big numbers from the early visitors.
A playing environment that capricious also dulled some of the best qualities of the multi-faceted layout, as instead lost-ball counts and triple-bogey avoidance dominated many golfers’ minds. In season two, there’s every chance the ‘real’ 7 Mile Beach will shine as it further fires golfers’ neurons.
“After their first round, most golfers describe it as hard; after their second round they describe it as fun,” says general manager Will Kay. “It really is a course that requires multiple playings to discover all its attributes.”
“There is a lot to discover, and you really need to play more than once,” Goggin concurs. “Better still, play two days in a row. You will never get exactly the same course twice, and we change the hole locations daily to add even more variety.”
Neither man is ‘adding mayo’ to their words nor angling for more green-fee sales. The course is brilliant enough to be its own marketing machine. But it is unquestionably a golf course that needs you to play it multiple times to pick up every nuance, and it’s an arena that will reveal something new to you with each completed lap. Yet the renewed playability aspects can’t be undersold. It is so much more manageable now because of the maturing rough and the fresh treatment of the marram, and that’ll only improve with time as the fescue pushes into the marram to become a more seamless transition between surfaces.
Kay is also a huge advocate of hugging those surfaces. Keeping the ball on the ground (and out of the wind) is a far more prudent approach to navigating the layout than hitting lofted shots. Goggin, who once finished T-5 at the Open Championship, would approve.
“The course continues to play firm and fast,” Goggin says. “It is a true test. Play from the correct tees and we guarantee you will use every club in your bag – and be forced to attempt a few shots you may never have tried before. No matter what you score, everyone will experience the thrill of pulling off a shot that gets the heart pumping.”
THE DETAILS
7 Mile Beach
Where: Pittwater Rd, Seven Mile Beach TAS 7170
Web: 7milegolf.com.au
Email: [email protected]
Photographs by Gary Lisbon
