[Chris L The Golf Dude]

http://www.golfcluba...sandhills1.html


Why can't they have a US Open at the Sand Hills??!


Insane Bunkers!

[Scott@84]

What a great looking course!

[slicktry]

Wow! That is a beautiful looking course, and by the way they advertise it, it seems to be quite challenging. To say it is a US open course, it would need a few additions. Mainly lenghtening of the holes. Too many 400 yd holes. But whatever. With the prairie wind making things interesting, it might not need lengthening. A definite possiblity of playing it next year!

God Bless
Jer

[dbleagleks]

slicktry, on Sep 7 2005, 12:59 AM, said:

Wow!  That is a beautiful looking course, and by the way they advertise it, it seems to be quite challenging.  To say it is a US open course, it would need a few additions.  Mainly lenghtening of the holes.  Too many 400 yd holes.  But whatever.  With the prairie wind making things interesting, it might not need lengthening.  A definite possiblity of playing it next year!

God Bless
Jer

Unless you know a member that is willing to play with you forget it! You won't see the front door.

[slicktry]

Quote

Unless you know a member that is willing to play with you forget it! You won't see the front door.

Oops, my bad. I guess I should have read the fine print. So with that being said, anyone know a member there?

God Bless
Jer

P.S. I belong a Private club. I know how hard it is to try to get on to some of the better C.C.'s in the area.

[JHR]

Very Nice. Thanks for the Link.

[dbleagleks]

slicktry, on Sep 7 2005, 09:02 AM, said:

Quote

Unless you know a member that is willing to play with you forget it! You won't see the front door.

Oops, my bad. I guess I should have read the fine print. So with that being said, anyone know a member there?

God Bless
Jer

P.S. I belong a Private club. I know how hard it is to try to get on to some of the better C.C.'s in the area.

Sand Hills is a very cool experience. There are only about 20 people on the course give or take each day. The course is incredible, out in the middle of no where, but incredible. The link on the website does not do it justice.

[Flo37]

So, this is the place I've heard stories about. Mega rich guys flying in on private choppers playing a round then heading back to their faroff home. That bunker on the 4th, absolutely incredible.

Problem with having a U.S. Open is how are you going to get the people there? Most people won't drive the many hours it is to the nearest major city, which I think is Omaha, every day.

[Chris L The Golf Dude]

IMO, from the photos, this looks tougher and better than Whisling Straights.

[wwhitehead]

Sand Hills, like many of the best courses in the US, will never host a major, or be seen on television. Even if the membership was interested (and they probably aren't), there are too many issues...example...the first tee is over a mile from the clubhouse.

[College Golfer]

I've played the Sand Hills and it is a phenominal course. Man is it in the middle of nowhere. No joke, it is so quiet that you can hear your ball plump on the green from 200 yards away. I also told my buddy to quit writing so loud becuase I could hear the noise from the pencil on the scorecard. Jack Nicklaus has already started construstion on its sister course near by. Should be done hear in the next year or so.

Another great midwest golf course is Sutton Bay in South Dakota. I've played both and liked SB a little better.

www.suttonbay.com

[College Golfer]

Scott@84, on Sep 6 2005, 08:18 PM, said:

What a great looking course!

I am a native Nebraskan and this is why it will never be played at the Sand Hills

1) too short
2) no way to house and comfort the common US Open setting, the nearest town is 50 miles away and has probably 25,000 people living there. There is a small motel in mullen, maybe Tiger and Elin could stay there. It would probably be up to their standard.

[easyyy]

first look I thought Pete Dye. After a read I saw there was a relationship. Looks great though.

[cpa49707]

Great looking course. Hard to believe that it was built so inexpensively. Only 160 members and 50- 70 rounds day. My home course has that many in by 10 am every day.

Sure would enjoy playing it though.

[GehenHerzog]

Are you sure that course is in the US....

LOL, an unusual course for being in the US. BUT it looks sweet. Similar to Whistling Straits

[OB ReT Hit 3]

Our head pro just took a group of memebers there and said it was GREAT. They played for 3 days and I think that stayed on the grounds.

