The Prairie Club website!

[mike_beene]

Mark,the website looks great.Jason mentioned a long green to tee space on the Pines course.Will it be a tough walk?

[Chip Gaskins]

Mike-

I think Jason was saying from the forward tees to the back tees is 1000 yard difference.  I have toured every hole on the Pines course and there are no long walks at all.  It is a fantastic, FANTASTIC golf course from what I saw a few months ago.  #16-Marsh might be the best par 4 in Nebraska and #6-Marsh might be the best par 3 in Nebraska!  Its really good.

Chip

[Jeff Shelman]

Just curious, but what does it mean to become a friend of The Prairie Club?

I signed up regardless, but was just curious.

[mike_beene]

Thanks Chip. Perhaps if I could read I would have understood. Glad to hear I misread this.

[Mark_Amundson]

Jeff:  becoming a friend of The Prairie Club just means you would like to get information and newsletters that are emailed.  When you submit your contact info we just add you to our list and will include you when we send out information about the club.  If you would like to learn more about membership then we would like you to request that separately.

Jason:  Thanks for the kind words in your earlier posts.  Our goal is to create a club that everyone can be very proud of and one that all our members and guests will enjoy.  Mike, the tee separation on the pines course is quite comfortable as Chip noted.  I would suggest that on some days you will pick a set of tees and play those tees the entire round while some days you will choose a hybrid set up depending on the wind conditions.  Both the Pines and the Dunes courses are very walkable with many of the tees very close to the previous green.  I failed to note in my initial summary that we plan on having caddies, will also allow walking with your own bag as well as have carts available.  No excuses, just come and enjoy.

[Scott Szabo]

No excuses, just come and enjoy.

It just can't get better than that!

It's nice to see this project moving forward, adding yet another club that's close to home.

Can't wait to see it in person!

[Tim Bert]

Mark -

This is all great stuff.  Thanks for joining in the discussion here.  Is there a specific reason for 10 holes on the Horse Course?

[Mark_Amundson]

Tim:  I think the question of why 10 holes on the Horse Course is best answered by Gil and Geoff S.  I believe the answer is "because it was what they wanted to do".  The Horse Course will certainly be one of the most unique and fun places to spend some time.  You will literally be able to putt from the tee on some holes, you can "call" to play to a different green if it is your turn to pick (with safety in mind of course) and you could play the course with 2 clubs or you could demand that your opponent bring his/her entire bag.  A round on the Horse Course will be the topic of much conversation, a place of great fun, and a challenge that will test every short game shot you have ever imagined.  Look forward to having you visit when the time is right.

[Geoff_Shackelford]

The 10 holes came about because we found 10 we liked in the area we were given to work with. Paul Schock also made it clear he loved the idea of something different and encouraged a non-traditional number of holes.

I haven't played it yet, or the many variations on H-O-R-S-E that could be possible, but the number of holes may end up helping if people play a true game of H-O-R-S-E. Because the course can be played any number of ways:

-As a traditional par-3 course with a recommended tee location set by the superintendent each day.

-Or as a Mark described where the person with the honor selects the location for teeing off (and maybe even determines club selection if you really want to make it interesting)

-Or under some sort of variation on H-O-R-S-E where the honoree determines tee location, club selection, and a letter going to the low score on the hole, with the first person in your group spelling out HORSE winning. (Several holes also allow for a "bank shot" so some people might even call shots that have to be played).

-There is also a four hole loop where you can play with only a putter.

I'm sure people will create their own games, which will be the real fun.

[Tim Taylor]

Hi Mark - looks awesome.

Will Prairie Club be cost-competitive with someplace like Bandon for the foursome that wants a "destination" golf trip every few years?

Tim

[Scott_Burroughs]

I failed to note in my initial summary that we plan on having caddies, will also allow walking with your own bag as well as have carts available. 

How about pull/pushcarts?  'Trolleys' would seem to be apropos for this type of course.

-There is also a four hole loop where you can play with only a putter.

I hearby nominate that as the Neil Regan Loop.

[Mark_Amundson]

Tim:  we have not set final pricing for the 2010 season as of yet but I can assure you that the pricing structure for the "golf getaway group" will be very competitive with other places.  I think it best put, "what we charge will allow the golfer to feel like they got a very fair deal when comparing price and experience". 

Scott, I do anticipate that we will have push carts available, as well as caddies, and golf cars.

[Yannick Pilon]

Nicest logo I have seen in a long time....

Oh, and the courses look good too!

YP

[John Kavanaugh]

For this place not to be as competitive as Bandon they would have to charge as much as Pebble.  What a funny question.

[Dan Kelly]

Can't wait.

Can't wait.

Can't wait.

My mother (89 years old; lives in an assisted-living place) tried to repay me for some incidental expenses last night.

I told her the smallest check I'd accept would be for $13,500.

Great work, Mark Amundson (et al.). I wish you every success, and certainly hope to witness it.

[RJ_Daley]

For Mark if still looking in:  Can you describe your irrigation system?  I'm curious if you got 3-phase power in there (how far did it have to be run), or are you doing something with wind or fuel turbine conversion from big pivot pumping station designs?  And, how deep is/are the well (s)?

[Mark_Amundson]

Dick:  Good to hear from you, hope you are well.  Our irrigation system is pretty standard.  We have 3 wells that are about 350 ft. deep that pump into a lined lake we built for a holding pond.  We are brining 3-phase power 18 miles from Valentine and will have 3-phase for all needs.  We did Sutton Bay with all single phase and it has its challenges and the single phase that is on The Prairie Club property is just not capable of handling all the needs.  There is ample wind around, just hard still to capture it and use it effeciently for this type of application.  I hope soon we will get wind energy more usuable for small applications.  Hope you will make it for a visit Dick.

[Kyle Henderson]

Mr. Amundson,

If I might ask:

Are the construction costs per 18-hole course considerably lower than they were for Sutton Bay project, thanks to better native soils?

Did the concurrent build of all three courses also temper expenses (shared equipment, etc.)?

Based on photos alone, it appears that Sutton Bay has more severe contours. How much ground movement was present at each site?

Thank you for all that you've shared. Best of luck with the project. I hope to make it back out that way some day...

[Tim Taylor]

For this place not to be as competitive as Bandon they would have to charge as much as Pebble.  What a funny question.

The model - sorta kinda private but not really - is different than Bandon. Or Pebble, Pinehurst, Kohler, etc. It seemed to me that the cost structure could be too.

Do you charge more for visitors to keep the place available for members? Do you charge less visitors to keep business up while the membership fills out, then phase it out later (like Cuscowilla)?

I don't know, seemed like a fair query to me.

Tim

[Mark_Amundson]

Kyle:  the costs to build golf in great land where you move little earth is certainly less expensive than on some types of land.  There is also some cost savings by building 46 holes at the same time, although it takes more people to get it all done at one time so there is only a certain level of savings.  The land that Sutton Bay was built on was more aggressive than The Prairie Club and also had lots of rocks.  It is hard to compare costs given that Sutton Bay was built in 2001-2002.  There is no doubt that the cost of irrigation per hole has gone up considerably.

Tim: in our model there will certainly be a different fee structure for members and their guests compared to the public.  As you would figure, there are perks to being a member.  We are committed to always have room for public play.  As I mentioned before, if you would like to visit The Prairie Club only very infrequently that will allowed, if you would like to come and visit frequently then we would like to have you be a member.