Almost by definition, hidden-gem golf courses require a mission in order to find yourself standing on the 1st tee. Barnbougle Dunes and Lost Farm fall into that category, as any venture to get there usually starts with a flight from the mainland to Launceston airport, then time lost waiting for luggage and collecting a hire car, followed by an hour-plus drive through north-eastern Tasmania to Bridport and onwards to the two courses.

Our correspondent takes a quick snap out the window as the plane comes into land beside the 2nd fairway of the Barnbougle Dunes course.

So, what if you could eliminate a time-consuming part of the commute and fly directly to the golf courses?

It’s a scenario that is now more feasible than fanciful thanks to a Sydney-based tour group that specialises in putting together golf tours with a difference. The Golf Touring Company (TGTC) leads three-day tours to the two iconic Tasmanian courses that depart from Universal Aviation’s hangar at Sydney’s domestic airport and lands golfers on a strip adjacent to the 2nd fairway at Barnbougle Dunes.

Given normal flying conditions, the time from airport to tee could be as little as two hours. The time saved is one thing, but it’s skipping the rigmarole associated with commercial air travel that is the icing on this particular cake. Firstly, passengers can park for free at the departure point at Sydney airport, negating the need for taxis or expensive airport parking. There are no check-in queues or security checkpoints to endure, or strict 30-minute curfews prior to take-off (although, should you choose to arrive early, refreshments are available at Universal’s corporate lounge). And at the other end there is no waiting for your luggage to surface, hire cars to collect or streams of other passengers to weave through. Instead, your bag is collected from a compartment in the back, nose or belly of the aircraft while you check in to your on-site accommodation and march to the 1st tee.

It’s a five-star golf trip from beginning to end. The Cessna Conquest C441 is a compact but comfortable aircraft that seats eight passengers. It can fly at altitudes up to 35,000 feet and at a cruising speed of 290 knots. In clear weather the trip is as scenic as it is efficient, and spotting the two golf courses from the air as you fly over the southern edge of Bass Strait whets the appetite further. All flights are non-stop and the Conquest requires only 700 metres on which to land, so the 1,200-metre Barnbougle strip is amply long.

The sun sets over the picturesque short par-3 4th hole at Lost Farm.

Stuart Catterson, managing director of TGTC and a 25-year veteran of the corporate travel and hospitality industry, says their company recognised that flights to Barnbougle from Moorabbin airport in suburban Melbourne had been operating for a number of years, but getting flights leaving from Sydney “off the ground” was proving to be trickier. Earlier this year TGTC partnered with Armidale-based Edwards Aviation, which proved to be the last piece of the logistical puzzle when it came to flying to Barnbougle out of Sydney.

The par-3 15th is played beneath the Lost Farm clubhouse, which affords views over the course and beach.

“It’s about time,” Catterson says, uttering a sentence that holds true both ways. “A lot of people just haven’t got the available time for airline check-ins and going through security, etc. And I think there’s a little bit of prestige behind it. A lot people when they go on golfing holidays tend to invest a fair bit of money in it because it’s their one and only time in a year when they get away and do something that they’re passionate about. So people do tend to spend a dollar or two extra to get exactly what they want, and we feel that this product would tick a lot of people’s boxes as far as it doesn’t mean adding on three hours either way. In terms of prestige, touring this way is also keeping a step ahead of everybody else.”

Whether you stay at Lost Farm or Barnbougle Dunes, both sets of accommodation provide space and comfort in breathtaking surroundings. And the food on offer at both restaurants is first-class with dining areas overlooking Anderson Bay and the course. Picture yourself warming by an open fire with a glass of Tasmanian red wine during a winter sojourn or downing a well-earned beer as twilight takes over after a late-afternoon round in summer.

The 15th green at Barnbougle Dunes with the Forester River and Lost Farm course in the background.

But it’s all about the golf, of course, and there’s no question arriving in such exclusive fashion heightens your sense of importance as you tackle a pair of courses ranked third and fourth in the nation by Golf Australia magazine.

