TASMANIA not only hosts some of Australia’s best new golf courses it also happens to be the home of one of the country’s oldest courses – Ratho Farm Golf Links.
Ratho Farm might not have had the exposure lately as have the likes of top rated Barnbougle Dunes, Lost Farm and Cape Wickham, but it is certainly worth a visit by any serious golfing traveller.
There has been a lot of redevelopment of the course and historic farm area in recent times to bring it up to scratch both as a great experience for the modern golfer but also as a great place to stay and explore the local area.
Accommodation has been upgraded, there is a 65 person function centre, world class trout fishing and beautiful scenic walk and hikes. The nearby town of Bothwell is also home to the Australasian Golf Museum.
Ratho Farm itself was founded by Scottish settlers back in 1822. There are claims local Scottish farmers were playing golf at rotating makeshift courses not long after.
The Reid family say they were establishing the golf course at a time when the sport had yet to establish itself outside its original base in eastern Scotland, from where they and other local families originated.
The accompanying Golf Australia video here features Greg Ramsay, who grew up at Ratho Farm with his grandmother, parents and four brothers and sisters and has taken it upon himself to renovate the homestead and restore Australia’s oldest golf course.
Following in the traditions of Old Scotland, Ratho Farm remains a public course.
No booking is required and for just $40 per person you can enjoy an 18-hole round.
All the senior golfers heading down to Tasmania in November for the 2019 Australian Veteran Golfers Union (AVGU) National Championship at Launceston should if possible add Ratho Farm to their Apple Isle tours.
Ratho is a couple of hours south of Launceston and an hour north of Hobart.
Article Update 23/1/2023
When we originally published this article in 2019 it appeared under the heading: “Where is Australia’s oldest golf course? Tasmania, of course”.
We subsequently published an article by golf historian Dr Michael Sheret in 2020 which discussed Australia’s golfing history and disputed claims about the location of the country’s first course being in Tasmania.
We acknowledge our lack of expertise in this area and have decided to change the heading and some text in this article to reflect a more neutral stance in this debate.
See:
When was golf first played in Australia? Golf historian Dr Michael Sheret presents the evidence
You state that: “There are records of local Scottish farmers playing golf at rotating makeshift courses not long after…” Do you have access to those records?” Cheers, Brian Lowe, Golf Society Australia
Brian,
We will get back to you on that shortly. (And your support is most welcome and appreciated).
Cheers.
Hi Brian,
Just to acknowledge, when you made your initial comment request above the title of this article was “Where is Australia’s oldest golf course? Tasmania, of course”.
You have spurred us to change that title and some of the article text to a more neutral stance [As explained in the new update at the bottom of the story]. We have been meaning to do that since publishing the article When was golf first played in Australia? Golf historian Dr Michael Sheret presents the evidence
And to confirm, our only source for the original story was the Ratho Farm website and related info. The statement there were “records” of local Scottish farmers playing golf at rotating makeshift courses not long after has been changed to “claims” that such took place.
Hopefully the story is now more accurate and reflects the state of the debate.
Again, many thanks for your support.