The former top-50 player in the world has largely been absent from competitive golf in recent times due to injuries and not holding status on any tour, and instead he has devoted himself to the construction of two world class, public access golf courses in his home state of Tasmania.

Goggin, who came tied fifth at the 2009 Open won by Stewart Cink at Turnberry, is leading the delivery of the Seven Mile Beach and the recently announced Five Mile Beach golf course projects in Hobart’s east with Golf Preserve Pty Ltd. 

The passion project involves building the courses in the dunes overlooking the beach and it has been a welcome distraction from the setbacks he has endured with his own golf.

“It’s been awesome. It’s been about 10 or 12 years in the making. To finally see grass growing and everything coming to fruition has been awesome,” Goggin said.

“I had some injuries pre-covid and I didn’t have any status. I wasn’t playing many tournaments so it gave me something to do and something to focus on. I had to push it along because we couldn’t let the permits expire so I jumped all in on that. Made sure we got the substantial commencement and off we went.”

As the key elements in the project have come together, a piece in Goggin’s puzzle has remained missing however.

The five-time Korn Ferry Tour winner still lives in the United States and he has not been able to put his clubs down while at home despite waking up to an influx of emails each morning.

“I love playing so getting the opportunity to play the next couple of weeks is great. I can’t wait to get back into it,” Goggin said.

“I haven’t had any lead up really. I’ve been practising and playing a lot of social golf but there haven’t been any tournaments. I’m 48 now so I’m thinking about senior tour. Playing a bunch of social golf doesn’t prepare you for tournament golf, so to have the opportunity to play here, at the Queensland PGA next week and the Sandbelt Invitational is great. 

“Maybe I’ll play a few on the other side of Christmas to see where the game’s at and get back into the grind. In practice, everything has been great. My body feels pretty good. I haven’t had any more problems with my wrist or back, which has been nice. 

“I just need to go out there and get after it because all the practice in the world doesn’t compare to tournaments. Because I haven’t been playing many tournaments and coming through Monday qualifying I haven’t got into that routine of playing 10 days out of 12 where you’re really focusing. It’s going to be nice to see where it’s at and I really feel like I’m a rookie again.”

Spending a quality amount of time in Australia is not uncommon for Goggins.

He typically comes home to Hobart for roughly three weeks every two months to catch up with family – his mother Lindy is a 19-time Tasmanian champion and plays at Royal Hobart Golf Club today – and spend time at Seven Mile Beach. 

The long hours on site include many lengthy discussions with former touring professional, golf course architect and commentator Mike Clayton on where bunkers should be positioned, what holes should look like and how they should play.

“It’s unique in that it’s a phenomenal site for golf,” Goggin said. “It’s also a beautiful site to go for a walk, or a trail ride, or ride a horse but there’s no real public access down there. 

“The ethos of the whole development is to build a top-100 in the world golf course, make it public and make it affordable. Not many of the top-100 golf courses in the world are public except for Barnbougle Dunes, so Tassie will be the home of top-100 public golf. 

“Having the course as the anchor enables us to do other things like develop the trails, having the public down there to enjoy the restaurant, grabbing a drink and going to the beach is great for business.

“This is going to be 30 minutes from the centre of the city in Hobart and right near all the other golf courses, but there is nothing else like this. Everyone’s very excited.”

The Victorian PGA Championship is played across both the Legends and Open courses at Peppers Moonah Links Resort, Round 1 commencing on Thursday morning.

As is the case with all ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia events this season, the final two rounds will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo on Saturday and Sunday.

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