Does anyone know who was the prophet for Sand Hills in that original Golf Magazine article/list? I owe that guy a beer.
I don't know who first mentioned Sand Hills in Golf Magazine -- but my first exposure to the course was on Page 14 of the January 1993 Golf Digest, above Ron Whitten's byline, in "What's ahead for '93":
"Hot items in golf design include Pinehurst-style chipping areas, those greenside swales mown at collar height to encourage chipping and putting as well as pitch shots. Rectangular tee boxes are also popular. So, too, are full-service practice areas surrounded by two or three practice holes.
"Courses to watch include the Merit Club and Royal Melbourne, both in the northern Chicago suburbs; Stonewall outside Philadelphia; The Cliffs at Glassy near Greenville, S.C.; Barrington Hall Golf Club in Macon, Ga.; Old Overton Club in Birmingham; and Sand Hills Club [sic?] in middle-of-nowhere, Neb., where Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore have routed the most natural links this country will ever encounter."
Below Whitten's little note was a small picture of the property, with only a few stakes here and there. Someone who's been there much more recently than I (sniff) could likely identify the exact spot of the picture.
14 years and 8 months ago, I circled Whitten's article with a blue fountain pen -- and drew a blue fountain-pen arrow pointing to the picture.
It's been downhill ever since!