He has a SMALL connection there. His father was one of the first investors and members.

The pro said that he could get us on at any time. BUt it is in the middle of NO WHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pnomm]

"Is this heaven? No, it's Nebraska." Sorry Costner, Field of Dreams has moved.

Sand Hills is the Garden of Eden. Played there 36-holes a day for three days last June and can't wait to go back. No hole played the same way twice, and the atmosphere was as good as it gets. How about the range? Next time you see a wheatfield just imagine someone moving a 100-yard by 300-yards swath out of the it and sticking a patch of Augusta's tee box at one end.

The conditions were immaculate. So pure and tight were the tees that on the second round of the day I could find the hole my TEE made earlier in the day. I think there were 3 or 4 other foursomes there besides our two groups (as is the design). And Old Tom's burgers on Ben's Porch between rounds were the best kept secret (oops, I spilled it). Nothin' like having a starter wearing cowboy boots, FINE Wranglers and a big ol' belt buckle, and the hat to boot - he is the real deal.

Fast, FAST and PURE greens. If you have any imagination you could stand at 100-yards on each hole and play 40 different shots to the same pin. The bunkers could be 3-inches deep or 30-feet deep depending on which one you found. Handmade wooden rakes. The 150 markers are 10"x6" barn-board branded with the number. Coore & Crenshaw are the best.

[Big D McGee]

That course looks absolutely amazing! Is it ranked by Golf Digest or Golf Magazine?

[2zlinks]

Big D McGee, on Mar 24 2006, 10:45 AM, said:

That course looks absolutely amazing! Is it ranked by Golf Digest or Golf Magazine?

No 1 on the Modern list (1960 to present) according to Golfweek.

[cornbred19]

OB ReT Hit 3, on Sep 16 2005, 07:34 PM, said:

Our head pro just took a group of memebers there and said it was GREAT. They played for 3 days and I think that stayed on the grounds.

He has a SMALL connection there. His father was one of the first investors and members.

The pro said that he could get us on at any time. BUt it is in the middle of NO WHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

definitely falls under the category of truly getting away...i'd be out there in a heartbeat...

[drstroud]

My dad had played it and really enjoyed it. I think he played with one of his regional reps there soon after it opened.

[FairwayFred]

It is in the Top 10 on every Top 100 list. Whisteling Straits isnt even close to Sand Hills IMO not even in the same league. (see natural vs. completely fake) FYI its a Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore design. PLAY THERE IF YOU CAN GET ON!!!

[cfreeman8]

A good public course ALSO in the middle of nowhere is Wild Horse Golf Club in Gothenburg. It is public access and was one of the best modern courses. I think that it is less than $50 to play too. It has a similar style and has VERY deep rough. Also, WATCH OUT FOR RATTLESNAKES!!!

[thatswhatshesaid]

How did you get on to Sutton Bay? How expensive is it?

[jaydub]

Just found this board.
A tournament involving spectators will not be held at the SH as the environment could not handle it. The natural grasslands are on sand hills that are extremely prone to erosion. Creating new foot trails for spectators would create new bunkers within a few years. You would not be able to bring in any trucks or cranes. Once a semitrailer truck delivering supplies got off on the wrong road and ended up stuck up to its axles in sand. Driving a golf cart into the rough merits going home. There has been a few very small tournaments without spectators, such as state PGA events, or junior tournaments.
As to not being long enough, if you have ever been there you would realize that new tee boxes would be fairly easy to create on most holes. The greens may be the best in the country. The fairways are extremely wide, and would be too forgiving for a tour event.
The members aren't interested in the spectacle of a major tournament, and the revenues aren't needed. You can drive right up to the clubhouse, if you can find it, and be very welcome inside. You could ask for a ride up to the course and probably get one fairly quickly. Once at Ben's Porch, you would appreciate what many already know, that this is truly golf heaven. To play, you need a member.
A good taste of the SH is Wild Horse in Gothenburg, as noted in a previous post.

