Prairie Dunes, starring Press Maxwell's small but effective knob!

[Scott Warren]

When you spend 21.5 consecutive hours on three plane flights to get somewhere, you expect to be rewarded for your effort.

The best Wichita offered was a kindly innkeeper who answered the age-old question of what Newt Gingrich would look like were he morbidly obese and an amusing 13-year-old Eminem clone who was intent on fighting me to impress his girlfriend (though the Old Town area is beautiful and the microbrewery does a great IPA).

But an hour north, Prairie Dunes really is something special.

Not many golf courses are genuinely unique, but Prairie Dunes unquestionably is. The dunes are heaving and the land wonderfully rippled, but it's certainly not a links. The gunch is unlike anything else I have seen, a native and unkempt combination of thick grasses and heathland-esque small plants as well as Yucca (which I soon discovered I am allergic to).

The greens are maybe the best set I have encountered - bold internal contours that tie in perfectly to the strategy of the holes, and as draped on the ground as you could wish for.

Above all, it possesses a lengthy list of outstanding and varied holes, a wonderful routing that makes expert use of the landforms and ever-present wind and a handful of the best greensites I have seen.

The greens at 1, 2, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 17 and 18 contain all you could ever hope for in challenge and interest and one of the very best features of the set sits front and centre of the 11th green: Press Maxwell's Knob.

Press's Knob isn't so big as to stand out from a distance, but whether approaching the green in two shots (likely from 180-220 yards out) or three (laying up to within chipping/pitching distance) it must be considered.

The subtlety of the feature is echoed in many of my favourite Coore and Crenshaw greens, and I'd love to one day be able to ask them how influential this and perhaps other Maxwell green features were in shaping their approach to building greens. Their greens in many instances remind me of Prairie Dunes, which is as great a compliment as I can offer.

Some pictures of Press's Knob, starting about 130 out and moving closer and then to the right. As you imagine different pins and approach angles/distances, it's easy to see how influential it is in the hole.

I was lucky over two 36-hole days to have the pin you see in these pics as well as a back right pin, which gave me a couple of distinct ideas of how the knob comes into play -- knocking balls off line, kicking the ball forward when you want it to stop and stopping the ball when you want it to run.











On a course armed with dozens of great features, this is definitely one of the very best.

[Mark Saltzman]

Great set of greens for sure.  Curious choice of thread titles.

[Chip Gaskins]

Top 10 set of greens in golf

[David_Elvins]

Curious choice of thread titles.

Once a News Limited sub-editor, always a News Ltd sub-editor.


Nice photo Scott, looks like a great subtle feature.  

[David Kelly]

Scott,
You pretty much covered the deviltry that Press' knob has in store for the golfer making his approach shot to the green.  The hole generally plays downwind and it is often a very strong wind so unless you are talented enough to stop a downwind mid iron on a green sloping away you will probably have to deal with the knob.  The prospect of a left or right kick off of the side of the little hill is readily apparent as is the fact that your ball needs to get over the top of the little hill but what is not seen from the fairway is how the ball is propelled forward off the back of the knob once you clear it.  It is one of my favorite features on the course.

[Terry Lavin]

The Knob has a "starring" role?  It's cute and devilish, but a bit player on a great golf course.  I just played it the past two days and it's nothing more than a fun feature on an average hole. Much more star power elsewhere.

[Scott Warren]

As far as the features that make the greens such a brilliant set, Terry, I think Press's Knob really is among the top handful.

Did you not find that it played a major role in the approach shot on that hole, as well as recoveries and putts to the front portion of the green?

Separately, I'm interested to know why you think the 11th is merely "average".

[John Mayhugh]

You pretty much covered the deviltry that Press' knob has in store for the golfer making his approach shot to the green.  The hole generally plays downwind and it is often a very strong wind so unless you are talented enough to stop a downwind mid iron on a green sloping away you will probably have to deal with the knob.  The prospect of a left or right kick off of the side of the little hill is readily apparent as is the fact that your ball needs to get over the top of the little hill but what is not seen from the fairway is how the ball is propelled forward off the back of the knob once you clear it.  It is one of my favorite features on the course.

I think that over the past few years, the higher ball flight from hybrid clubs makes the shot a bit easier, but the feature still is effective.  All but the best players or the blissfully ignorant need to factor it into their approach.

Terry,
I'm with Scott.  I think this is a strong hole and the knob one of the more memorable features.

[Scott Warren]

Interesting to note in those pics that David's ball has landed on the back half of the knob (you can see him repairing his ballmark) and despite the greens being less than rock hard and the hole being into the wind that day, his ball has come to rest a significant distance past the flag.

Such is the impact of Press's Knob.

[Terry Lavin]

The knob is a cute, quirky way of introducing a different kind of false front, it seems to me.  It's sort of like bumper pool or a pinball machine.  If you wind up hitting it, you're very likely to get a wacky and random result.  That makes it fun and it provides a lot of interest and defense to the hole, which in my humble opinion is not all that dramatic.  Don't get me wrong; I love Prairie Dunes.  I love the place, the vibe, the people and I think the greens are spectacular.  The Press holes don't do all that much for me, especially when one compares them to the Perry holes.  I'm sure there are some who ardently admire the "new" holes.  I'm not in that group.  I think the original nine are clearly superior, even if some of the "new" holes have great greens.

