Hamilton Island Golf Club — Attraction in Whitsundays

The course is truly magical (and tough) with some of the best scenery you will ever see, gets 5 stars. My experienced was ruined though when we went in for lunch after our round by the Manager (Nicole). Four of us has played in the morning and were being joined by 8 others for lunch. We were pre-warned that we needed to wear a collared shirt (no issue) so I took two polo shirts with me , one to play and the other for lunch. I changed after the round and found I had a huge hole in the other polo shirt and couldnt wear this. My original polo shirt was soaked after playing but luckily I had a decent V neck tshirt with me so changed into this and took my seat at lunch with my friends. At that the point the Manager (Nicole) without any tact very loudly told me I couldnt wear a t shirt - at this point BTW there was only our group and one more having lunch in total - and said I would have to change. I tried to explain to her the situation and offered to purchase a shirt. I went over to the golf shop and they has very few shirts and nothing in a size above a large which would be way too small on my. At this point I am holding up everyone from ordering and the situation is getting embarrassing for everyone. I tried to explain AGAIN to NICOLE that I would have to either wear a golf soaked polo, one with a massive hole in the front or if she could make an exception in the circumstances (especially as they didnt have any XL shirts for sale) I could wear my nice black T shirt - at this point its also worth mentioning that one of our party was wearing boardshorts but this had clearly escaped Nicoles attention! The answer was no so unbelieveably I was forced to put the polo shirt with a massive hole in it over the top of my t shirt (which looked ridiculous) and sit there and cook (it was 30 degrees) and 'enjoy' my lunch. Nicole, I really hope that you get to read this as you were rude, abrasive and completely embarassed me in front of my friends, you showed no understanding or willingness to listen to my situation when in reality there was hardly anyone there. FYI this is the first negative review I have ever written online (I am not one of 'those' people) but feel compelled to write this as you need to learn how to deal with these type of situations with way more class and leadership. If you are to enforce your rules so forcefully and loudly (I had many of my friends tell me afterwards they couldnt believe how badly you handled the situation) then please have some Polo Shirts available in all sizes to buy or even borrow. So guys, great golf course - amazing views and the other staff were fantastic but the Manager NICOLE ruined my experience and that...

This is a sensational course. I had a brilliant day that included a delicious lunch at the golf club with the missus after my game. I hired everything from clubs to golf shoes & bought extra balls & although it cost me around $500 with lunch & drinks it was worth it because this is a once in a lifetime experience, it’s just an awesome place to play & take in the magnificent layout & views. It’s a beautiful yet brutal course with a majestic layout that you have to see to believe. Wicked winds along the peaks & ridges cause havoc & there’s ball devouring impenetrable bushland everywhere. It’s a lush tropical paradise & once your ball lands in the thick rough it’s almost impossible to find & there’s the added bonus of snakes that prevent any meaningful searches. There’s holes with blind tee shots & others that require good shots just to reach the fairway. Each hole has 3 different tees - Hoop Pine hardest, Pandanas medium & Grass Tree for the less adventurous. I played off the Hoop Pine tees & they are all fabulous tests. I lost a lot of balls & some of those were good shots that the wind just took hold of & banished to the abyss so I recommend you take plenty of spares because this is without doubt a very tough place to make low scores. I made a par 4 on the 369m 1st hole & I was stoked with that & I also managed a par 3 on the 150m 7th hole when my tee shot found the dance floor. Then the pars dried up & I found as I progressed that there’s a multitude of ways to find trouble. The 14th, 15th & 16th holes are the jewels in the crown here. The 14th Hole 150m par 3 is the signature hole of the course. It’s sometimes called ‘the valley of death’ & it just has that wow factor as soon as you see it. Your only real hope here is to hit the ball on the green because anywhere else is a reload. The 15th 387m par 4 is a beauty & your tee shot from the top of the ridge must fly at least 100m of hazard to be safe on the fairway which I happily did with much satisfaction. The 16th 150m par 3 is the most spectacular on the course with postcard water views & it also demands an accurate shot to land on or near the green. The 18th is also a cracker with tremendous views down the fairway to the clubhouse. The elevation drop means that your tee shot can go anywhere in the wind & a couple of mine went astray & were lost forever handing me an inglorious finish but I still walked off completely mesmerised by this...

Spare of the moment booking to play this course so didn't have any golf gear with me, can never say no to some new gear. Had no issue booking a time slot and booked one of the first time slots available which was perfect as the weather is so hot and humid and could not imagine playing too late in the day.

Trip over on the ferry was great and the captain was friendly. Questioned me about no collar and asked if I was buying a polo over there which was the plan.

Clubhouse is lovely with great views. The choice of clothing available was pretty good but not alot of sizes available but managed to find something I liked in my size. Had a mixture of Footjoy and Under Armour with and without the course branding. Plenty of hats to choose from also. If you do go, take your own balls as they are pretty pricey over the standard prices and depending on how good you are you will need a few :) Friendly staff to assist as well. Buggy was ready to go with the clubs and 2 bottles of water and some tees.

The course is amazing. Lots of blind tee shots and landing zones but the fairways are quite generous I thought. The par 3s are tricky especially when the wind picks up. Greens were lovely and quite pure, and I was surprised how softly the ball would land on them. The rough is well, rough so don't bother going in there if you hit a ball in there as there are snakes around and I did see one near a tee box as I drove away. Looked like a brown snake but wasn't sticking around to find out.

You do have to stop and admire the views when playing as you can get caught up and not look around, but it really is spectacular. The way the course has been built into the island is really amazing!

The hire clubs were pretty good being Titleist T300 (maybe 4 years old) and the driver Titleist TSI2. Putter was an odyssey. Better than other hire clubs I have had to use in the past.

Definitely a must do if you love golf and up for a challenge and want to play a great course. Would definitely play again. Was nice to get to the club house after a hot and sweaty round for a nice cold beer while waiting for the ride back down to the ferry. Tick it off your list, you won't be...