[dirtyboy]

Try Bayside near Ogallala, same designers as Wild Horse with much more terrain to deal with. The West Winds course in Ogallala is owned and ran by one of the original greenskeepers at Sandhills. While the front 9 is too old school (short and trees) the back is fun and the guy can grow grass, his greens are the best.

[wwhitehead]

bodybugg, on Jul 29 2007, 09:39 AM, said:

How did you get on to Sutton Bay? How expensive is it?

Sutton Bay is as private as they come.

WW

[Pinehurst1999]

Look similar to Tobacco Road in the Sand Hills of NC (ranked as Golf Magazines 10 most adventerous courses in the US), dug out of an old sand pit. Tons of blind shots and anything off the fairway if in sand...the good thing is there is no OB on the course...but be prepared for many lost ball penalties.

[nandoal]

Chris L The Golf Dude, on Sep 7 2005, 07:10 PM, said:

IMO, from the photos, this looks tougher and better than Whisling Straights.

Cause it is!

[FairwayFred]

gocanes1, on Feb 12 2008, 04:59 PM, said:

Look similar to Tobacco Road in the Sand Hills of NC (ranked as Golf Magazines 10 most adventerous courses in the US), dug out of an old sand pit. Tons of blind shots and anything off the fairway if in sand...the good thing is there is no OB on the course...but be prepared for many lost ball penalties.

Its nothing like Tobacco Road. Sand Hills is completely fair and right in front of you. The shaggy or natural appearance might be kinda similar but it ends there. TR is a fund golf course but should not be mentioned in the same breath as Sand Hills. If there is a better course than Sand Hills somewhere in the world than I would love to see it.................

[307golf]

It's great to read all the wonderful things about my native soil. My roots are all over the sandhills of Nebraska. Generations of my family have raised cattle on that sacred ground. There is nowhere in the world more beautiful to me than the Nebraska sandhills. Some special day, I hope to play this course, with my dad. Until then, the photos...

[Pinehurst1999]

To answer the original question, why is the US Open not playing here...

I would guess because it is in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska! Are there enough hotels and ammenities to handle a US crowd? I would need to see number to believe that it is capable.

[307golf]

NO, it is not possible to host a US Open in this area.  Not even close.  The entire gallery, media, and most of the players would have to camp out in the sandhills.  Not likely to happen in this day and age...  If it does go there (which it won't) I've got access to two ranches and a total of about 20 bedrooms for rent as close to the course as you're gonna get...:)307golf

[TKnuth11]

If anybody wants to see first hand pictures I took let me know I will be happy to send them too you and yes they should have the open there. The only problem with that is that the nearest hotel is 2 hours away.

[dirtyboy]

Nearest hotel is much closer, I'm 2 hours away. Pretty sure they wouldn't want to put up with all the BS involved in an open.

How did you get on? Someday I'll play there.

We played Wildhorse at Gothenburg today, fantastic course. The super learned his craft at Sandhills and Wildhorse's greens may have been the truest rolling I've ever played. Wildhorse is rated in several magazines, one was the best courses under $100, we paid $52 since it was a Friday.

[In2Bate]

I played Sand Hills and Wildhorse earlier this week. I'd post some pictures of Sandhills if I could figure out how. I tried and they didn't attach. Anyhow, Sandhills GC makes Wildhorse into "My Little Pony" in terms of an overall golf experience.

[dirtyboy]

Sandhills should be better, it costs about $150 more per round and most people can't get on anyway.

[crkranz]

Under construction is another highend golf complex with 2 18 hole courses to compliment Sandhills, Dismal River and Wildhorse. Maybe be playable by end of next summer. This area is turning into a golf destination.

[dirtyboy]

Both Dismal and Sandhills are private, the new one will be public but near Valentine, quite a ways from Mullen.
http://www.hotel-onl..._SandHills.html

[wegobomber31]

Has anybody played Tom Doak's Ballyneal in NE Colorado? Many put it in on par or above Sand Hills, which is really saying something.