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All the Best to Gil and Jim on their appointment to do the next course at Prairie club,
Though its debut is still months away, The Prairie Club, an emerging world-class golf destination located in the Sandhills region of north central Nebraska, is beginning to make plans to add a fourth course, to be called Old School.
Gil Hanse, Golf Magazine’s 2009 Architect of the Year, and president and principal architect of Philadelphia-based Hanse Golf Course Design Inc., has been named by The Prairie Club to design an 18-hole course that will be routed along the rim of the Snake River Canyon, above a 300-foot canyon wall, and in view of an old historic schoolhouse built around the turn of the century.
Hanse will partner with his award-winning team of Geoff Shackelford and Jim Wagner to design Old School, which will be adjacent to The Prairie Club’s two other 18-hole courses, The Dunes, The Pines and a 10-hole, par 3 course called The Horse Course. According to Paul Schock, founder and CEO of The Prairie Club, Hanse has signed a letter of mutual intent to provide golf course architectural services in the design, construction and post-construction of the new course.
Hanse, a regular member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, has built an international reputation for golf course architecture. Last year, Golf Magazine named Hanse its Architect of the Year for 2009, and Castle Stuart Golf Links, which Hanse co-designed with Mark Parsinen, located in Inverness, Scotland, was recognized by Golf Magazine as best new International Golf Course of the Year for 2009. Hanse’s other critical career successes include: Rustic Canyon, Boston Golf Club, TPC Boston, and Craighead Links at Crail Golfing Society.
The foundation of Hanse’s design philosophy is based on two tenants: 1.) creating golf courses that focus first and foremost on the player and his or her experiences on the course, and 2.) creating courses that are simple and elegant in appearance, yet sophisticated in strategy and interest.
“We are very excited to have been selected to design the next course at the Prairie Club. It is a very special place, even within the Sandhills, and it is our intent to release its potential and to create a place that is purely unique to the world of golf,” said Hanse. “The land that has been set aside for this course is some of the finest we have ever seen for golf. I first visited this site in 2001, and we are looking forward to getting back out there to continue our exploration of this amazingly beautiful and diverse landscape.”
“We couldn’t be more pleased that Gil has accepted this assignment,” Schock said. “Gil and his team have been a part of the Prairie Club’s planning process for almost five years and he has spent a lot of time here with me and Cleve Trimble, our next door neighbor, who had the original vision to bring world-class golf to this land.
“I’ve admired his work for a very long time and I’m absolutely blown away by the Horse Course, the executive par 3 that he designed for us,” Schock added. “His work is pure and authentic and captures the magic of the land. He knows us, he knows this land, and I can’t wait to see what he can do for our fourth course.”
Located near Valentine, Neb., in the heart of the Sandhills, a region about the size of Scotland that is known for its distinctive sand dunes topography, The Prairie Club offers two championship 18-hole golf courses, the Dunes Course and the Pines Course, and a 10-hole, executive par 3 golf course called The Horse Course. The Prairie Club is situated on 1,260 acres, along the Snake River Canyon and is located within a day’s drive from Denver, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Omaha, Des Moines and Chicago. The Prairie Club is a semi-private club scheduled to open May 31, 2010.
Hanse was selected to design the Prairie Club’s fourth course, Old School, based in part on The Prairie Club’s enthusiasm for Hanse’s design of the wickedly fun-to-play Horse Course. This 10 hole, par 3 golf course takes the game of basketball’s “h-o-r-s-e” to a new level. With no tee boxes, the player with the honors calls the spot from which you tee up your next shot. Set right on the rim of the Snake River Canyon, this golf course plays from 485 to 1,125 yards, depending upon where a player decides to call the tee shot, as the traditional game of “h-o-r-s-e” dictates. Geoff Shackelford and Jim Wagner assisted Hanse with the design of the Horse Course.
Schock anticipates that Old School will be on the scale of The Prairie Club’s two other 18-hole courses, The Dunes Course and The Pines Course, with tees stretching in length from 5,000 to 8,000 yards.
Development of the semi-private golf club began two years ago when Paul Schock, an avid golfer and businessman from Sioux Falls, S.D., purchased a former ranch along the Snake River Canyon. Schock purchased the land with the intent of creating a golf destination that takes advantage of the breathtaking terrain of Nebraska’s Sandhills region, which is known for its striking sand dunes landscape and as well as the world-famous annual migration route of the sandhill crane.
The Dunes Course is an 18-hole championship golf course designed by PGA Tour Player and golf course architect Tom Lehman, and golf course architect Chris Brands. Its’ six sets of tees stretch from 5,842 to 8,073 yards. Marked by dramatic elevation changes, endless views of the Sandhills in all directions, and immense blow-out bunkers, a player will face this wind-torn land and massive rolling seascape of prairie grass, searching for a bright, calm slick of green fairway. With a tip of the hat to natural, minimalistic links-style golf courses of Scotland and Ireland, the Dunes Course is a purely American prairie-links style experience that golfers of all stripes will find challenging.
The Pines Course, the other 18-hole championship golf course, takes advantage of the remnants of a nearby, ancient ponderosa forest situated along the banks of the Snake River Canyon. The course was designed by Graham Marsh, an internationally renowned touring golf professional, who also is recognized for his 25 years of worldwide golf course design experience. The Pines Course features five sets of tees ranging from 5,329 to 7,528 yards. The prevailing prairie winds are somewhat blocked by the western wall of the canyon and the trees, making the warming sun and the canyon views stunningly beautiful, creating a silent reverie for the golfer.
The three courses are anchored by The Prairie Club Lodge, which will offer authentic and relaxed dining, lodging accommodations (31 rooms), golf shop, and much more. The Prairie Club also will feature an expansive practice facility, which will allow members and avid golfers to hone every aspect of their game.
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