Pelican Beach Golf Club – Hyannis, NE – 5 – Nothing could quite compare this year to driving up to this remote and oddly named nine-hole course first thing in the morning to a scene from “Field of Dreams” as a rancher on a tractor came up to my sole car in the parking lot and inquired, “Are you looking to play golf?” and once assured my purpose was noble opened up the shack-like club house (there’s an honor box) and started to describe the routing and then just said, “well, I reckon you’ll figure it out” and drove away. The course itself is suitably less than pristine conditioned with one cool hole after another based on traditional concepts, rugged terrain, and long views to love. The card and pencil set will likely bemoan the number of short par fours but that’s probably because they bogeyed them. I don’t know what score to give a course you should play if you’re within 150 miles but don’t skip this one.
Prairie Club (Pines) – Valentine, NE – 6.5 - The Prairie Club's Pines course is a bit of a sleeper that sits in the shadow of it's bigger and bolder neighbor, the Dunes course. With a routing that weaves in and out of the pine-covered cliffs that run along the Snake River Canyon, my understanding is that some regulatory issues may have forced the routing a bit more inland than what was originally intended. That being said, the canyon comes into play from a golf perspective even if the views are somewhat muted. There is no question that it's the more varied of the two courses, with some holes open to the broad plains, extensive views, and windswept terrain that the Dunes course magnificently occupies, with other holes narrowing among trees or skirting native areas. The course also ratchets up the challenge with three very difficult finishing holes that run along the canyon to the left and generally all into the prevailing wind. Sixteen is a brute of a par four requiring two accurate and lengthy shots but Seventeen is a deceiver of a par three with a green tucked almost in a dogleg left fashion tight to trouble left. The golfer who bails to the right is basically screwed however, leaving possibly the most dangerous, diabolical recovery on the entire course; blind over a bunker from a tight lie with death beyond. The finale is grand, yet very awkward for the first time player and judging carry distance and angles is daunting. I suspect it's a course that grows on you with repeat plays (I played it three times) and I also suspect it's undervalued and under-rated by one time players. I didn’t love it but came to respect it.
Prairie Club (Dunes) – Valentine, NE – 8 – Prairie Club's Dunes Course might have the best front nine of any new course I played this year and the back is no slouch if not quite as boldly inventive. From the time one faces the uphill, largely blind approach shot on #1 it's clear this will not be a conventional challenge. From there the long second with OB tight on the right to a green tucked narrowly between dunes to the long uphill par five third, to the 4th which gets creative points with a narrow, turning green 70 yards long (almost half the size of the entire 145-yard hole), to the short par four minefield 5th with a green half that size, and so on, it's a journey of discovery and fascination. Perhaps the best hole is the 8th, an uphill par four where the drive needs to be both long and accurately placed for a view of the wonderful green between foreshortened dunes where the approach gets more exacting the bolder the approach shot. With a routing that is out and back, the returning nine occupies land that is perhaps less interesting overall but is still well utilized. The 13th, with a wide and spacious fairway and bunkers littered to and fro is perhaps the best of the lot, with the appropriate placement of the drive changing with hole location and confidence in one's game at the moment.
Prairie Club (Horse) – Valentine, NE – 5 – Apparently there is a standard routing to play but with the sun setting and having the place to ourselves we just decided that the winner of each hole would pick the next green target, original Sheep Ranch style. Nice walk with a cold one and a few clubs, with a high emphasis on just pure fun and whimsy, benefited by some severe greens you'd likely never build on a "standard" course.
CapRock Ranch – Valentine, NE – 8.5 – Blessed with a dramatic site along the edge of the cliffs of the Snake River Canyon, I spent more time noodling over my rating of this course than anywhere else I played this year because…well, it is different in a way I suspect will wear well over time due to architectural restraint. If routing is destiny, then the die was cast with the unfortunate placement of the clubhouse at the highest and most prominent point overlooking the canyon. As such, the opportunity was lost for the creation of what would have been one of the most dramatic finishing holes on the planet. That placement decision not only truncated the closer to a long, all-carry par three finale, but I suspect it impacted (i.e. shortened) the 17th, as well, and the round finishes with 2 of the last three holes being par threes. The holes away from the cliffs occupy some of the gentlest terrain in the Sand Hills region and apparently it was determined to just blend in a low-key, subtle architectural approach perhaps to counter-balance the dramatics along the cliffs. Many of the greens are almost natural extensions of the fairways and encourage the run-up approach. However, the par threes are all virtually all or nothing propositions, with the best being the short 9th, which approximates the challenge of a hole like Shinnecock's 11th with masterful panache. But, oh what could have been!
Frederick Peak – Valentine, NE – 4.5 – Built by Tom Lehman and Chris Brands as a municipal course to complement their work at the Prairie Club, there’s a lot to like on this 10-hole course and the par three 5th and par five 6th are legitimately great holes that cascade steeply downhill. However, what goes down must come back up and walking here on a hot day is an exercise in masochism.