The above is from a Twitter DM exchange I had last week with a listener to the State of the Game podcast. It arrived after we had a panel discussion about the Seven Mile Beach project being built near Hobart, Tasmania.

The panel was made up of co-host Geoff Shackelford, course developer and touring professional Mat Goggin and two thirds of the design team, Mike Clayton and Mike Devries.

This particular listener was – rightly, in my view – impressed with Mat Goggin and the way he spoke about the project, its reasons for being and the game more broadly.

There is much excitement in the golf world about what the course at Seven Mile Beach could be and based on the photos of the site and work being undertaken that’s no surprise.

Yes, the golf at Seven Mile Beach is surely going to be fantastic, but the project is about more than that. PHOTO: Lukas Michel.

But there is something bigger at play also which is, I think, what our listener was alluding to.

Seven Mile Beach will undoubtedly hold its place comfortably in the company of the facilities listed as a fine golf course enjoyed by all who play it.

But when finished, it will be more than just a collection of challenging, interesting and fun golf holes (though it will certainly be that).

It will be testament not only to the place golf can hold in the broader community but also to the importance of those with the passion and drive to act in the bigger interests of the game.

Make no mistake, it would have been much easier for Mat Goggin NOT to build a golf course at Seven Mile Beach than to embark on and complete the project.

In fact, one might make the case it would have been sensible to walk away right at the beginning.

But Goggin, like Mike Keiser at Bandon Dunes and Richard Sattler at Barnbougle Dunes and Dick Youngscap at Sand Hills, is pursuing this particular dream for the right reasons.

"That golf will seamlessly and happily co-exist with those other activities will be its most important legacy. The fact it will also be a first-rate public access course for golfers from around Australia and the world to enjoy is really just a bonus." - Rod Morri.

While it is a business, the primary purpose of Seven Mile Beach is not to make money but to make a contribution.

To golf and to the broader community.

Goggin would be the first to point out that the Seven Mile Beach project wouldn’t be possible without the input and passion of an awful lot of other people. And he would be right.

But it is also true that none of it would be happening at all if not for him and his dream to create a golf facility that is about more than just golf.

Goggin once said he intends to have a fence post outside the clubhouse where people can tie up their horse and come in for a drink. He maintains that will still be the case.

In fact, it is his hope that the site where Seven Mile Beach sits will become a haven for activities other than golf.

Once difficult to access because of terrain and a forest of non-indigenous radiata pine trees, the construction of the course will open up a magnificent area of the city few have previously experienced.

That golf will seamlessly and happily co-exist with those other activities will be its most important legacy.

The fact it will also be a first-rate public access course for golfers from around Australia and the world to enjoy is really just a bonus.