Dormie Network’s David McLay Kidd-Designed GrayBull Course Opened in Mid-August

[Steve_ Shaffer]

With six private destination golf clubs already in its collection (all legacy clubs renovated and refreshed to exacting standards), Dormie Network’s seventh is being built from the ground up. GrayBull, in the Nebraska Sandhills, will open on day one to the Dormie standard of first-class facilities, pristine course conditions, and well-appointed, on-site accommodations. Already under construction, with a planned opening in 2024, GrayBull promises to be remarkable, starting with its dramatic reveal of the course only after you arrive. Once you tee off on the 1st, each breathtaking hole holds its own element of surprise.

A links-style course, GrayBull will feature wide open dunes, firm and sandy soil, and a carefully selected mix of turf that melts into the landscape. With greens close to tees, this will be a very walkable course.

The wood-clad exterior and long low roofline of GrayBull’s clubhouse allow the structure to blend into the surrounding grasslands and complement the fantastic views of the rolling hills in every direction. The social hub of the clubhouse is the dining room and bar, where all meals are served and where panoramic views of the course can be seen through its large picture windows. An extensive, covered wrap-around deck is designed to seat you at the edge of the property's highest point and take in one of the most unique experiences available anywhere.

Six Dormie Network clubs are ready for you to experience now. Each club is designed to create unforgettable experiences, offering pure golf, seasonal chef-prepared cuisine, specialty cocktails, sommelier-chosen wine, and deluxe en-suite cottages. The nationally ranked clubs include designs from some of the sport’s most renowned course architects. And given their proximity to San Antonio, Omaha, Roanoke, Nashville, St. Louis, Richmond, and Philadelphia, these clubs are ideal for weekend getaways, buddy trips, and corporate retreats.

[David_Tepper]

https://www.dormienetwork.com/graybull

[Tim Gallant]

Listened to a really nice podcast on the Golfers Journal with DMK. Any updates on how things are progressing? Seems like it is on track for a 2024 opening.

[Wade Whitehead]

Listened to a really nice podcast on the Golfers Journal with DMK. Any updates on how things are progressing? Seems like it is on track for a 2024 opening.

I'm hearing that grow-in is coming along nicely (front nine is grassed) even though they've dealt with some really heavy rains over the past couple of months.  Seeding and irrigation install should continue over the next few months, with infrastructure appearing this winter.

Still on track for 2024 opening.

WW

[Matt Schoolfield]

Well this is fun. It's the first course I can actually add facts to on the wiki in real time.

Anyone have any scorecard info?

[Steve_ Shaffer]

GrayBull Club, designed by David McLay Kidd, opened for play in mid-August.
Located 13 miles north of Maxwell, a small village in the Sandhills of western Nebraska, the 7,181-yard, par-72 layout is the seventh course under the Dormie Network umbrella of properties, and the first facility to be built from the ground up. Kidd was on the site selection team with Dormie Network executives when they finalized the acreage that would be used for the project in spring 2021.
]"The site is extremely unique," Kidd said. "It’s like nothing I have ever seen before.
Built as a private club that’s open to members of other Dormie Network clubs, GrayBull is a links-style course, wide open in the dunes, with few trees and firm-and-fast conditions that will allow shots to roll. With bentgrass greens and fine fescue low-mow bluegrass mixture on the approach areas, the course will test all aspects of any player’s game.
Everyone that plays it can see that it’s got the Mammoth Dunes, Gamble Sands DNA about it," said Kidd, referring to designs he did in Wisconsin and Washington, respectively. "It might be a little tougher than both of those. The greens are a little smaller, but not much. They’ve got a bit more spice to them, but not massively. It’s super playable off the tee.
Kidd also produced a feature unique to the Sandhills courses by avoiding using pathways of any kind. "There are no hard paths at all," he said. "We figured out how we could keep people on grass from the first tee to the 18th green without the visual intrusion of paths.

[Tom_Doak]

Has anyone played it?  The press release is always going to sound great.

[Buck Wolter]

Has anyone played it?  The press release is always going to sound great.

Everyone on Instagram seemingly

[Tom_Doak]

Has anyone played it?  The press release is always going to sound great.

Everyone on Instagram seemingly

Well, I'm on Instagram, so not everyone.  And I haven't seen a thing about it there, honestly.  Not that I care what most Instagrammers say, I'd rather hear from someone I know, and so far there's nobody.

[Buck Wolter]

Has anyone played it?  The press release is always going to sound great.

Everyone on Instagram seemingly

Well, I'm on Instagram, so not everyone.  And I haven't seen a thing about it there, honestly.  Not that I care what most Instagrammers say, I'd rather hear from someone I know, and so far there's nobody.

Derek Duncan @feedtheball
@pinnbankgolf
@blairwheeler
@passionate_golfer
@jbtgpgolf




 

[Tommy Williamsen]

I played 45 holes at GrayBull in August with Wade Whitehead. Maybe he can chime in. It is a big course built on six hundred of the 1800 acres at the club. First, the course is fun, really fun. If you are at all on your game, you will score well. I broke 40 on every nine. After we had played 36 holes that day, I looked at Wade and said, “Let’s do nine more.”
Every hole is a puzzle. Pick a line off the tee and the kind of shot you want to play into the green. Some shots should be hit high, and others should be played on the ground. The second time around, I played some different lines for fun. I drove a par four and hit three woods into other par fours. It is a course you could play every day, and depending on the wind and tees you play, it would play differently every day. It lived up to the hype.

These pictures just give you a feel for the course.

[Tommy Williamsen]

[Tommy Williamsen]

[Tommy Williamsen]

[Lou_Duran]

Played it in September in very strong winds.  Concur with TW's assessment.  Two of my playing partners, both seniors and playing accordingly, had difficulties finishing some holes.  The new greens were very firm and the wind played havoc with their shots.  Our host, probably a 2-4, got around with relative ease.  I didn't shoot a good score, but lost just one ball on a topped tee shot into the thick natives.  The course has tons of variety, many angles, and wide enough to generally allow recovery from indifferent shots.  Greens were especially demanding, but they will likely soften through time.  A cleaner look perhaps than Sand Hills and Dismal River, but in that style.  I don't have a lot of experience with DMK's work, but I sense that it is more demanding than Sand Valley and more playable than Bandon Dunes.