Mat Goggin knew all along that great golf courses come in multiples – or at very least pairs – which is why the decision last night by Hobart’s Clarence City Council to approve the development of a second course alongside the much-vaunted 7 Mile Beach layout [pictured] represents such a vital step forward in what shapes as Australia’s next world-class golf destination.

In an emphatic post on social media, the Tasmanian touring pro and now course developer praised the courage of the council’s staff and planners, Goggin also revealing that 117 of the 119 submissions made to Clarence City Council were positive.

Likely to be known as 5 Mile Beach, the second course will be built to the north of the 7 Mile Beach course, on a wider, 921.8-hectare site, and will feature a shared clubhouse, restaurant, maintenance shed, amenities block and car parking.

It will also add an important dimension to the peninsula of land on the eastern side of the Tasmanian capital. As Goggin said in quoting Mike Keiser, founder of Bandon Dunes in coastal Oregon, “1 + 1 = 3”, a nod to the power of having multiple courses from a golf tourism standpoint.

“One course is a curiosity, two courses are a destination,” Goggin said, again quoting Keiser.

When it added its second course (there are now six), Bandon “tripled its number of green fees, tripled its visitors, tripled its economic effect on the local community and is now the main economic driver for an entire region of Oregon”.

Another blueprint for success lies much closer to Hobart – at the ever-popular Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania’s north-east. There, Keiser convinced owner Richard Sattler to add a second golf course (there are now three), a move that proved to be a masterstroke as Barnbougle is now the largest employer in its region.