[Greg Tallman]

The Irish contingent are terrified(or amused... depending on number of pints) by the title of this thread.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

The Irish contingent are terrified(or amused... depending on number of pints) by the title of this thread.

+1

And the strongest thing I've had to drink today is a glass of fizzy orange

[David Kelly]

The Press holes don't do all that much for me, especially when one compares them to the Perry holes.  I'm sure there are some who ardently admire the "new" holes.  I'm not in that group.  I think the original nine are clearly superior, even if some of the "new" holes have great greens.

Had you first played Prairie Dunes with absolutely no knowledge of its history I highly doubt that you would have walked off of the course and said, "I really like 9 of the holes, they are clearly superior to the other 9.  Its like they were built by two different people."

[Anthony Butler]

The best Wichita offered was a kindly innkeeper who answered the age-old question of what Newt Gingrich would look like were he morbidly obese and an amusing 13-year-old Eminem clone who was intent on fighting me to impress his girlfriend (though the Old Town area is beautiful and the microbrewery does a great IPA).

Scott... New Gingrich is close to being that fat.. and where on earth where were you to pick a fight with a 13 year old. I assume somewhere different than where the IPA was being served.

What are your future plans for the US beyond Kansas?

[Terry Lavin]

The Press holes don't do all that much for me, especially when one compares them to the Perry holes.  I'm sure there are some who ardently admire the "new" holes.  I'm not in that group.  I think the original nine are clearly superior, even if some of the "new" holes have great greens.

Had you first played Prairie Dunes with absolutely no knowledge of its history I highly doubt that you would have walked off of the course and said, "I really like 9 of the holes, they are clearly superior to the other 9.  Its like they were built by two different people."

You're correct of course.  Perhaps I'm polluted by some knowledge of the history of the club.  I have tried to learn a little bit more on each of my five visits.

I shouldn't have mentioned my feelings about the Perry/Press contrast because I should have known that there'd be some sensitivity to that position.  Just so the PD crew doesn't feel slighted, I think it's a great golf course.  Holes 8 and 17 are simply world-class.  The greens as a set are as really, really special.  And Press' knob is quite quirky and functional in a fun sort of way.

Last thought:  As I said goodbye to my last "donated" golf ball in the gunsch (sp?) on #11 yesterday (causing another lateral drop before I whacked a shot toward the knob), I thought to myself that only the victims of testicular cancer have lost more balls than the guests who try to get around that lovely, tight and challenging golf course.  I contributed my share.   Happily, of course.

[C. Squier]

Top 10 set of greens in golf

To me, only PV's greens carry the same fun and interest as those at Prairie Dunes.

*disclaimer - haven't played overseas and pay dues*

[Nigel Islam]

Top 10 set of greens in golf

To me, only PV's greens carry the same fun and interest as those at Prairie Dunes.

*disclaimer - haven't played overseas and pay dues*

How would PD compare with Crystal Downs?

[Scott Warren]

Terry L,

"Tight" isn't a word that comes to mind when I think of Prairie Dunes.

The 1st is about 90 yards gunch to gunch in the driving zone. The 5th, 80 yards. The 6th, 8th and 9th, about 75. The story is the same on the back. Even the two short fours (3 and 14) are in excess of 55 yards wide in the safe driving zones.

The gunch is extremely thick, but you have to hit a fairly poor shot to find it in almost all cases.

As for the Perry v Press holes, probably not surprising that the Perry holes provide many of the best handful seeing as they reside on the best land. I didn't personally see a difference in character between the two sets of holes (the trees notwithstanding) and wouldn't have known for a second that two people were involved. In fact, when I named my favourite nine greens on the course in the OP, without thinking I named three of Press's and six of Perry's.

Can you elaborate about how you see the knob on 11 as a form of false front? I don't see that at all. I agree when you say 11 "isn't all that dramatic". On a course with a lot of drama, this is a brilliant subtle feature. But I accept that boldness and drama is easier for most folks to like.

Anthony,

Just walking down the street, minding my own business, taking pictures of Old Town. Future plans involved more of the central states, Philly/sth Jersey and San Fran/Monterey, but it's all already over!

Clint,

Certainly Prairie Dunes' greens are in the Pine Valley league, alongside Royal Melbourne (West), The Old Course and Royal Cinque Ports in my mind (and probably in that order).

[David Kelly]

Top 10 set of greens in golf

To me, only PV's greens carry the same fun and interest as those at Prairie Dunes.

*disclaimer - haven't played overseas and pay dues*

How would PD compare with Crystal Downs?

Crystal Downs has fantastic greens, on the shortlist of greens that I have played.  However, the times I have been to Crystal Downs there were some greens that I thought were kept too fast for the contours - 10, 11 being foremost in my mind.