had 23 holes or 29 holes or 31 holes?  Would it make it less desirable to play?  Would it not be that well recieved?  Would it not be so highly ranked?

Having visited Sand Hills GC I always wondered what would have happened if they just kept on building hole after hole out there and just let people pick whatever configuration that they wanted.  Or, just tee it up and play all of them until they were tired.

I understand that a public course or private one for that matter must loop back at some point to the clubhouse.  It must have a start and a finish.  But, at an extrememly private secluded course like Sand Hills it wouldn't have to fit that mold.  

Actually, a place like Sand Hills (sans trees, limited membership, large property) would be a great place for an "extra" Sheep Ranchian type "nine-holer", where nine greensites could be built that could be played in countless configurations and multiple directions.  

It actually may be an idea one of the newer Sand Hills courses should pursue in order to diversify away Sand Hills GC.

Personally, the only changes that I want to see at Sand Hills are repairs after the winter storms, and sometimes maybe even those changes that Mother Nature produces should stay.

I thought the question here was what if they did this from the start?  Not what if they added more now...  Those are two different perception hypotheticals.  But what the hell, it's all fun to contemplate.

And Brian, the "sheep ranch" idea means a certain number of tees, a certain number of greens, with no defined order to any of it.  You just pick a green to play to and off you go.  So whereas blind holes definitely work at Prestwick, that's because you know when to hit and when to wait, because you've seen the group ahead of you play the previous holes, plus they have a bell to ring when they're gone, right?  In this situation where you might have 12 people playing to and fro, for safety you do kinda need to be able to see the other people.  Thus Steve makes a good point that such a thing might not work well at Sand Hills... at least not going over the hills.

TH

I think another 6-9 hole loop at Sand Hills is an idea whose time has past.  It would have been great had that occured in the late 90s.  I think there is little doubt that 6-9 more holes could have easily been sited in a proximity to the 18 hole highly ranked to offer various routing and playing options.  The way they seem to restrict the number of players that can be out there on any given day, with the unlimitted number of holes the member-guest can play each day, would simply offer the option to put out a few more players, or give them a greater variety.  I'd have to guess the average member-guest combo plays more than 18 a day and I know certain fanatics on this board that would play 54 everyday if they could.  So, if they could play 24-27 different holes in that 36-45-54 hole orgy, so much the better

But, back to reality...  If it could accomodate more member guests due to increased holes and numbers of players, then that could lead to demand for more cabins, larger dining room, more staff.  They don't open now because there just isn't all that many people to draw upon in the local population to service and offer the member-guests the quality experience that makes it so special.  Tom can only cook so many hamburgers on Ben's Porch  Each new hole would cost an additional factor to maintain.  Who'd pay the higher freight and who'd work it?

Lastly, the time is past because of all the other operations moving in on a good thing.  There will be enough variety out there in 3-5 years where even those wishing for that special invite will begin to have enough opportunities to play sand hills style golf where the "novelty" might wear off.  Great golf will never go out of style, but to some extent the prairie experience might begin to get watered down a bit.  

This whole issue conflicts me somewhat... can't get enough of it, don't want it to be overbuilt and diminish the uniqueness of it all...

I would think that the best way to go forward with this idea would be to use the model that Augusta, Pine Valley and Olympic have followed.  That being a craftily designed par-three course that is as visually stunning as the regular course.  
Not only a great place to settle bets, but also a fun "Extra 9" or a great way to warmup before playing such an awesome golf course.  You could even trick up a couple of the holes just for fun.

Jeff

That does sound like a cool name and would make for a great logo!

But if we're talking adding to the place now, well....

I'm gonna go with "don't do it."  There are very few instances of perfection in this world, and when one finds one, one does not mess with it.

One of the other new courses being built out there can go this route, as Dick Daley says.

TH

Before opening this thread, part of me wanted it to read:

.... was moved to an oceanside. Would it be as good?  

Brian:

    The busiest day I've seen at Sand Hills in 8 years is 55 golfers.

    I've also been the ONLY one on the course on a number of occasions. Now THAT'S  a surreal golfing experience. It was like playing golf with God - a very spiritual experience.
   

It's funny, one of the cool things about playing Black Mesa last year with Baxter Spann was him pointing out where they almost built holes, and where the next 18 would most likely go.  That remote area outside Santa Fe must be remote like Sand Hills.