Hole-by-hole tour of Dismal River Club

[Jimmy Muratt]

On the Dismal River Club's website, there is now a hole-by-hole tour of the golf course.  There really are some very interesting looking holes.  A few that immediately jump out to me are:

#5, Par 3, 195 yards:  appears to play uphill to a skyline green.  The green appears to be protected by a sole bunker in the middle and fall offs to the front left and right sides.


#6, Par 4, 295 yards:  really a dramatic looking short par 4 with trouble all around the green.  The green almost appears to be a punchbowl type in the natural amphitheater.


#15, Par 3, 165 yards:   appears as though the entire hole is slanted from right to left, could play as a Redan.


Here is a link to the site so you can view the entire course:
http://www.dismalriverclub.com/Default.aspx?tabid=80

The routing is also shown at the bottom of the page, the green to tee walks appear to be quite short.

[Adam_F_Collins]

Um... Nicklaus? JACK Nicklaus?

[Jordan Wall]

Um... Nicklaus? JACK Nicklaus?

Maybe he actually learned a little something working with Doak at Sebonac...

 

[A.G._Crockett]

Wow...

[Jim Franklin]

Didn't Jack start work on Dismal BEFORE he worked with Doak at Sebonac?

[Gene Greco]

Golf in the sandhills continues to shine bright!

Great looking stuff.

[Mike_Cirba]

Looks very intriguing.

Although Jack may never have visited Sand Hills, I'm betting that whoever his lead associate is at Dismal has.  

[Craig Van Egmond]

Careful, all this gushing about a Nicklaus course can get you banned from the site.  

Lets see... Sand Hills, Ballyneal, Wild Horse, Dismal River and the Gil Hanse course in 2007..  I'd say that area is looking pretty good.

I wonder  if there will be much overlap in the memberships.

[Kirk Gill]

Lets see... Sand Hills, Ballyneal, Wild Horse, Dismal River and the Gil Hanse course in 2007..  I'd say that area is looking pretty good.

Ballyneal is around 170 miles from Mullen, Nebraska, so it's not as much "in the area" as the others, but still............It is amazing to see so much great stuff being built in what was until recently (and in fact probably still is) the middle of nowhere.............

[Joel_Stewart]

The first two photos are evident that Nicklaus still wants an ariel game and will not allow you to run the ball up.  He did this numerous times at Old Greenwood and if the pin is directly behind the bunker, you have no chance at getting the ball close.

Does anyone know the status of the Hanse/Shackelford course in Valentine?   I heard they had an indefinite suspension due to lack of money.

[Scott_Burroughs]

The first two photos are evident that Nicklaus still wants an ariel game and will not allow you to run the ball up.  He did this numerous times at Old Greenwood and if the pin is directly behind the bunker, you have no chance at getting the ball close.

Joel,

I don't see much difference between these two holes and #13 and #8, respectively, at Sand Hills (in fact, they look fairly similar).  The bunker fronting the green on the DRC par 4 is just bigger.  For a very short par 4, a (mostly) aerial approach is not unheard of, nor 'bad architecture', IMO.  On both of these holes, there is room around the bunkers to run up.

Does anyone know the status of the Hanse/Shackelford course in Valentine?   I heard they had an indefinite suspension due to lack of money.

Craig indicated the date above for it, but that assumes that they get the go ahead this year to break ground.

[RJ_Daley]

I can't wait to see the next few years.  Will interclub rivalries develop?  It all looks very exciting for the Sand Hills region.  It looks like Dismal even has a "Jack's Shack" to rival Ben's porch and Swamp's Shacks at Sutton Bay.  Has Ruppert considered a burger stop called "Doak's diner" or "Tom's tent"?  

This is going to be fun.

congrats on what looks like a spectacular effort to Golden Bear Designs...

[Anthony_Nysse]

I think that Jack is a lurker....

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Long Cove Club
HHI, SC

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mike Cirba,

If an architect had to visit Sand Hills in order to "get it" in that part of the country, I'd question their abilities.

