Journey to 2000 Golf Courses Played: Nebraska Trip

The last time my wife and I were in Nebraska was six years ago. We stopped at Dismal River to play the Red course which was not open during my intial visit to Dismal in 2012. This time we would be staying in the state longer than one night and would be returning to the Chops Hills, albeit at a different destination this time. We also hit a bunch of courses in the Omaha area and made a side trip to Kansas City to eat great BBQ and play some wonderful golf courses. The last course of the trip proved to be the best, a sleeper course that should absolutely be ranked in the top 100 courses in the country.

The trip began unlike any other trip I've taken, with the end of another trip. I flew from Portland, Oregon, where I spent the previous week solo playing golf, to Omaha, Nebraska where my met my wife at the airport. The Oregon trip profile is here: Oregon Trip. We jumped in the car and headed north. We were ultimately headed towards the Chop Hills of Nebraska but we made a slight detour across the border to South Dakota to play the Arnold Palmer designed Dakota Dunes Country Club.

Dakota Dunes Country Club, Par three 8th hole

On day two of the trip we began our journey west to the Chop Hills. We stopped along the way to check out Tatanka Golf Course in Niobrara, Nebraska. Designed in 2015 by Paul Albanese, the course is part of the Ohiya Casino resort. I was pleasantly surprised by the course. It has some very dramatic land movement and but the architect did a very good job of making the holes with the most extreme elevation changes very playable.

Tatanka Golf Club, Par three 12th hole

We next headed to Valentine, Nebraska. Before we reached our final destination on day two we stopped at the unique ten hole Frederick Peak Golf Course designed by Tom Lehman and Chris Brands for the town of Valentine. This course is all about fun and has a very community oriented feel, similar to another wonderful Nebraska course, Wild Horse.

Frederick Peak Golf Club, Par three 5th hole

The last course on day two was the course that inspired the trip in the first place, CapRock Ranch designed by Gil Hanse. CapRock was designed to maximize the use of the canyon that the Snake River cuts through. The views are very dramatic and wonderful, and the course is everything you want from one of the best designers in the business.

CapRock Ranch, Par three 5th hole

We spent the night at CapRock and even though I'm not a food blogger, I did want to mention the amazing steak we had at CapRock. There is just something about Nebraska beef. The steak I had at Sand Hills on our honeymoon is still the best I've ever eaten, but this one was right up there as well.

I played CapRock again in the morning and wisely moved up a tee from the tips where I played the previous day. I improved my score by seven shots, 75 to 68, so it was a smart decision! I got more wind in the morning then I did in the afternoon which is definitely not the norm.

CapRock Ranch, Par three 18th hole

After the fine morning round at CapRock, we began our drive to Kansas City. We stopped in Kearney, Nebraska to check out the Jim Engh designed Awarii Dunes Golf Club. The course was typical Engh with bold features and sloping greens.

Awarii Dunes Golf Club, Par five 9th hole

The fourth day of the trip brought us to the Kansas City area. First on the agenda was an early morning round at Kansas City Country Club designed by golden age luminary A.W. Tillinghast. The course is where Tom Watson grew up and the club is quite proud of that fact.

Kansas City Country Club, Par three 6th hole

We made the very short drive to Overland Park, Kansas for our next round of golf at Milburn Golf & Country Club designed by William Langford, best known for his work with partner Theodore Moreau at Lawsonia Golf Links. Milburn has some wonderful greens with a compact routing. The front nine is hard against the edge of the property for the first five holes than makes it's way back to the clubhouse on holes six to nine.

Milburn Golf & Country Club, Par four 6th hole

The last course I played on day four took me to the western suburb of Olathe for a round at Shadow Glen Golf Club. The course was designed by Weiskopf and Morrish with input from Tom Watson. The front nine sits below the clubhouse while the back nine is above it. The property has a lot of movement to it, with the first hole climbing up a large hill and the ninth hole coming back down the same hill. The back also climbs for several holes before coming back down the hill for the final few holes. A very unique piece of property.

Shadow Glen Golf Club, Par four 9th green in the foreground with the 1st hole in the backround.

After golf on day four we made a mandatory stop for some great Kansas City BBQ. Our chosen destination was Jack Stack BBQ in Overland Park. Great BBQ, just be sure to ask for more sauce!

