Omaha Forums

Let's face it, "Nebraska" and "resort" are rarely used in the same sentence, unless it is "im leaving Nebraska to go on vacation to a resort in [insert pretty tourist destination here]." "Nebraska" and "golf resort" are a little more believeable, however, who thinks "I want to go on a golf trip in Nebraska!"? I'm about to prove to you that many people around the region will.

How this place has surfaced beneath our awareness is beyond me. So we'll start with the basics. Meet Mullen, Nebraska. It is a town of 275 people in Hooker County. Hooker County has 475 people. Very desolate indeed, but, according to Golf Digest, it is home to the #12 best golf course in the nation: Sand Hills Golf Club. Sand Hills achieves this mark with untouched natural beauty in the Nebraska sand hills. This year, Sand Hills (again Golf Digest's #12 best golf course in the nation) welcomed a new neighbor. It is called The Dismal River Club. It is built "in the shadows" of Sand Hills, but instead of letting the natural beauty be it's only draw, it offers a few other things. First off, the course was designed by Jack Nicklaus. We'll stop there for a moment and show a few screens of the course itself:






I said resort right? Get this, I'm not sure if any other course in Nebraska features cabins on their property, but this one certainly does. The first image below is of the clubhouse, followed by cabin renderings, and then the actual cabins (still under construction I believe):








^Note the flat panel TV. On top of golf, the resort also offers private hunting and fishing.

The Golf Carts are pretty interesting:




Now for the kicker. Mullen, NE is in the middle of nowhere. Who would want to drive all the way out there? Dismal Creek figured very few people would, so, that's why they offer to fly you straight to their property in their private plane. That's right they "anticipate offering regular service from Omaha, Denver, and North Platte" to their own private air strip. They're also open to flying to other destinations per request.




As for the price, well...."A charter membership is $50,000 up front and $3,600 a year after that. That covers the member. -- not their immediate family or children. A guest green fee will be $150"
http://www.dismalriver.com

 $150 green fee???!!! I'd want to take as many strokes as possible to make sure I get my moneys' worth!!!  :yes:

I think you are talking about different golf courses.  I don't believe it is this Nicklaus designed course that is the 12th ranked course in the country, but nearby Sand Hills golf club that was designed by Ben Crenshaw.  It is about a decade older and even more exclusive (unless you know an insider, you're not playing) but is also near the dismal river.  Interesting to note was the incredibly small amount of grading and earth moving that was required to form the Sand Hills as it is very close to its native form.  I'm sure they are both considered out in the middle of nowhere though, no power lines, airplanes, traffic and a good distance between holes.

I was talking about two different courses. I mentioned Sand Hills as #12 and then noted how this new course will surely provide it with a lot of competition. I accidentally refered to it as Sand Dunes though. Sorry for the confusion.

Sand Hills GC consistently ranks among the nations top!

But if things go according to Jack Nicklaus' plan, the area will become a premier golf destination. His vision is for highway 97 to become a trail connecting the acclaimed Sand Hills Club with two new projects, the Dismal River Club and the Prairie Club.

"It's so stark, it's beautiful,'' Nicklaus said. "If you're not a golfer, then you think there's nothing there. If you are a golfer, you look at the way the land rolls, you picture the grass and high fescues, and you say, 'Man, this is neat.'''

Ben Crenshaw was the first golf architect drawn here. His Sand Hills Club, which opened in 1995, ranks No. 12 on Golf Digest's list of 100 Greatest American Golf Courses and is No. 1 among those built after 1960.

If you are a golf photography fan, here is a local photographer:

http://www.stonehousegolf.com

And some sand hills photos can be found here:

http://www.stonehousegolf.com/collectio ... s=Nebraska

Excellent summation of Nebraska's potential golf mecca, Titos.

TitosBuritoBarn wrote:
How this place has surfaced beneath our awareness is beyond me.

Maybe it's because I'm from "outstate" but I've known about The Sandhills Golf Course since it was built and of Nicklaus's plans since they were announced. I just assumed eastern Nebraskans were always aware of them, too. No?

I saw a golf-course list about a year ago that ranked Sandhills among the top 20 in the world. #16 or #17, something like that. Wish I'd remembered who put out the list, but I'm not a golf aficionado. Still, a ranking like that for little ole Hooker County makes my chest swell.  

I hope these courses develop the notoriety Nicklaus envisions.

