I had been a member of the GCSAA as an affiliate around 1995 and had read the article on Sand Hills GC in their magazine, with an interview with its first super during the grow-in. I decided on a separate trip to CO for another non-golf reason, to take a detour to go and see what was up with that place. Well, I met the second super Cory, and it was before official opening that season (early May 96). I also met old Tom who was out working on the course. But, Cory let me go out on the course carte blanche and have as long as I wanted to explore. That detour up there and the course exploration was where I fell in love with the Sand Hills. Of course, I knew I couldn't afford a memberhip, nor would I fit into that sort of national member model. But...
Subsequent to that, my daughter picked Creighton Uni out of high school to attend. In that mean time, I had heard that the gents who did much of the construction at Sand Hills were involved in a little community course out in Gothenburg NE. So, I dropped my daughter off in Omaha, and took a few days to drive out there to see what was up. I drove into the old dusty road, and got out of the car before reaching the club house where the first green walking path crosses the road to 2nd tee. I looked around at the 15th 17th greens and what FWs you could see, and I said, this is everything I ever believed in for a golf course.
I went into the clubhouse and made some contact and asked about Dave and DAn's work there, and asked if they were selling memberships. I learned just how much it was a true community project and that it was all done for under 1.5 million. The entire conception and execution of this community plan was my ideal of what golf should be. They explained that it is just a yearly fee of <$500 walking unlimitted golf, and shared cart lease was double that. But they said if I were a NE resident, I could buy a share. Well, I instantly knew what that was all about, as I myself had tried to organize a club back in WI on the model of an intra-state share offering with a periphery homesite sales project. Wild Horse was the exact model and concept I had tried and failed to bring about, 5 years earlier, to the detail that I had thought they somehow got ahold of our prospectus and totally copied it. But they did not, it was total serendipity. But, I was not an NE resident and couldn't participate in that, but asked about the lots. There was one left of the 39 in the project. So, hearing the incredibly low price, I bougth it on the spot, just wanting to be involved in that project in anyway I could.
Yes, Wild Horse really had me at hello.