New Dismal River Golf Club pictures

[RJ_Daley]

I look forward to the next 10 years to see how all this plays out.  I think that a diversity of opinions on the merits of each of these sand hill area courses will keep the conversation going and interesting for many years.  And, Prairie Club will only add to the fun of comparing which club and course design is held in highest esteem.  Of course there probably will be no unanimous decision rendered.  

[A_Clay_Man]

Tony, As John Kirk eludes to, there is a difference in some of the different regions within the region.

[RJ_Daley]

Adam, your heightened anticipation of the "grand opening" is palpable on the screen.  

I actually just realised, aside from the industry professionals Dan Proctor (practacally your new neighbor) and Josh Mahar WH super, you will actually be the first GCA.com regular bona fide resident of the sand hills proper!

Now that is commitment and putting your carry bag where your heart is...

[A_Clay_Man]

Dick,  Serendipitous circumstances led to me putting much more than my carry bag, where both my heart and my mouth are. As it turns out, it was Sheryl who insisted on moving. She is fed up with the character of peoples she runs into here and is desperate for the nice type folks western Nebraskans are. It also turns out that the average low and high temperatures, are in a range smaller, than here in the high desert. I suspect the harsh winters are pretty much a myth, like L.A. traffic, it keeps the riff raff away.

Pitch the wife, move into town, (if you don't need livestock) The houses are nice looking and relatively inexpensive. Heck, I saw a small little spread, that was under 100k, and had four or five out-buildings.

[RJ_Daley]

Heck, I saw a small little spread, that was under 100k, and had four or five "out-buildings"

There is only two of us now, so a his and her bath is plenty enough...

sorry...couldn't resist.

[A_Clay_Man]

Those are out-buildings, not out-houses! Or to put it in parlance you would capice, they are not baahkhouses.

[Jason Hines]

Adam, be sure to tell us when you are moving up this way, don't just show up you might frighten some folks!!

[Jason Hines]

I will throw this out to the group.

I have pondered this question before, what will make the Dismal River Club a success in term of GCA and this Tree house?

Can it differentiate itself from its neighbor with respect to Architecture?  Amenities?  Access?

We have established the land is too good to screw this up, so how can they?

Jason

[RJ_Daley]

I'll take a stab at that off the top of my head, without taking too much time to think about it.

If you look at SH, Bandon-Pac-Trails, BalleyNeal and Sutton, Prairie Club (to come), you find a strong central figure and strong personality as developer or owner or on staff as either a DOG or manager.  That person or those people are steeped in the lore of the area, and are facilitators for each member and guest to learn and absorb the tradition of the club, even if it is a new club without long standing traditions.  The illusion of a tradition is what is important.  Whether it is the meatloaf that folk rave about at Bandon, or old Tom's burgers on Ben's porch, or the appearance of a fellow like Mark Ammundson to join impromptu join in your round and make you feel special about the experience.  Ruppert is a character and sounds like he has picked personality staffers at BallyNeal.  Doc Trimble is a big personality and like Dick Youngscapp, gives you an immediate connection through their love of the land and understanding of the environment.  

I don't know what Dismal River has in-store along those lines.  But, most folk (I may sound very arrogant and snobby here) won't see the subtle differences in the golf course design between these courses.  They will all be sand hill, remote courses of a certain ilk to them.  The staff and what is created in the legend and lore, and the internal personality mix of staff will attract a certain type of member/customer.  That will make the difference in the end, I think.

[Jason Hines]

Good point Dick,

The central driving “local” figure is prevalent in the successful examples.  It is also successful if you own a Burger King.  The BK example is not meant to be an insult but an example of how successful things in life or business can be fairly basic.  IE you shouldn’t focus on a hail mary every play, but on blocking and tackling.

I will throw this one out, what does better public access have to do with the future success of these projects?  For example, a written letter or a respectful Scottish approach (if you allow me) to respectfully play these courses?  

Don’t get me wrong, I have played a lot of these courses multiple times and will again in the future because of my private club, money and local “connections”.  However, the Wild Horse model will always have a star in my eye because of its public access.  

We have a chance here for once to do something in the spirit of the game.  I am not holding my breath.

Jason

[RJ_Daley]

Jason, first the Bandon model...  Since its inception, a very insider tantalizing campaign was waged to build the legend and lore of the place.  Mr. Keiser, is after all a brilliant businessman.  Folks were on this very website tauting Kidd's efforts before it was done.  Then Tom Doak was equally smart enough to participate with a bunch of us fanatics to offer pre-opening tours and bat a few balls around, etc.  And, Bandon is open to the public.  So, combined with the pre-opening hype, and the fact that you and I can go play there anytime we have the ping to pay the freight, it operates on a certain level somewhat different than the others in this list of Sand Hill Privates.  Access is not as hard to come by.  But, the burning desire to get there based on the hype because they did effectively create a legend and lore of the place before they opened, was smart marketting and they hit the ground at a full gallop.

Sand Hills had the respectful letter availability for the first years.  The legend grew because of that.  Sure it is a masterpiece, no-contest on that principal.  But, didn't the legend grow at a perhaps accelerated pace with access in the early years?  A place like Sand Hills with an owner like that, a design team like that, in a place like that, and you'd have to be brain dead not to soak it all up and pass the word of mouth, without ever needing a rating in a magazine for it to become part of a cult #1.

I think Ruppert will accelerate the BallyNeal project to follow the same offer of limitted (knowledgeable-fanatical golf design freak) access.  Its greatness can stand on its own.  But, creating the hype by getting their own traditions started with a little accelerant of a public taste, can't hurt! A hunt club and great dining is to be provided for starters.  

Dismal paid a lot for old JN to put his name on it.  There they have the legend.  But, if they don't follow up with something that continually ties JN to the course, and somehow project a local legend and lore wrapped up with Jack himself, they could miss the mark.  The trip out there through the sand hills will be equally exciting like getting to SHGC.  But, once they get there, they better have a concept for getting an instant tradition started, if JN isn't around much as expected.  They will need to  rely on initial public access to get some sort of lore and buzz going, IMHO.  They will need to manufacture something beside the golf course as a unique ammenity to start the buzz.  What, I have a few ideas...

Wild Horse is another no-brainer.  It has easy access.  Hardly no waiting to tee off.  It is open to all at a great price.  It has the bones of great design.  The value, the friendliness, the quaintness are the legend and lore from the git-go.  They didn't have to accelerate any hype because it doesn't cost so much to require a good story and local tradition.

[Jason Hines]

Whichever way they go, it has been a treat to play and watch the development of our sand hills.

[A_Clay_Man]

what will make the Dismal River Club a success in term of GCA and this Tree house?

Can it differentiate itself from its neighbor with respect to Architecture?  

Jason, The proof will be in the pudding and a high cours rating and slope will help get Garden staters there.

It is the desire for repeated play, that sets apart great GC's from the less so. If DRC can provide that intangible, it should and shall be respected, in this, the toughest forum in all of golf.

[Alex_Wyatt]

Forgive me for interrupting the "new Jack" lovefest. But this looks pretty darned disappointing. Do you guys really not see the difference between this work and that of Jack's new best friend? This is pretty ham-fisted stuff. I feel like Carly Simon (I feel the earth move under my feet) Look at how the hills flatten out at the fairway, the strange transitions from fairway to choppy bunker to clear bunker.  This is frigging amateur hour boys.