Prairie Club

[Kirk Gill]

My family makes a drive up to South Dakota on occasion, and one of the routes we take cuts through Valentine, NE. The idea of passing that way makes me think of the Prairie Club. I'm wondering if anyone has played there recently, and what are your thoughts about the place. How does the experience there compare to other sand hills courses? Am I correct in thinking that it is the only one that is available for public play?

[Jason Thurman]

There are other public courses in the sandhills worth a stop. I really enjoy Wild Horse. I haven't played Bayside, but others say good things.

You'll get plenty of party-line takes on Prairie Club, but I would heartily recommend it. I enjoyed the Pines course - it's a good time with some spectacular highs and very little to complain about.

The Dunes course is one of my absolute favorite courses anywhere. Not everyone feels the same way I do, but a handful of very well-traveled people do. If you have an excuse to pass within 20 miles of it, I think it's a no-brainer to swing by and form your own opinion.

[Jeff Shelman]

I played there two years ago. I thought it was pretty decent. The lodging/restaurant are nice.

I think it is worth playing if you are nearby. I don't know that it is worth a special trip.

[Jason Topp]

I played the Pines course last year and enjoyed it very much.  If it is on your way, you should play it. 

[George Pazin]

In case anyone else is having trouble reading Jason Thurman's thoughtful post:



There are other public courses in the sandhills worth a stop. I really enjoy Wild Horse. I haven't played Bayside, but others say good things.


You'll get plenty of party-line takes on Prairie Club, but I would heartily recommend it. I enjoyed the Pines course - it's a good time with some spectacular highs and very little to complain about.


The Dunes course is one of my absolute favorite courses anywhere. Not everyone feels the same way I do, but a handful of very well-traveled people do. If you have an excuse to pass within 20 miles of it, I think it's a no-brainer to swing by and form your own opinion.

[John Kavanaugh]

I love the place. All any golfer needs is to play one of the biggies. Sand Hills, Ballyneal, Dismal or Prairie Club. It's like coming at a piece of carrot cake...you can't go wrong no matter where you start.

[Blake Conant]

WildHorse, Bayside, and Prairie Club are the big public sandhill courses, but there are some local courses that utilize sandhill land quite well.  Pelican Beach in Hyannis, Thedford Golf Club in Thedford, and Augusta Wind near Stapleton.  There's a couple others I haven't explored near Arnold, Ainsworth, and Chadron that could have a couple cool holes.


If passing through Valentine, there's a new 10-hole Lehman course on the outskirts of town called Fredericksburg GC I'm keen to check out.  Looks like cool land and very affordable.

[Jerry Kluger]

I really enjoyed the Prairie Club.  Thought the Lehman course was really good.  I believe the par 3 "HORSE" course was done by Hanse and is a lot of fun.  The accommodations are very nice, food is very good and the staff is very friendly.  Can't go wrong.

[JHoulihan]

Kirk,

Plase explain which "sand hills" courses you are referring to specifically so that we can make specific comments comparing and contrasting courses.

I played here in 2017 and after leaving was very glad I drove the extra miles to do so. My trip plan included flying to Denver and playing Ballyneal, Wild Horse, Bayside, Dismal River, and Prairie Club. Each course has its own "personality" but I enjoyed both the course and its lodging. Each course starts quite a distance from the main clubhouse (not as far as Dismal but I digress). The Dunes course opens with and uphill par 4 and has some great open vistas including the par 5 third tee. Bunkers and wind are its main defenses so weather plays a big part in day to day scoring. The Pines course starts with a solid par 4 with very little "pines" seen. As you make your way toward the halfway house the trees play a bigger part in the design and shaping of holes. If I had to choose I would split time Dunes 6 to Pines 4. During my stay the tee sheet was open to one course play all day (including cart) for one rate. This allowed many to play 36+ holes daily which can be a good or bad option depending on how long you are staying. 2 day play is mandatory to see both properties. I did walk onto the Par 3 course late each evening just hot some chips and pitches after dinner. I hoped to join up with others, but it was basically empty for my few days stay.

