| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1822 |
| Type | public |
| Total holes | 18 [1] |
| Website | https://rathofarm.com/ |
Ratho Farm Golf Links is an 18-hole golf course that was constructed on the Ratho Farm in Bothwell, Tasmania. [2]
The first game of golf in Tasmania, and among the earliest games of golf in Australia, was played in Bothwell. The course at the Ratho property was until recently thought to be the oldest golf course in Australia, which was thought to have been built in the mid-1850s. Jane Williams, daughter of Ratho's first owner Alexander Reid, [3] wrote in 1890 that golf was first played in the area sometime before 1860:
"...it (golf) was introduced over 30 years ago by Mr. William Wood, brother of Mr. Dennistoun Wood, of Dennistoun, and that it flourished as long as the Scottish element prevailed in the Bothwell district, when through death and other changes golf ceased to be practised in Bothwell." [4]
Alexander Arthur Reid of Ratho, grandson of the above-mentioned Alexander Reid, [3] wrote in 1930 that his father, Alexander Reid Jr., penned a letter written in the early 1860s stating that he was starting a golf club in Bothwell with 15 or 16 members. Arthur Alexander Reid also mentioned that he remembered the "queer-shaped old clubs." [5]
The newly opened links at Ratho were reported in The Tasmanian Mail in August 1911:
"Mr and Mrs. Reid gave a golf afternoon on the newly laid-out Ratho links, at Bothwell, on Saturday, when a handicap mixed foursomes for trophies given by the host and hostess was played... The new course is a really excellent one, the turf being naturally suitable for golf, and the grass greens are all wonderfully good. Every hole has its difficulties, and the spoiling nature of the course adds to its attractiveness. The length of the course (9 holes) is 2,551 yards. [6]
Golf in Australia started at Grose Farm in Sydney, with the first reliably documented match played in 1839 by A.B. Spark. [7]
Bothwell is home to the Australian Golf Museum, housed in the sandstone former school house.
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". The cup holds a flagstick, known as a "pin". A standard round of golf consists of 18 holes, and as such most courses contain 18 distinct holes; however, there are many 9-hole courses and some that have holes with shared fairways or greens. There are also courses with a non-standard number of holes, such as 12 or 14.
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This article outlines the history of Smooth Island, popularly known as Garden Island, in Norfolk Bay, Tasmania. The names come from the island's gently undulating topography and lush vegetation in comparison with the stony mainland. It has been privately owned since 1864.
Peter Alfred Toogood, was an Australian amateur golfer from Tasmania. He won the Australian Amateur in 1954 and the Tasmanian Open eight times. He was the leading amateur in the 1954 Open Championship and was part of the team that won the inaugural Eisenhower Trophy in 1958.
Hollow Tree is a rural locality in the local government area of Central Highlands in the Central region of Tasmania. It is located about 17 kilometres (11 mi) north-east of the town of Hamilton and about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) south-west of the town of Bothwell in one of Tasmania's key pastoral districts. The 2021 census determined a population of 33 for the locality.
Leonard Nettlefold was an Australian businessman and amateur golfer. He won the Australian Amateur twice, in 1926 and 1928, and won the Tasmanian Open and the Tasmanian Amateur, eight times each.
Clyde Bowman Pearce was an Australian amateur golfer. He won both the Australian Open and the Australian Amateur in 1908 and was runner-up in the Australian Amateur three times. He was killed in Belgium during World War I.
Charlie Campbell was an Australian professional golfer. He won the Australian Open in 1922.