The land speaks for itself.

What local course did C&C visit before they built Sand Hills ?

[George Pazin]

Patrick's going to make fun of me for siding with him after years of arguing the opposite, but how can you guys make claims about the course from those photos? Between zoom lens foreshortening, the translation of 3D elements into a 2D photo, etc., how can anyone say the photos show the ground game is not available?

Nice aesthetics in the photos, anyway.

[Garland Bayley]

If the Redan is the most copied hole from the British Isles, then Pebble Beach #18 must be the most copied hole from the U.S. One difference is that #18 gets copied as the finishing hole like it is at PB. It's almost like Nicklaus, Jones, et. al. go out of their way to decide on a par 5 turning left along a long hazard as the finishing hole. Maybe if I am lucky, Mickelson will get in the business and design a par 5 finishing hole turning right around a long hazard.

[David_Elvins]

The first two photos are evident that Nicklaus still wants an ariel game and will not allow you to run the ball up.  

Disagree, in the first photo, there is no indication what the line of play is.  In the second photo, there would seem to be an option of running the ball to the hole if one played to the extreme right or left of the fairway.

[brad_miller]

Pat, C&C spent considerable time at Prairie Dunes before SH.

[A_Clay_Man]

Dick, The land plan is different at Ballyneal. The course is designed to be walked, therefore the returning nines bring you back to the clubhouse.
Now, one of the big reasons it's walking, is for the turf. A secret blend of Wilber's finest. You'll probably be able to figure it out when you see it, soon. However, if and when you do figure it out, don't tell anyone, otherwise Dave will have to kill you.  

I wonder what the turf considerations were, and what they are using at Dismal?

[Voytek Wilczak]

It is very interesting that generally interest in golf seems to be declining as a whole, yet in the sand hills of Nebraska a totally new, world-class golf destination is taking shape.

A destination, judging by pics and published reviews (I have never been there), that one day may rival Bonnie Scotland.

Amazing, and very encouraging (if only there were some public tracks there!)

edit: I just realized this: #6 - Par 4, 295 yards???

Cool.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat, C&C spent considerable time at Prairie Dunes before SH.

Brad,

Prairie Dunes isn't remotely like Sand Hills, and it's not because the two courses are approximately 321 miles apart.[/color]

[Tom_Doak]

They started Dismal River almost precisely as we were finishing up Sebonack.  However, I will claim no influence on whatever they've built there.  A different associate of Jack's was in charge of the project, and none of them ever peeked at Ballyneal to see what we were doing there.

One of my associates walked Dismal River late in the fall and said it looked really difficult.

As for the questions about "interclub rivalries", all of these clubs are national memberships except for Wild Horse, and I hear even they have let in a guy from Wisconsin.  I doubt there will be much mingling between the memberships, though I could be proven wrong someday.

[Tim Gavrich]

It is very interesting that generally interest in golf seems to be declining as a whole, yet in the sand hills of Nebraska a totally new, world-class golf destination is taking shape.

A destination, judging by pics and published reviews (I have never been there), that one day may rival Bonnie Scotland.

Amazing, and very encouraging (if only there were some public tracks there!)

edit: I just realized this: #6 - Par 4, 295 yards???

Cool.

It looks like theres something of a catch.  The scorecard on the website seems to indicate that the 295 is not the backmost tee.

[cary lichtenstein]

I'm impressed!

[Steve_Roths]

Okay, I agree with everyone I think the pictures look good.  But I have to go with Cary's comments from a while back, that most people on this board could do a course ourselves out here and have it come out decent.  I am sure I am going to take some flack for that one, but I think its true.

Here is the biggest problem I have with the short Nicklaus hole.  There is a big bunker right in front of the green.  That leaves only two choices fly the bunker (Hank Kuene) or lay up short.  I don't understand how this is a well designed hole.  Please set me straight or tear me a new one for the first comment.