THE DEFINITIVE frank and open discussion about either course Dismal River

[John Kavanaugh]

Michael,

Please let it go. One of the joys of the long travel to Dismal is knowing that you will not need to keep or post a score. That and the lack of cell phone coverage makes it one of the few places in the world I can truly relax.

I say this as a 2.0 index whose handicap is already quite low enough. When Dismal is caught on a windless perfect day I would agonize over a great round rather than enjoy it. The remainder of my year should not be held hostage by the qualms of Mother Nature. There is no less than a 20 stroke swing dependent on the weather and as you know you are only punished by off the chart low scores. Your system is not sophisticated enough for this type of variance.

[Steve Green]

Mr. Kavanaugh,

I could not agree more.  Having had the great pleasure to play Dismal and Sand Hills this summer and Ballyneal I can say all these courses have shown me considerable teeth in some very heavy breezes and some very accessible pins in light winds.  All have been like night and day in how much the wind can affect the play.  At all three match play is king and under such circumstances a rating is irrelevant. 

Enjoy what they offer in terms of atmosphere, golf and competition and you will not feel guilty about rounds not posted.

[Jeff Schley]

Just finished 2 days of playing at DR with my dad and two friends.  Some observations as I know there are numerous threads about DR in the archives.


1.  Remote, remote, remote! 
2. Don’t take Soddy Road as a first timer at night using your GPS!  Causes anxiety for sure.)
3. Loved the cabins and they are building 5 more king rooms
4. Very impressed with the staff, especially with this chap named Kelly from South Africa gave us a great tour of the property.
5. Golf seemed to be almost secondary to all the hunting and fishing they have going there.  There is skeet, trap, Euro Pigeon, Pheasant live, competitive shooting ring, 3 fishing ponds, hunting dogs over 100k acres to have hunts from Buffalo (didn’t even know you could hunt Buffalo still) to Dove.  Paradise for anyone hunting and fishing.
6. Buddy did the 50 caliber shot at the Buffalo target a mile away with Kelly setting up the scope.  Holy shishkabobs was that loud!
7. I thought the food was above average for sure.  You expect overpriced in the remote location.  However the complimentary breakfast is nice as you can’t go anywhere else.
8. Golf carts are fast without governors on them which helps make the rounds go by faster.
9. Really like the Doak over the Nicklaus as the Doak was in better shape as well.
10. They hired a new greenskeeper who is a lady and apparently works tirelessly.
11. They are building a spa, hunting simulator, expansion of rooms now.  They built a pool an hot tub this year as well.




Overall I really enjoyed the property and was considering membership.  10k initiation and 3600 a year dues with 2k of that coming back to you via a credit which was very reasonable. One of my friends who came is a hunting and fishing guy and is going to get his company to join to entertain clients.  Impressed and they are on the right track for sure.  Staff again was great, which you absolutely need in this location and model.


Last point.... WTF is up with #10 on the White Course, Nicklaus par 3 green???   Pin was in the back when we played wow out of a nightmare for sure.

[Niall C]

Thanks Jeff, I think I'll wait for the spa to open.

Niall

[Mark Chaplin]

Jeff how busy was the facility? Having spent two nights there after playing at SH it’s still difficult to believe DR can be a fanancial success in the golfing front, maybe there is enough in hunting to keep the new owners balance sheet in the black. Anyone know if the member investors had any return when the place was sold?

[Jeff Schley]

Jeff how busy was the facility? Having spent two nights there after playing at SH it’s still difficult to believe DR can be a fanancial success in the golfing front, maybe there is enough in hunting to keep the new owners balance sheet in the black. Anyone know if the member investors had any return when the place was sold?

Mark,. The cabins were full for our stay but the course certainly wasn't.  There was some club meeting one night of about 30 guys.  The hunting and fishing is pretty nice.  My buddy who is a huge outdoorsman says they have everything you could ever want hunting wise.


Course doesn't have tee times just first come first served.


Nicklaus wasn't in good shape but doak certainly was.

[Michael Whitaker]

I’m sorry Eric Smith’s 5th Major will not be at Dismal going forward. It was a great event... and a great opportunity for fellowship with nearly 100 GCA types. I’ll miss it.

Sadly, I’ll probably never visit Nebraska again without the 5th Major as motivation.

[Gene Greco]

Sadly, I’ll probably never visit Nebraska again without the 5th Major as motivation.

I beg to differ..