The accommodation cabins beside the Barnbougle Dunes course.

The original Barnbougle Dunes course marks its ninth birthday this December and has earned a reputation for its wondrous strategic paths through the dunes and magnificent vistas of the bay. Few walks in golf are as picture-perfect as the stroll along the edge of the path leading from the 4th green to the 5th tee, a postcard setting accompanying every step. With ample width on most holes (the second shot on the par-5 11th is played to an area the size of a football field), the course is quite manageable in still conditions but downright diabolical in the capricious winds.

The fairways and greens display rippled contours and many green complexes roll and funnel balls both towards and away from common hole locations. The wild green at the par-3 13th is something to behold. Basically round in shape, the putting surface has a deep channel through the middle, creating a small shelf at the rear of the green from where two-putting is nearly impossible, and a plateau in the front section plus numerous pockets where balls tend to collect. As a green, it is as wicked as it is ingenious.

Across the river, Lost Farm is now three years old and the 20-hole Bill Coore-designed layout serves as a perfect partner to the Tom Doak and Mike Clayton-penned Barnbougle Dunes. Lost Farm changes direction more than the twin loops of Barnbougle Dunes do, and there’s a little more variety in the settings. The first two holes and the 16th and 18th cover a low, flat plain whereas other fairways traverse ridges or valleys between tall dunes or expand across more open ground, such as at the spacious par-5 12th. This changing topography and landscape means there is a greater sense of solitude at Lost Farm.

Two of the short par-4s are simply divine. The 253-metre uphill 3rd can be driven with a tee shot that carries or passes a huge central bunker in the fairway, while tee shots struck safely away from this pit will leave an increasingly acute and awkward angle for the pitch shot the further left you veer. At the 14th, the challenge lies right before you with a generous fairway for a 263-metre par-4 but a shallow, raised green where nothing but a pinpoint approach will stay aboard. Perhaps the best hole is the par-4 5th, which is also the toughest. Tee shots here need to carry or be shaped around an enormously tall dune in order to set up a chance to reach the green in regulation. There is plenty of room left of this shaggy hill for those content to find the large putting surface in three shots.

Rippled wonderland: the 12th and 17th holes at Barnbougle Dunes.

Lost Farm has not one but two spare holes as that’s how many holes Coore ‘found’ and owner Richard Sattler decided to build all 20. Both extras are short par-3s, the first falling between the 13th and 14th holes and played from one hilltop to another with a multi-segmented green that feeds shots not hit the correct distance away from most cup positions. The other comes at the conclusion of the 18th and is a perfect ‘tiebreaker’ hole played in front of the clubhouse with a sharply sloping green.

The Golf Touring Company’s three-day getaways allow time to play both courses twice or more if you dare, giving travelling golfers enough time to familiarise themselves with both layouts and to learn the best angles of approach and the nuances that make them so revered.

Due to the weight restrictions imposed on the aircraft, most times your golf clubs will be transferred into a slim pencil bag for the trip – or alternatively Callaway clubs are available for hire at both courses if you’d prefer to streamline your luggage for the flight.

It is the way to arrive at Barnbougle Dunes and Lost Farm. Not only does flying directly to the fairway save time, it adds a level of sophistication and intrigue to any trip to one of the most special places in Australian golf. The convenience of flying directly to and from cannot be understated. At the end of our group’s trip, we left the strip adjacent to Barnbougle Dunes at 3pm and two hours later I was in my car driving along Sydney’s Southern Cross Drive, heading for home. For regular travellers, that time saved means everything.

Getting There

The Golf Touring Company flies from Sydney directly to Barnbougle Dunes on a regular basis. The three-day package (for $2,500 per head, based on eight people) includes return flights, two nights’ accommodation, all meals and nine holes of golf on the first day, unlimited play on the second day and 18 holes on the third day. Upcoming departure dates are October 18 and December 13, however if you have a group of eight people you can choose travel dates to suit.

Transfer options are available for non-Sydney residents. Phone (02) 9977 4100 or visit

www.flytobarny.com.au for more information.