Pelican Beach in Hyannis, NE (with photos)

[Brandon Urban]

Last year on our way from Bayside to Dismal River we passed a little 9-holer in Hyannis, NE that looked like it was benched into the side of a hill. Due to fleeting daylight we didn't have time to stop, but I vowed to get there sometime. Luckily this year we had time to not only stop in, but go around twice and I am really glad we did. This is true and raw prairie golf built by a community first as a 3 hole course and since expanded to 9 holes. It was an absolute blast to knock the ball around in the sand hills at this place.

The sign fits in perfectly with the rest of the landscape.


I'm a sucker for places that you just put your money in a box and head to the tee. We were the only car in the lot, other than the guy out mowing.


I didn't grab pictures of every hole, but here are few.

The first is a 370 yard par 4 with a semi-blind drive. The approach is downhill to a lay of the land green. Great opener.


The 2nd brings us a short downhill par 3 that plays 139 yards. This one was a hoot in the downwind 15 mph breeze.


The tee markers are fantastic at Pelican Beach and give you all the evidence that you need that this is a true labor of love for the small town of Hyannis.


This shot of the 3rd green gives you a good idea of the views and the bunkering on the course. The sand hills are magical and this place has it in spades.


The 5th hole starts a run of really fun, short par 4s. This one measuring 327 yards. My friend Barry prepares to bomb another one down the middle and take more of my money.


The 6th hole plays to the tune of 282 yards. There is plenty of room to try to draw one in from the right hand side. And as you could probably guess, the conditions were firm and fast enough to attempt just that.


Miss short of the hole and you will be faced with a nasty shot out of this behemoth, which is way deeper than it looks. I could barely see the flag from the bottom.


The 7th hole brings us to the end of this fun stretch of holes where everything from eagle to an X is possible. The tee shot is a little intimidating the first time around to this green 245 yards away. No idea where to hit it or what is up there.


The fear is realized upon reaching the green when you gaze upon this nasty creature of a hazard (yes, I was in it. Twice.) waiting for shots hit short and right.


The 8th is a fantastic little par 3 playing 141 yards to a long and narrow green. There is a really cool kick plate to the right that you can use to get it close (like 6" close).


One last picture of the view off of the 8th green which is the highest point on the course.


If you are ever driving through Hyannis, please stop. This place was so much fun and I wish something like this was nearby. So many times we get caught up in getting to the next Top 100 that we miss these little gems. I for one love them and will keep stopping. They are the soul of golf.

[Terry Lavin]

Where's the beach?  😀

[Ryan Bass]

Thanks for the tour, Brandon.  Shows what amateur designers (presumably) can do with a world class piece of property, right?  I lived in Nebraska for four years and I miss Sand Hills golf.  What a setting.

[Brandon Urban]

Where's the beach? 

I think they have all the sand you would ever need, Mr. Lavin 

Ryan,

I actually met one of the guys that helped design/build the place while we were there. He has actually done a ton of work for C & C, Doak, etc (just got back from China), as far as shaping and such. So they kind of knew what they were doing. But I do agree, the sand hills are so amazing that I think I could go out there and find 1-3 holes that I wouldn't mind playing every day.

[Adam Clayman]

Ryan- This is a Dan Proctor labor of love. He was asked by a local to come and do it. He didn't build the bunkers. Jack D. (a shaper) was there when Dan went around pointing out where they should go. A few years later, Jack borrowed Jason's (owner at Bayside) back hoe, on a Friday night, and had it back by Monday morning (because he had to), and built every bunker Dan had spec'd on that original walkabout. Subsequently, the local, who I assumed covered the few costs, didn't like at least one of those bunkers (My guess it's the grassed-in beast pictured above) because his ball kept finding it.

Terry, I remember the first time Slag Bandoon posted the name Pelican Beach. I thought it was his obtuse sense of humor, but in reality, that water you see pictured is home to thousands of migrating Pelicans. Another one of the regions natural wonders.

[Brandon Urban]

Adam,

I met Jack at Pelican. Really good guy who took about 15 minutes to chat with us about the course, it's beginnings, etc. He was actually telling us about a new project he is working on across the road up in the dunes. Supposedly staked out, with a routing done by Tom Watson and hoping to move dirt next year pending some land swapping... he sounded really excited about it. I figured if anyone else had heard about it, you would have.

[Adam Clayman]

I've heard rumblings but you know more than me. I hope the earth moving bit is a bit of misnomer. Otherwise, why build it here?
Paging Paul Hermsmeyer.

[Brandon Urban]

I've heard rumblings but you know more than me. I hope the earth moving bit is a bit of misnomer. Otherwise, why build it here?
Paging Paul Hermsmeyer.

Sorry... should have chosen my words better... more like mowing stuff down and planting grass. With some massaging of dirt, of course.

[Adam Clayman]

I for one will be rooting for Mr. Watson. He made a detailed passionate plea to Jack Nicklaus, at dinner one Saturday night during The Memorial tournament, to fix Dismal River. It was back before the ownership changed hands and was vying to build DRs second course.  I just hope he keeps it aways away from any water. Like the Loup.

[Thomas Dai]

Brandon,

Terrific. Well done for highlighting this course. We've seen a few wee 9-hole gems highlighted recently which has been splendid. I doubt I'll ever get to Hyannis, NE but seeing courses like this exist is one of many great aspects of GCA.

