[Ben Voelker]

I am driving from Lincoln, Nebraska out to San Diego sometime in September to start grad school and am making the trip in 3 days total.  We've planned on stopping for the first night in Rawlins, Wyoming.  I'm not going to have time for a full blown golf trip, however, I believe I've seen some praise on this site for Rochelle Ranch in Rawlins.  I wanted to see if anyone has played it, and what they think, or if there's another course in Wyoming that I'm getting it mixed up with.  If Rochelle Ranch is the place, I'll make sure to make some extra time when I get there to check it out.  Thanks in advance,

Ben

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Ben

I haven't played there....yet. It's on my list for next summer. Designed by Ken Kavanaugh, there has been mention of it here at GCA. I don't know if anyone has played it. Looks great:

www.rochelleranch.com

Steve

[Tom_Doak]

Ben:

I know that Ken Kavanaugh was genuinely excited about that project when he was getting started on it 3-4 years ago.  Hope you will stop and play it and post your thoughts.

[Scott Witter]

Say, is it me or does anyone else who has at least looked at the website for this course find it curious to see no less than 12 holes with bunkers set out in, or quite near, the middle of the fairways?  I realize it is only a graphic representation...does anyone know if it was built this way?

Second, I did find it strange to see that in the sites' "we would like to thank" reference section, they thank Ken Kavanaugh and his wife for the pictures?!  Didn't he design it?

Lastly, and this has been discussed before in various threads, how can a municipality or anyone for that matter afford to hire an accomplished architect such as Ken K. to design and assist in getting built, I assume, a course such as this and ONLY charge $24 for weekend play and raise it a WHOPPING $1 to $25 for ALL DAY PLAY!  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for affordable golf, but this seems a bit unusual even if the original financial input was a huge gift from a local citizen.  Are they still getting "gifts" to maintain the course?

[Matt_Ward]

Ben:

I had the pleasure in playing the course about 6-7 weeks ago. The layout provides plenty of width given the high winds that can blow through the site. The course is located RIGHT OFF I-80 so you can't miss the place.

The only issue of concern was some flooding that has since dried out and caused massive problems with several fairways. The course will likely need to either re-seed or re-sod the areas in question.

Regarding the course -- I posted a number of comments in great detail about a number of holes there. The layout is quite long at 7,700+ yards but the elevation will assist.

When everything straightens out Rochelle Ranch has the wherewithal to be rated along the caliber of Wild Horse and other courses of that type.

Certainly well worth playing when driving through the area.

[Tom_Doak]

Scott:

To answer your questions:

a)  Ken Kavanaugh's wife Lori is a fine photographer who did some work on the Tour years ago, so it's not surprising that she would take pictures of his courses; and

b)  I believe that the donor for the project donated nearly all of the money to build the course, as Jerry Rawls did for the course at Texas Tech.  If there's no debt on construction, green fees shouldn't be very high.

[Scott Witter]

Matt, sorry for not looking back at your comments/review, I will do so after this reply, but what did you think about the bunkers in the fairway with respect to play for you and other golfers in the area?

Does the "width" you refer to assist high handicap golfers with bunker placement?

I will be visiting the area in a month or so and was curious, but not that I am a high handicap player, I carry a 9.1.

A personal rating near Wild Horse is saying something...?

[Scott Witter]

Tom,

Thanks, that's great about Ken's wife, and I'm sure she is quite qualified, but wouldn't you expect to be given some notice if you designed the course?  Maybe, maybe not, there are always other circumstances behind the scenes we never really know about.

Sure, I can follow the debt logic, but will $25/18-holes support the maintenance required?  Or does the donating continue?  If so, I need to find one of these clients!  We would love to have a course of this quality (as it seems) in our area with green similar fees.

[Matt_Ward]

Scott:

The width reflects the reality of the setting. If Rochelle Ranch were in the range of 30 yard fairways with prairie grasses right on top of the holes the entire course would be playable for Tiger and the very low handicaps. The wind can be quite intense on days at Rochelle Ranch.

I found the course to be a great balancing act -- credit to Ken K for creating a design that uses all the elements of the property. The gambling par-4 4th will become even more noted as time passes. I also think the green contours are so well done. Try out the par-3 3rd and par-3 6th -- they both go in different directions so wind will counterbalance one with the other. In addition, the greens have plenty of unique contours without being overly savage.

I like Wild Horse a good bit but Rochelle Ranch has the capacity to exceed it. The course will need to straighten out the issues of the turf on a few of the holes from the previously mentioned flooding that took place. I don't see that as a permanent issue.

Few people will make the trek to Rochelle Ranch but if anyone is traveling I-80 west from the Midwest to the coast you can't go wrong in making a slight detour to Wild Horse in Gothenburg, NE and then continuing west through Rawlins when you see the course IMMEDIATELY OFF the highway.

The comparisons between the two will make for an interesting dialogue. I look forward to returning to Rochelle Ranch sometime in '06 to see the progress made.

[Ben Voelker]

Matt, thanks for the info.  I'm planning on working a round in at Rochelle Ranch either the night I arrive or early the next morning.  As for Wild Horse, I've been there before, and would love to stop again on the way through, however, am pretty strapped for time, so I probably won't get there this time around.

I am looking into some sort of I-15/I-80 golf trip next June when I'll have a little extra time coming back to the midwest after the school year is out.

I'll be sure to post some pictures a few days after I've made my trip out there so those who haven't been there can see what the course is about.  Thanks to everyone for their help

Ben

[Scott Witter]

Matt,

Thanks for the comments.  Sounds like Rochelle Ranch can hold it own!  Looking forward to the experience in a couple months.  I don't disagree about the width even without seeing the place as this make perfect sense given the scale and the openness of the surrounding area.

I haven't played or seen Wild Horse, but it would be a shame to miss it while I'm there.  I have a tight schedule but....

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