Golf In The Sand Hills Of Nebraska
“We need a Covid relief boys golf trip,” I said on the phone to Gary Barnett who lives in Colorado. I suggested the Sand Hills area of Nebraska would be a good meeting point between Minnesota and Colorado.
Sand Hills is one of my favorite places in the country. I first discovered it about 25 years ago when I was invited to play the freshly minted Sand Hills Golf Club. I knew this part of Nebraska had much more to offer than just one course.
“We will start at Wild Horse Golf Course in Gothenburg, move up to the two courses at Dismal River Golf Club, then on to the two courses at the Prairie Club near Valentine,” Gary told me. He had crafted a great trip with five high profile courses I had never seen. Two in our group would drive from Boulder, Colorado and our fourth from Lincoln, Nebraska.
With Covid raging I chose to make the trip by car. Gothenburg, home of Wild Horse, is about three hours west of Lincoln, on Interstate 80. In all it’s a pretty good pull of about nine hours from Minneapolis.
There is a special feeling in the towns on the plains of Nebraska. Part farming, part ranching, part feeder cattle country, the self sufficiency and unassuming humble nature of the people oozes with every interaction.
Grand Island, North Platte, Valentine, they are all great Americana towns. No sushi or martini bars found here. It’s all about havin’ a couple of Buds, findin’ the biggest steak around and talkin’ Husker football. “So do ya think Coach Frost is gunna’ beat those Golden Gophers this year?” the bartender asks as we wait momentarily for a table later in the trip.
After a night in Grand Island I make the short trip down I 80 to Gothenburg. The town hangs its hat on the Pony Express where they claim it started. There’s a Pony Express Museum and plenty of other reminders of the historic location.
A long coal train coming out of Wyoming rumbles by as I gas up before heading to the course. It runs in front of a large grain elevator just across the street. A local is looking at the engine on his Model A Ford nearby. Nothing moving too fast in Gothenburg on this nice September day.
Gothenburg is located in the southeastern corner of the Sand Hills region of central Nebraska. Grain farms are to the east and south, while cattle ranching are found in the rolling sand hills north and west.
Wild Horse Golf Course is located a few miles out of town. It’s a public course with a small clubhouse containing a modest grill and small pro shop. They’re not expecting players to purchase much with the inventory being shown. The staff is friendly, welcoming and helpful. They’re glad to see us and inquire where our journey will take us next.
Arriving an hour or more before our starting time, it looks like we will be playing with little wind. “Do you get many calm days?” I ask the young guy tending to the driving range.
“Nope, and this won’t last,” he said. “It’ll blow here in a bit.” How did he know?
Wild Horse Golf Course is in a shallow bowl with low grassy hills on two sides. There’s not a tree in sight. The course plays through the bottom of my imaginary bowl with the sense of little more than flat topography. Attractive bunkers populate the course. Like most courses where wind is a major factor, the fairways are generous. Without wide fairways, a windy day would make things a struggle.
Wild Horse is an enjoyable course and at $55 a great value for a Top 100 public golf course. It’s a perfect course for the start of our tour.
The speed of play is good and we head to our vehicles. There is no time to stay for a refreshment because our fourth, Tony Gillick, the Budweiser distributor in Nebraska, is waiting for us at Dismal River Golf Club with a couple of cold ones.
It’s nearly a two hour drive northwest to Dismal River. The drive is one of the highlights of the trip deep into the sand hills. Grasses wave in the breeze over the rolling hills. Cattle graze in valleys that seem to go on forever. With the land supporting only about one head per acre there aren’t large herds gathered. The hay has just been cut and is rolled into huge bales in fields that stretch endlessly in another valley. Plenty of rain this summer insures the cattlemen won’t have to buy hay for the winter. I feel how big our country is driving through the Sand Hills.
We come up over a hill and for as far as we can see the road is as straight as a string with not a vehicle in sight. Far in the distance the road climbs another hill where the vista will be repeated when we peek over the top. A car approaches with the driver motioning “hi” with the forefinger from his steering hand. Never see that in the big city.
