KING Island has always been prime agricultural land, but it has also recently been found to be perfect for links golf.

Three potential world-class golf courses are being developed on the Bass Strait island and two could open as soon as next summer.

The third, which is being developed with the help of golfing legend Greg Norman, is still in its development stages, and an application is yet to go before council.

That course is expected to be built at the southern end of the island, providing the perfect golf course trifecta: one at the top, one in the middle and one at the bottom of the island.

The courses will give King Island's existing nine-hole links course a boost and are set to make the island a golfing destination.

Here is how developments are coming along:

CAPE WICKHAM LINKS:

AT THE northern tip of King Island, about 40 minutes from Currie, is where you'll find the prestigious Cape Wickham Links.

Construction is complete for the 18-hole course, but the grass still needs to mature before it officially opens late in the year.

Some lucky golfers, however, will get to test out the course as early as next month when preview rounds begin.

The course is owned by Duncan Andrews, who also owns the Dunes Golf Links in Victoria.

Driving on to the site, it is easy to understand why the course is expected to be one of the top 100 in the world.

The course is on the left-hand side of the iconic Cape Wickham Lighthouse.

It is that 48-metre-tall lighthouse that borders the course on the east and Bass Strait that borders the rest.

Cape Wickham grow-in superintendent John Geary said planning and construction began about two years ago.

"It's been designed really well," Mr Geary said.

"No doubt it'll be a challenging course because it's open to the elements.

"It's a real links course - but it will be spectacular."

The course has been co-designed by Mike DeVries and Darius Oliver.

The lighthouse frames many of the holes and is also the marker to line up a number of shots.

The first 13 holes cover land to the left of the clubhouse, which is still being constructed.

The eighth is one of the hardest tee-shots on the course, as golfers going off the back tee will have to drive the ball about 140 metres over sand dunes to make the fairway.

Off the regular tee, the carry is about 110 metres.

Cape Wickham Links assistant superintendent Ash Hobson said holes nine, 10, 11 and 12 were going to be "the golden stretch".

"There's four holes there that are just going to keep knocking your socks off every time you go around the corner," he said.

Holes 14 to 18 are between the clubhouse and the lighthouse, with the 18th set to be the course's icon.

The 18th bends around Victoria Cove, a small beach, which will be in bounds for the tee shot and the approach.

But don't worry if your ball goes on the beach: steps will lead straight down to it so people can retrieve their balls.

Mr Hobson said golfers would have to hug the beach on their 18th drive to make the par-4 easier.

Victoria Cove is a popular spot for surfers and Mr Geary said they would still be able to use the break.

He said surfers would add to the mystique of the course, as would the wildlife.

Wildlife spotted from the course includes whales, seals, wallabies and muttonbirds.

Mr Geary said the site was a short-tailed shearwater rookery, so sanctuaries between holes had been developed.

"There's been an enormous amount of effort gone into making sure we are as environmentally friendly as possible," he said.

"We do have a problem with the wallabies at the moment, but fence work is being carried out."

The muttonbirds, which flock in at dusk from spring until April, are expected to be another visitor drawcard for the course.

Plans for accommodation on-site have been drawn up but it could be a year or so before it is built.

A temporary "marquee-style" clubhouse, which will be able to withstand strong winds, is being built by King Island Construction, with a permanent structure to be built in the near future.

The course currently employs about 10 ground staff, but staff could rise to about 20 when it officially opens.

OCEAN DUNES:

OCEAN Dunes owner Graeme Grant knows the unique land upon which he is building his 18-hole golf course could be world-class.

"It's typical of what you would find in the UK, which is where the game originated," Mr Grant said, looking over the course.

"These sort of dunes that you see along the coast are links land dunes. I haven't seen anything like it in this country."

Mr Grant, who is a golf course designer, said the land's uniqueness was the reason he choose to develop Ocean Dunes on King Island rather than on the Australian mainland.

Work started on the course, which is about five minutes from the island's main town, Currie, in June 2013.

It is expected to be ready for play early next summer, but some holes are already finished.

The front nine have been constructed, as has the 18th.

Work started on the 10th last week.

Mr Grant said the course wasn't going to be easy.

"Anywhere you play golf in wind like this, it's going to be difficult," he said of the typical Roaring Forties winds.

"But we've got four, five and sometimes even six tees on some holes so people can go out and choose which tee they want to play off."

The second hole has been designed so players have to take a risk with their drive.

If you hit down the right side, you'll have an easy pitch through the throat of the green.

"If you don't take that risk, you're faced with a blind pitch shot over a bunker," Mr Grant said.

While blind shots were a part of links land golf, he had been careful not to put too many in.

"There will be one par five on our back nine that will have a blind second shot, but other than that there won't be much blindness," he said.

The 4th, which is set to be the signature and most photographed hole, is the shortest of the course at only 125 metres.

However, it will be one of the most challenging.

The tee is perched above the waves and players have to hit across a small inlet to get the ball on the green.

Mr Grant said much of the course had been developed near the water's edge.

The third green has been built into the rocks, so players feel like they are close to the ocean.

An interesting quirk about the course is that it is located where kelp is harvested, so people could be collecting kelp while golfers play.

"It'll be so unusual people will love it," Mr Grant said.

Other quirks of the course include being home to wild turkeys, peacocks, sea eagles and wallabies.

Pigface is also planted around the course and will add an extra wow factor during spring and summer.

Mr Grant said accommodation was planned for the future, but he had just bought Currie's Parers King Island Hotel.

"That gives us the opportunity to access the market before we built a lavish, or bigger, clubhouse than what we will to start with," he said.

He said a day spa was on the potential plan for the future.

"Those sorts of things will come in time," he said.

"We believe people will come but we have to see it first."

KING ISLAND GOLF AND BOWLING CLUB:

KING Island Golf and Bowling Club member Jim Cooper believes the development of three potential world-class courses on the island is essential for the existing club to survive.

The club, which has been at its Currie site by the sea since the 1930s, is run entirely by volunteers.

It has about 60 full-paying members and about 80 to 100 social members.

Mr Cooper believes more people could play the stunning nine-hole course once Cape Wickham Links and Ocean Dunes open.

"We're not big enough so people won't travel to play our place alone, but they'll come if they come here for a golf trip," he said.

"We've got a specky course and people will play it."

One of the signature holes of the course is the 4th, when players hit across a bay to the green.

Many balls have washed ashore near the bay, proving it is a difficult hole.

THE SOUTHERN COURSE:

THIS course is still in its development stages and more will be known in coming months.

Twitter: @ManikaDadson

Email: mdadson@fairfaxmedia.com.au