Making a 400 mile drive from Denver to play the course alone is probably excessive, but if traveling nearby is a great stop (especially if a 36-64 hole marathon brings you a smile).

Justin 

[Mark Fedeli]

I've always wondered why Prairie Club doesn't get a bit more love on this site. It's flat-out excellent. You really can't ask for much more. Neither of the courses are necessarily all-world, but both are truly wonderful places to play golf in the spirit and style that we love to promote. Taken together, they offer terrific variety in strategy and scenery. And that's all without mentioning the Horse Course, which is about as fun as it gets.

[Tom_Doak]

I've always wondered why Prairie Club doesn't get a bit more love on this site. It's flat-out excellent. You really can't ask for much more. Neither of the courses are necessarily all-world, but both are truly wonderful places to play golf in the spirit and style that we love to promote. Taken together, they offer terrific variety in strategy and scenery. And that's all without mentioning the Horse Course, which is about as fun as it gets.

Isn't a lot of it just down to location?  The sand hills are out of the way for most people, and if you're going across I-80 The Prairie Club is two hours further out of your way.  I can tell you for a fact that's the only reason I haven't played it.

[Mark Fedeli]

I've always wondered why Prairie Club doesn't get a bit more love on this site. It's flat-out excellent. You really can't ask for much more. Neither of the courses are necessarily all-world, but both are truly wonderful places to play golf in the spirit and style that we love to promote. Taken together, they offer terrific variety in strategy and scenery. And that's all without mentioning the Horse Course, which is about as fun as it gets.

Isn't a lot of it just down to location?  The sand hills are out of the way for most people, and if you're going across I-80 The Prairie Club is two hours further out of your way.  I can tell you for a fact that's the only reason I haven't played it.

That's probably right. I just assumed more people on this board had played it, or that those who had would champion it a bit more. I see very little reason it shouldn't be discussed alongside Bandon, Streamsong, Cabot, Sand Valley, etc. Although, I suppose the lower pricing and profile compared to those places is part of their charm. Looking at it that way, as long as they aren't struggling financially, maybe the level of attention they receive is right where it belongs.

[Adam Clayman]

I see why it isn't held in the high esteem, with the others.


It is an excellent choice for the average retail golfer.


Only under the strictest scrutiny, by the most sophisticated architectural critics/students , does it fall short. 


Luckily, there aren't too many of those.


Kirk, Play Hyannis if it's natural golf you want. Play Prairie club if you don't need that extra $150.

[Peter Pallotta]

It's very nice to see you posting again, Adam, with at least some frequency/regularity. 
Best
Peter 

[Tim Pitner]

Kirk,

I made my only visit to Prairie Club about 5 years ago (so not that recently), but I would definitely recommend both the Dunes and the Pines courses. They're not at the level of Ballyneal, but they compare favorably to Wild Horse (which is a different type of course), the only other sand hills courses I've played. If you play multiple days, it's nice to have two distinct courses and the Dunes, with its width, and the Pines, with its more conventional layout, fit the bill. The collective wisdom here rates the Dunes well over the Pines, but I'm not sure about that. The Dunes certainly offers more options, but I rather liked the Pines. The facilities are also pleasing. You can rent a cabin on the canyon rim and enjoy starry nights and eerie quiet, broken only by the howls of the coyotes. It's not Bandon but it's pretty cool.

[Jason Thurman]

Adam, you're very sophisticated. Please tell me why Prairie Club falls short of Sand Valley. I haven't played the latter. What's a retail golfer like me going to learn from it?


I've played Ballyneal four times. I love it. It's genuinely one of my favorite courses on Earth. And damn it, I know it makes me a mouthbreathing booger-eater to post this. But I think I would split 10 rounds 6-4 in favor of the Dunes Course if I didn't have to worry about actually getting to the Dunes Course.


Not because of anything Ballyneal isn't. But because the Dunes Course has more meaningful variety than any course I've ever played. I need one of you smart guys to explain to me why the 7th at Ballyneal is a better hole than the 8th at the Dunes. Or the 4th. Or the 13th. Hell, even the 5th. Or 14. Or 7.


