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      5 Legendary Links             5 Heritage Attractions           A 5-day Festival

The Australian Golf Heritage Festival combines

    •    Some of Tasmania's finest heritage attractions

    •    A range of different golf courses from the scene of Jack Nicklaus' triumph in the Australian Open in 1971 (Royal Hobart) to Australia's Oldest Golf Course (Ratho Farm Golf Links), to one of its newest and most celebrated (Barnbougle Dunes)

    •    Fine wining'n'dining, and new friendships all the way around!

Click to view the Itinerary as an Excel Spreadsheet here


The Golf Courses:

    Ratho Golf Links, Bothwell (Australia's oldest golf course)

    Barnbougle Dunes, Bridport (one of the best links courses in the world)

    Royal Hobart Golf Club, Hobart (past venue for the Australian Open)

    Tasmania Golf Club, Cambridge

    Tasman Golf Club, Port Arthur

The Hickory Championship:

The National Hickory Championships, to be held at the Ratho Golf Links Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Hickory Clubs will be available for use and the compulsory gutta-percha golf balls will also be available. All players are encouraged to wear early golfing attire.  The competition will feature Individual Stableford, as well as Individual Matchplay, and Foursomes Matchplay for both men and women. 

On Saturday night, the Highland Fling & Golf Ball will be held at the Bothwell Town Hall, including a whisky tasting by master distiller Bill Lark.  Proceeds will go towards the Australasian Golf Museum and the Mat Goggin Junior Golf Foundation.

Sunday starts with a guided history tour of Bothwell, including the Golf Museum and the Nant Mill Whisky Distillery.  The afternoon is for the conclusion of the National Hickory Championships, and awards presentation at the Bothwell Golf Clubhouse. Dinner at the Bothwell Grange will be followed by a premiere viewing of the film "Strokes of Genuis" and American film on pre-war legend Bobby Jones, not released in Australia

Your History Lessons:

    •    The Convict Trail – Port Arthur site and home of Tasman GC.

    •    The Rivers Run – From Valleyfield Oast House in New Norfolk and home of largest hop farms in the southern hemisphere, onto Bothwell. There are 53 buildings classified by the National Trust, including the one that houses the Australasian Golf Museum, where you can browse through its significant private collections.

 

 

    •    The Heritage Highway -  Longford is home to Woolmers Estate – a time capsule of early 19th Century life - and the National Rose Garden, one of the finest collections in the southern hemisphere.

    •    The history and future of beer, whisky and wine making in Tasmania, traditionally enjoyed by golfers after a good round of golf.

Your Accommodation & Meals:

    The Lenah of Hobart, built in 1874 is a unique combination of traditional elegance & modern comfort

    The Grange B&B, Castle Hotel, Batt's Cottage, Nant Highland Homestead and other heritage houses in the     historic village of Bothwell

    The Auldington, a centrally located heritage hotel with stylish comtempory interior, Launceston

    Sals of Salamanca, Hobart, 

    Stillwater Restaurant & River Café, Launceston, Tourism Restaurant of the Year

    Barilla Bay Tasmania, unrivaled seafood and own oyster farm

Your Transportation: 

Guided commentary enroute in comfortable minibuses.  No worries with luggage and golf equipment.

Your Pre/Post Options:

 

May  Pre-festival tour to Port Arthur for visit to Tasmania's most visited heritage site and 9 holes played on the stunning local course. Upon returning to Hobart, there is a welcome reception to meet the locals and arriving festival participants at the Narryna Museum, once home to Tasmania's legendary champion golfers, the Pearce Brothers.

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The Oliver Trophy will pitch golf clubs and societies assosciated with Scottish golf course architect GB Oliver, against one another over 18holes at Barnbougle Dunes, and featuring a talk on GB Oliver by golf historian John Lovell.  GB Oliver designed a course not far from Barnbougle Dunes in 1929, as part of the elaborate Bridport Country Club (the developer was the Grandfather of personality, Max Walker), .  Sadly, due to the Great Depression, neither Walker's nor Oliver's visions reached fruition.

Your Costs:

    Interstate visitors may elect these 2 & 3 ni accommodation packages.

Last chance to pre-register:  Friday 1  May 2009.  But do it now to ensure your space on the tour and in the National Hickory Championship.

  Bookings here.