I saw a golf-course list about a year ago that ranked Sandhills among the top 20 in the world. #16 or #17, something like that. Wish I'd remembered who put out the list, but I'm not a golf aficionado. Still, a ranking like that for little ole Hooker County makes my chest swell.

http://www.ausgolf.com.au/2002world100.htm

The World's Top 100 Golf Courses, 2002
1. Pine Valley (Clementon, NJ)
2. Cypress Point (Pebble Beach, Calif)
3. Pebble Beach (Pebble Beach, Calif)
4. Augusta National (Augusta, Ga)
5. St. Andrews (Old Course) (St. Andrews, Scotland)
6. Shinnecock Hills (Southampton, N.Y)
7. Pinehurst (No. 2) (Pinehurst, N.C)
8 . Royal County Down (Newcastle, N. Ireland)
9. Muirfield (Gullane, Scotland)
10. Royal Melbourne (Composite) (Melbourne, Australia)
11. Ballybunion (Old) (Ballybunion, Ireland)
12. Sand Hills (Mullen, Neb)
13. Merion (East) (Ardmore, Pa)
14. Royal Portrush (Dunluce) (Portrush, N. Ireland)
15. Royal Dornoch (Dornoch, Scotland)
16. Oakmont (Oakmont, Pa)
17. Seminole (North Palm Beach, Fla)
18. Turnberry (Ailsa) (Turnberry, Scotland)
19. Winged Foot (West) (Mamaroneck, N.Y)
20. San Francisco (San Francisco, Calif)
21. Prairie Dunes (Hutchinson, Kan)
22. Carnoustie (Championship) (Carnoustie, Scotland Braid)
23. National GL of America (Southampton, N.Y)
24. Crystal Downs (Frankfort, Mich)
25. Oakland Hills (South) (Birmingham, Mich)

I wonder what the criteria for this ranking is.

Obviously there are lots of contributing factors: history, design, amenities, natural beauty, etc.

I don't know about the design/amenities, and the Sand Hills certainly aren't rich in golf history, so I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that from this ranking, one can deduct that the Sand Hills are the 12th most beautiful place on earth.    :yes:

That... and perhaps more importantly, the design of the golf course itself has won much praise.  Had Jack Nicklaus not been involved in it's design, I doubt anyone would have ever heard about it.

Dismal River and the Sand Hills are famous because they are Links courses which are rare in the United States. They imitate the layout and conditions of St. Andrew's in Scotland which is built in the sand dunes along the shore line. So if you want to play a Links course and not have to fly to Scotland - you go to the sand hills.

What is a "links course?"

Google "links course" for about 10,000 answers to that question.

-Big E

omaproud wrote:What is a "links course?"

Think of the British open.  

No trees.  Wide open with lots of thick deep rough.  Most have large mounds all over the place.  The champions club was called a links course,  it has all the mounds and is fairly wide open but its not the best example.

A traditional links course will have many - perhaps all - of the following features:

• The course is built along the seaside;
• The soil is sandy and drains easily;
• The course is laid out naturally, so that unusual bumps and slopes in the fairways and greens remain, rather than being smoothed over;
• The rough features natural seaside grasses;
• Bunkers are numerous, very small and very deep (to keep the seaside breezes from blowing the sand away)
• Fairways are rarely (if ever) watered and play firm and fast;
• Links courses usually have few if any trees;
• The course routes out and back.

http://golf.about.com/cs/golfterms/g/bldef_links.htm

Thank you Uffda!

I visited Sand Hills GC back when it was under construction.  My father has played it, and a neighbor is a member.

It is truly a treasure.  The Nicklaus club sounds like it may end up being a little bit hack in comparison, but should end up being world-class as well.

The Sand Hills are ideal for great golf, even public courses in little podunk towns can really play nice.

49r, for the love of GOD please shrink your signature picture.  It makes threads completely unreadable.

Mods, can you do anything???

bradley414 wrote:Mods, can you do anything???

Nope, only the admin.

sorry, sorry...I turned it off now.

Thank you.

49r wrote:sorry, sorry...I turned it off now.

Thank you.  If you want, you can send me the file and I can resize it to a more appropriate size.  My email is in my sig.

