A perfect golf day in the Whitsundays

What a stunning way to spend a day!  A boat trip across the gorgeous turquoise waters that are home to the Great Barrier Reef,  a round of challenging golf amidst drop dead gorgeous scenery then top that off with a delicious meal in a stylish and elegant club-house.

There’s no accommodation on Dent Island, home of the Hamilton Island Golf Club, but Hamilton Island itself has plenty on offer – up to the five star Qualia – and is reached in an easy 2.5 hour flight from Sydney. Your course fees of $160AU include the round trip by boat to Dent Island – what better way to start your day?

We’re taken up to the club house in air conditioned comfort, handed a refreshing cool towel and a chilled fruit drink while our bookings are sorted out – plenty of time to soak in the scenery – and decide we’d like to bring our tee time forward so we can get back in time for lunch!  Luckily we’re obliged.

The course is challenging – pretty well everything beyond the fairways and a narrow rough is National Park or water – so if you don’t hit straight you need to bring plenty of balls!  And it’s a long walk between holes so luckily the course fee also includes a buggy equipped with course mapping and distance measuring technology.

Back to the club house, a couple of  plates of fresh seafood cooked to perfection and washed down with a glass or two of perfectly chilled Chardonnay then it’s time to take the last boat back to Hamilton Island.  A perfect day indeed!