I don't deny that Ballyneal is chock full of great holes. Nor do I deny that a few of its par 5s run together a bit in my head, or that it has a handful of merely "very good" holes, like 1 and 5 and 6 and 9. I just would also assert that the Dunes Course is chock full of great holes, even if one or two holes in its closing stretch that feel like they know they need to get back to somewhere near the rest of the resort.


The retail golfer in me also likes that I can post scores and easily handicap matches at the Dunes Course too, if I'm being totally honest.


But, you know, sophisticate me.

[Frank M]

There is no bigger fan of The Prairie Club than me. Played everything in the area and if I had to pick the course I'd return to it would be Prairie Club Dunes.

[Mark Pritchett]

Prairie Club would be talked about and visited more if the courses were by Doakshaw. 

[Peter Pallotta]

People made fun of Yogi Berra, but he often made perfect sense: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded".

[Adam Clayman]

It really does boil down to having to make it a successful enterprise. I'm all for that.
Thanks Peter, I'm well aware of my extreme position on the spectrum of what constitutes both great architecture and the maintenance meld that accentuates.
 

[Jason Thurman]

No, seriously, let’s have a frank discussion of architecture.
 
I feel about the courses in the Sandhills as The Bob’s in Office Space feel about the music of Michael Bolton. It’s hard for me to pick favorites, I just sorta love ‘em all! But Prairie Club Dunes is about as good as it gets for me.
 
Isn’t the Road Hole-esque tee shot at 2 almost as good as the green in the dell that’s about 50 yards deep? Don’t golf course nerds love sloping greens, natural routings, risk-reward tee shots, tons of fabulous recovery options, and wide fairways? Am I a moron if I think that hole is great?
 
The 4^th green is, what, 120 yards deep? I remember hitting a hard 4 iron to a back pin, and I used the slope in the middle of the green to work the ball over to the flag, It was every bit as satisfying as that one time when I hit a hard 5 iron to the 15^th at Ballyneal and watched the ball release and work toward the flag. I missed the birdie putt at the Dunes… damn it.
 
I’ll keep going if anybody wants to get a thread started. There are more holes worthy of discussion. But first let’s discuss these two. Are these two holes truly outstanding, as I believe? Or if not, what sophistication am I failing to scrutinize with?

[George Pazin]

Can't really comment, haven't been to any of them....but there are definitely older threads on Prairie Club and many others. Just because people don't remember 'em, don't make it so....

[Kirk Gill]

Kirk,

Please explain which "sand hills" courses you are referring to specifically so that we can make specific comments comparing and contrasting courses.

When writing the original post, I was just referring to Sand Hills and Dismal River, because I think of them as being in at least vaguely the same area as Prairie Club, although Wild Horse isn't THAT much further away (by middle of Nebraska standards). As Tim mentions, Wild Horse is a different kind of course.

[Jim Franklin]

I enjoyed my visit to Prairie Club. My issue was the course was extremely wet. We played Dismal, Sand Hills, Wildhorse on the trip as well and they were firm and fast. I was really expecting firm and fast. Did not get that. Plus, the first hole on the Dunes had that really thick, tall grass right off the green and I missed my shot by a small fraction, but could not find my ball. If that grass was thinned out and firmer, I think the course would be dramatically more fun.

The Pines was a nice layout that was not in great condition. The HORSE course was fun though. Accommodations were excellent and food was good too. It is definitely worth a visit. I just wish it was a little firmer and faster.

[Rob Rigg]

The Dunes course was the original Gamble Sands / Mammoth Dunes. Walked it quite a while ago and there was TONS of room off the tee. Somebody give Tom Lehmann some love for starting the newest trend is "FAF" courses - Friendly AS F#*&. It was insane how much room there was and you could be having a miserable day off the tee and still score well.

The Pines was solid - A fun round with a few really good holes.

I don't think either track is anywhere near the quality of Ballyneal or Sand Hills.

That being said, Prairie Dunes is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area, and clearly, based on the comments, some peeps are totally stoked on the place and that's awesome!