Day five started on the Missouri side of Kansas City for a round at the Donald Ross designed Hillcrest Country Club. This was my 229th Ross design and I continue to be amazed at his ability to route a course to maximize the property.

Hillcrest Country Club, Par three 12th hole

Even with all the Ross courses I have played, I saw something I have never seen before at Hillcrest, namely a 260 par three opening hole. My wife took this very cool picture of me teeing off on the opening hole at sunrise while trying to dodge the sprinklers.

Hillcrest Country Club, 1st tee

We headed back to the Kansas side of the city to play the Tom Fazio designed Hallbrook Country Club. Hallbrook is a solid effort from Fazio with some great par threes.

Hallbrook Country Club, Par three 15th hole

We headed west to Topeka for our final round of the day. I was excited to check out the Perry Maxwell designed Topeka Country Club, Maxwell is the designer of one of my favorite courses, Old Town Club in North Carolina where I was a member for several years. Most of Maxwell's porfolio is in the Midwest, and Topeka was a great example of his work. He was the best at routing courses over undulating property.

Topeka Country Club, Par four 9th hole

We headed back to Nebraska for day six of the trip. Lincoln, home of the University of Nebraska, was our first destination for a round at the Pete Dye designed Firethorn Country Club. Firethorn is everything you would expect to see from a 1980's Pete Dye design- blind short par fours, railroad ties, and a dramatic finishing stretch involving water.

Firethorn Country Club, Par five 11th hole

I had some time to kill before my next round so I checked out the par three course at Firethorn, named the West course, designed by Rod Whitman in 1999.

Firethorn West course, Par three 6th and 7th holes

After my tour around Firethorn I headed to Nebraska City, home of Arbor Day and the course that would become the flagship of the Dormie Network of courses, Arborlinks. Arborlinks is one of the best Arnold Palmer designs I have played. If the first two holes were blown up and redone properly, it would be a serious contender for top hundred in the country.

Arborlinks, Par three 11th hole

We drove back up to the Omaha area for the final round on day six. Happy Hollow Club, designed by William Langford & Theodore Moreau, was a very pleasant surprise. The front nine moves up and down some hills on the edge of the property and features some very strong par fours. Sadly I only got to see the front nine as I very stupidly decided to sprint up a steep slope to get to the tee of the par four 9th hole and managed to pull a muscle in my right calf. I couldn't put any weight on my right leg so sadly my golf was done for the day, which was a real shame as I would have loved to see the back nine.

Happy Hollow Club, Par four 6th hole

Even with my inability to put weight on my right leg, nothing was going to stop my wife and I from heading to another famous BBQ destination, Oklahoma Joe's BBQ in Omaha. The restaurant has won many BBQ competitions around the country and it shows in the food. Some of the best BBQ I have eaten. When it comes to BBQ, I'm a thick tomato sauce guy, and Oklahoma Joe's really delivers on the sauce!

The final day of our Nebraska adventure began across the Missouri river in Iowa. My wife had never played golf in Iowa so we decided to change that with a round at Dodge Riverside Golf Club. Part of the Harrah's casino, Dodge Riverside was designed in the 1920's with many changes after that.

Dodge Riverside Golf Course

We crossed back across the river to the northern suburbs of Omaha for the remainder of our final day. First we headed to the Arnold Palmer designed The Players Club. The course has three nines and I played the Highland nine which was the last nine to open in 2006.

The Players Club, Highland nine, Par four 2nd hole

Our final day in Omaha continued at the Jeff Brauer designed Champions Run Country Club. I have only played a few Brauer designs, but one thing I'm sure of is that he does know how to build fun short par fours.

Champions Run Country Club, Short Par four 9th hole

The last round of the trip was also the best. Omaha Country Club was designed by Perry Maxwell and hosted the US Senior Open a few years ago, but otherwise has managed to stay off the radar in terms of recognition of its amazing course.

Omaha Country Club, 4th green and 5th hole

It's a shame this course is located in Omaha, because if you put it in a major metropolitian area like New York, Chicago, or Philadelphia it would solidly be in the top hundred courses in the US. But it's in Omaha, so it's virtues will just have to be extoled by golf architecture geeks like me.