We catch the small sign a few miles south of Mullin, Nebraska on the west side of the highway that reads ‘Dismal River Golf Club’. We turn onto a one lane asphalt road that leads us in. Nearly a half hour later, with the last couple of miles on a sandy road, we finally reach our destination.
The modern western style clubhouse sits majestically up on a hill. Unlike the other clubs in the Sand Hills area, Dismal River Golf Club has attracted families with their pool and spa.
It’s much more than a golf club. Located on 60,000 acres, there is hunting of elk, bison, pheasant, dove and other birds. In addition, there is skeet and trap shooting plus fishing. With 116 beds and a large clubhouse, Dismal River Golf Club is attracting corporate gatherings. It must be working because the membership is full with a waiting list.
Dismal River Golf Club has had a rocky past. First opened in 2006 with a Jack Nicklaus golf course, it struggled. With an ownership group that did not build bridges with the locals, a tech bubble that burst, and a difficult golf course, ownership groups came and went.
In 2017 an investment group headed by former NFL player and Mullin native Joel Jacobs, purchased the property. Jacobs was introduced to golf as a caddie at Sand Hills Golf Club by Jim Kidd, then the golf professional at Sand Hills Golf Club.
It’s a beautiful day as we take the 15 minute cart ride to the first tee of the White Course, designed by Jack Nicklaus. Set over hundreds of acres of rolling sand hills, every hole is dramatic, challenging, fair and fun. The course is so spread out it would not be possible to walk.
Since 2006 Nicklaus has redesigned the course and done a spectacular job. The topography is unequalled. Nearly every tee is elevated. Blow out bunkers dramatically guide and guard the fairways.
One of the most difficult design challenges is building a great uphill par three. There just are not many of them. Nicklaus has built two at Dismal River. The 10th has a unique bunker in the middle of the green and the 5th hole has a dramatic setting.
The par 4s and 5s move around mounds and depressions. The fairways are generous but are always tempting the player to try to get greedy. It’s one of those courses you want to play again.
“I love the Red Course, but four out of five times I find myself out on the White Course,” said Caleb Hoyt, PGA Golf Professional.
After a quick bite at Jack’s House, located off the 18th green, we head to the Red Course, designed by Tom Doak. Built in 2013 it is a wonderful course with different topography. Gentler slopes play around hills and valleys, not as dramatic as the White Course but equally as enjoyable.
The greens are enormous with most about 50 yards deep and nearly as wide. Rolls, levels, sections and decks make putting a challenge after a wayward shot to the green. Modern architecture has reduced chipping but not the difficulty of scoring.
Doak has employed a unique tee box design. There is no strong definition of the width and length. Many teeing areas are 100 yards in length, simply long stretches of relatively flat ground. Stakes front, middle and back somewhere in the stretch of ground designate the teeing areas for the day.
The cart is driven on the teeing area to wherever the group wants to play from. The player tees the ball very near the cart and fires away. The tees are so large there is no deterioration in the turf from cart wear.
As we near the end of a long, breezy day the wind calms and the beauty of Dismal River is upon us. Not a sound to be heard, not a cloud in the sky, shadows appearing where the sun cannot reach. It’s a peace that is rare. No vehicles, no airplanes, no wind noise. Perfect.
“Never gets better than this,” said Gary.
“No kidding,” Tony responds.
I make a five footer to avoid losing money and we head to the clubhouse. It’s a long drive in, but a shower and a couple of cold beers await.
We sit out by a huge gas fire pit looking down at the vast Dismal River Valley reviewing the day. “I would come back to Dismal River any time,” said Gary.
Our trip was only half over and we have more great golf ahead. Everybody enjoyed Wild Horse Golf Club. However the two courses at Dismal River are special. Both deserve to be on my list of great courses in A Life in Golf.