And now some more neightbors in the Sand Hills:

Land deal may save Sand Hills golf resort in Valentine

Omaha World Herald wrote:A long-delayed luxury golf club proposed near Valentine is back on track, and a top professional golfer has signed on to the project.  Tom Lehman, who's earned more than $18 million during his playing career and won the British Open in 1996, will design one of the two 18-hole golf courses at the Prairie Club. The two Prairie Club courses, now expected to open in the spring of 2009, had been placed on hold over concerns that adjacent land along the scenic Snake River might be turned into housing and ruin the pristine Sand Hills views. Ben Crenshaw designed the Sand Hills Golf Club south of Mullen, which opened in 1995. Jack Nicklaus laid out the Dismal River Club, which opened last year.

Coyote wrote:And now some more neightbors in the Sand Hills:

Land deal may save Sand Hills golf resort in Valentine

Omaha World Herald wrote:A long-delayed luxury golf club proposed near Valentine is back on track, and a top professional golfer has signed on to the project.  Tom Lehman, who's earned more than $18 million during his playing career and won the British Open in 1996, will design one of the two 18-hole golf courses at the Prairie Club. The two Prairie Club courses, now expected to open in the spring of 2009, had been placed on hold over concerns that adjacent land along the scenic Snake River might be turned into housing and ruin the pristine Sand Hills views. Ben Crenshaw designed the Sand Hills Golf Club south of Mullen, which opened in 1995. Jack Nicklaus laid out the Dismal River Club, which opened last year.

What is the latest on this?

'Destination golf' expands its reach

VALENTINE, Neb. - Construction has begun at The Prairie Club, bringing Sioux Falls businessman Paul Schock closer to his dream of building a world-class golf facility.

Located about 17 miles southwest of Valentine on Highway 97, The Prairie Club will consist of two 18-hole courses on part of nearly 2,600 acres of land Schock owns in the fertile Sand Hills region of northern Nebraska.

One course, designed by former British Open champion Tom Lehman, will be a traditional links-style venue shaped from the natural dunes.
Advertisement

The second, designed by Champions Tour mainstay Graham Marsh, will be cut out of a 11/4-mile parcel of land filled with Ponderosa pine overlooking the Snake River.

The Prairie Club, slated to open in the spring of 2010, is the third "destination golf club" to spring up in the Sand Hills region in the last decade, joining Sand Hills Golf Club and Dismal River Golf Course, both private facilities located outside of nearby Mullen, Neb.

Exclusive destination

In addition to the two 18-hole golf courses, The Prairie Club will also have a Par 3 course, full practice range and putting green.

The club will also offer fine and casual dining along with a pub and cigar bar where golfers can share their experiences of the day, Schock said. The lodge and housing units, being designed by Architecture Incorporated of Sioux Falls, will sit along the edge of the Snake River Canyon.

The cost of a membership has not been disclosed.

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 002/sports

[/quote]

I wonder why we don't hear more about these as golf destinations. I know they aren't going to be an Augusta National or a Pebble Beach, but how is it that no tour goes through there? Additonally, why don't they do more marketing? Are they successful profits wise as it is? They must be if they keep bulding more courses out there. But if they're so successful, why are people still moving away from these areas at considerably high rates? I guess Mullen, where Dismal River is, was up in popluation last year, but not by much. I think we're sitting on a gold mine with these golf resorts, its just a matter of getting the word out.

From I read about these Destination Golf courses they are private, exclusive and aimed at people who are able to fly in for a round or two of golf.

from the article

The cost of a membership has not been disclosed.

"Most of the high-end golf clubs are geared for memberships that are highly priced and small in number," Schock said.

"One reason they are successful is they are attractive to fanatic golfers who have a desire to travel and play. We will be open to and encourage public play for the first several years until memberships are sold out. Public play will then be on a limited basis."

They are having no problem getting golfers. They are, however, having difficulty finding workers for the resort!

Finn wrote:They are, however, having difficulty finding workers for the resort!

heck if I was fresh out of college and didn't own a house and have a career, I would go out there and work for a year or two.  Can you imagine the photo opportunities if you lived in the sand hills!

Investors aim to expand Sand Hills' Dismal River Golf Club into a full recreation destination

http://www.omaha.com/sports/local-golf/ ... 97afd.html

By Cole Epley / World-Herald staff writer wrote:Initial plans include the development of skeet shooting, mountain biking and hunting tours on and around the facility’s nearly 3,000 acres. Other plans include private shuttles out to the relatively remote facility.