Links to the Past
BOTHWELL, TAS - Transplanted to Tasmania, Scottish migrants missed golf like an arm and a leg. So Edinburgh-born Alexander Reid turned part of his Tassie sheep run, Ratho, into a nostalgic 9-holer.
That was around 1822, long before America and much of England could boast their own golf links. Is it possible? Can sleepy Tasmanian claim a sporting world first? The people of Bothwell, 80kms north of Hobart, won’t hear otherwise.
According to Ratho records, the debut game was played in 1839. More than sand or water-courses, the natural hazards were sheep and what sheep leave behind. It still is.
Flocks wander the Ratho fairways as if they own the place, though the greens are guarded by wire fences, with a swing gate for your short game. You can have a hit if the sense of history takes your fancy. Par is 66, for 18 holes, though Bothwell has a habit of serving up St Andrews weather, putting your Hibernian cunning to the test.
In town, the Australasian Golf Museum gives you a deeper back-story to the game – and the course – but there’s no substitute for belting a feathery (a kangaroo skin stuffed with wool) with a hickory shaft. [Museum open daily 10-4, or 11-3 in winter. Entry $5. 03-6259-4033. Games by arrangement.]