I love this bunker -



and features like the highly original tee-markers and surprises like this in the fairway -



and your closing remark that "So many times we get caught up in getting to the next Top 100 that we miss these little gems. I for one love them and will keep stopping. They are the soul of golf." is one of the most apt and appropriate comments I've read in a long, long time.

Well done.

atb

[Chuck Glowacki]

Looks like Jeff Warne would love it (me 2)

[Paul Gray]

Brandon,

Fantastic tour.

Also, very good to see these sorts of places in America. I think many of us fall into the trap of thinking that golf in the US comes with a huge price tag. And as Thomas reiterated, they really are the soul of the game.

[Jaeger Kovich]

Really awesome little golf course. I played a few years back while working on Dismal Red with some of the others on the crew. It was probably our favorite of all the sandhills 9-holers we played, and we played a lot of them!

The 4th hole, a shortish par-5, at Pelican was really good... But then we got stuck behind a few cowboys playing a 5ball so we went back to #2, before catching them again... Best not to hit into a bunch of cowboys!

Surprised the irrigation heads located in the centers of the greens hasn't been mentioned yet!

[Tom_Doak]

I played Pelican Beach [and Bayside] in 2002, with Jim Urbina and Mike Clayton and Bruce Grant, when they came over for the Archipalooza event at Sand Hills.  Jack Dredla had been working for us at The Rawls Course, and described the course in detail.  It's a cool little course.

It was originally just three holes! -- the first three -- and eventually Dan Proctor convinced them to expand to nine.

It can't get very much play, apart from the locals ... I drove past two or three times while working on Dismal River, and there never seemed to be anyone out playing it.

[Jaeger Kovich]

Pelican Beach #4 - Short Par-5 I think. OB is the white fence, and left is a low native area which is surely a layup... Just short and you are playing way above your head.







This 3 tired green was pretty wild even at these green speeds! (I thought this was #5?)




In the Center of ever green!

[Ryan Bass]

Ryan- This is a Dan Proctor labor of love. He was asked by a local to come and do it. He didn't build the bunkers. Jack D. (a shaper) was there when Dan went around pointing out where they should go. A few years later, Jack borrowed Jason's (owner at Bayside) back hoe, on a Friday night, and had it back by Monday morning (because he had to), and built every bunker Dan had spec'd on that original walkabout. Subsequently, the local, who I assumed covered the few costs, didn't like at least one of those bunkers (My guess it's the grassed-in beast pictured above) because his ball kept finding it.

Thanks. That's a unique story.  Terry asked about the beach; I gotta ask...where's the Pelican?

[Jason Hines]

Brandon,

What is the signature cocktail at Pelican Beach?

I love these places, from Thedford to Arnold then back to Mullen.  There are also several 9 holers on the eastern half of the state that combine community and the spirit of the game.

[Brandon Urban]

Signature Cocktail: that's easy. Whatever you want out of the outdoor soda machine for $.50. Best orange soda I've had in a long time.

Ryan- as Adam mentioned earlier. The water you see in the distance in the picture of the 2nd hole is home to 1000s of migrating pelicans every year. I believe the story is that a few of the founding community members were playing the still unnamed course when a flock flew over. The rest is history.

[Jaeger Kovich]

Are they actually Pelican's or the Sandhills Crane that migrate through the region and the Prairie Club uses as their logo? They might look similar to some.

Thedford was another interesting 9 holer, so was Augusta Winds... Mullen (or Mullen International Golf Links as we called it) was bunkerless. Dannebrog, the one that remains with sand greens is 2 hours away.

[Brandon Urban]

http://nebraskabirdlibrary.org/index.php/pelecaniformes/pelecanidae/american-white-pelican.html

[Adam Clayman]

The facet that causes most of my head scratching, on most, if not all the local "little" courses, is their propensity to plant trees, or, in some extremely disturbing instances, build little ponds. Or worse yet, one course turned a green side bathtub bunker into a real bathtub.

Another aspect that ruins the uniqueness of a lot places is the over-watering of the greens and their surrounds. Takes all the creative options away as the bounce with not roll. Sure, one adapts, but return visits are highly unlikely as the repetition of the limited shot demands grows old.   

[Jason Hines]

Another aspect that ruins the uniqueness of a lot places is the over-watering of the greens and their surrounds. Takes all the creative options away as the bounce with not roll. Sure, one adapts, but return visits are highly unlikely as the repetition of the limited shot demands grows old.    

Now, I am just going to say this, but to me based on my last few visits to Wild Horse, the above scenario is being played out there.  Maybe not these exact practices, but the results.  Yes, I said it....

[Jaeger Kovich]

http://nebraskabirdlibrary.org/index.php/pelecaniformes/pelecanidae/american-white-pelican.html

Cool!

[Mike Sweeney]

It can't get very much play, apart from the locals (members) ... I drove past two or three times while working on Dismal River, and there never seemed to be anyone out playing it.

Reminds me of some very average courses located in the middle of 12 million people!

This is a great thread. Thanks for posting. Next trip to Sand Hills, I am playing here....

[Blake Conant]

Props have to go to Jenks -- the ~87 year old volunteer superintendent -- for maintaining Mullen North's 9 holes.  

Pretty sure he's not checking GCA often, so if you're out there and see the old guy on the tractor, be sure to thank him.