Author Archives: Jay Bastian

An alternative Sand Hills Golf Trip through western Nebraska

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You won’t be playing the Sand Hills Golf Club

A classic Sand Hills golf trip may include the Sand Hills Golf Club which is exclusively private in addition to Dismal River, also private, but less so, and The Prairie Club, fully open to public play. Along the arduous journey from either Denver or Lincoln, you may add in potentially Bayside, Wild Horse, and Aware Dunes.

We’d like to make the case for an “alternative” Sand Hills expedition that’s more budget conscious and about the same amount of driving. We utilize our Nebraska map of the best golf courses you can play along I-80 which traverses the state from east to west to identify the best prospects. At the eastern end after leaving Lincoln, there’s the classic, York Country Club which Jim Engh had a hand in a resdesign 1/15 hours west your find the Jim Engh designed Awarii Dunes near Kearney. Another hour west is Wild Horse in Gothenburg. Maybe you’ll then rest overnight in North Platte which has an ample selection of lodging and restaurants where you’ll also find Rivers Edge Golf Course and Lake Lake Maloney. You may/may not linger here for golf as the best is yet to come!

Bayside Golf Course

Next up and another hour or so west is the créme de la créme, Bayside on Lake McConaughy-an Irish sounding lake in Nebraska! Another 1 1/2 hours west you’ll hit the town of Bayard where you’ll find a couple of interesting named courses, Court House and Jail Rock and Chimney Rock, a couple of small town 9 holers worth your time to pull of I-80. Finally, a bit further west, but worth the drive if only for the setting is Monument Shadows in Scottsbluff in the shadow of the Scottsbluff National Monument.

Soule Park Golf Course

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Soule Park Golf Course

Soule Park is municipal golf course located 15 miles north of Ventura off the 101 in the Ojai Valley just a few miles inland from the pricey Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. 

The course moves over relatively level topography along generous tree lined corridors with a barranca and Thacher and San Antonio Creeks bisecting and frequently in play. There’s +/- 45 sand bunkers defending the generous landing zones and greens of varying shapes and contours. It’s rated as one of the best municipal golf courses you can play in the U.S. and with green fess at less than $40 it’s hard to disagree. There’s five sets of tees from the Lemon tees at 5,236 yards to Oak tees at 6,856, the the Avocado tees are 6,159 yards, 69.5/120, course/slope ratings, originally designed by William Bell in 1962 with a 2005 redesign by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner.

The Park, West Palm

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West Palm Beach Golf Park

The historic, West Palm Beach Golf Club was established in 1947 and designed by Dick Wilson, a Toomey/Flynn disciple, (known for Bay Hill, Doral, Cog Hill among others). It was renovated in 2009 by Mark McCumber but fell into disrepair and neglect over the years finally closing in 2018. It was a PGA Tour stop in the 1950s hosting the West Palm Beach Open Invitational.

The City of West Palm Beach accepted a proposal by Seth Waugh, the CEO of the PGA of America, to raise outside capital to build a world class, community oriented, public access golf course. They raised a total of $55 Million and employed Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner to develop an 18 hole championship layout, 9 hole, lighted short course, and a massive putting course on the 180 acre tract of land. The Park West Palm is located on the southeast corner of the I-95/Forest Hill interchange, convenient to virtually all of southeastern Florida. The golf course has been constructed on sand based soils with 30 feet of elevation change providing for an environment bordered by sandy scrub vegetation, oak trees, and sable palmettos reminiscent of the Streaming property-except that it’s not out in the middle of nowhere.

There’s no water in play, but it’s dominated by sand, rippling fairways, generous, undulating green complexes and tucked into a mature residential/industrial neighborhood. There’s also a lighted 9-hole par three course; an 18-hole putting course, a two-acre kids only golf area; and a lighted two-sided driving range featuring Top Tracer technology. The current pricing favors residents of the City of West Palm Beach with $70 greens fees while outsiders will pay around $130 depending on their “dynamic pricing” model. It may end up being one of the best golf courses in Florida you can play according to our guide.

Shangri-La Resort, yet another new reason to stop for golf in Oklahoma!

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Battlefield Golf Course at Shangri-La Resort

The venerable Shangri-La Resort with 27 holes of championship golf is on Monkey Island and Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. It’s located 80 miles northeast of Tulsa and will be unveiling The Battlefield, a new 18-hole, par-3 layout in May,

The course sits on 80 wild acres of tumbling land with over 100 feet of elevation change as it moves from the top of the property down to Grand Lake. It provides a variety of distances from 110 yards to 245 yards though a series of creeks, waterfalls, and rock outcroppings,  It was designed by Virginia based Tom Clark of Ault, Clark & Associates who actually worked on the redesign of the existing courses here.

An old golf course comes back to life in Mississippi

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Mallard Pointe Golf Course

The 90 mile drive to Ole Miss is now again broken up by a fine golf course we’ve missed the last couple of years. For reasons unknown, the former operator and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks which operates the John W Kyle State Park in Sardis failed to come to terms on a new agreement. Subsequently, the State committed to maintain the course, but not operate it for approximately 9 months. The good news is that it’s now back open and coming into its own again condition-wise.

The course does possess a high degree of architectural integrity as it was designed by the late Bob Cupp, who was known for courses such as Liberty National, Pumpkin Ridge, and Old Waverly among many other significant layouts.

The course is set on a slight bluff on the southwest corner of Sardis Lake in the Park along natural borders throughout. It’s characterized by broad and confined tumbling, fairways, multiple water features and mitigation areas, 30 sand bunkers, and generous, but undulating green complexes. It’s a challenging layout with four sets of tees from 5,300 yards to 7,004 yards with the White tees playing to 5,595 yards, 68,8.118, course/slope ratings.

New course added to our Chicago suburbs guide, but only available to public play on weekends

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With over 50 of the best golf courses in our guide that you can play as rated by the national golf periodicals in the Chicagoland area, we missed one. Although it’s part of a 36 hole private club, public play is permitted on the weekends on their Creek layout.

The Morris CC is off I-80 at the Morris exit 60 miles west of Chicago on the north side of the Illinois River with its Nettle Creek track open to public play on the weekends only.

The Creek course has a wide open, prairie/links feel to it as it moves over slightly rolling topography. There’s patches of tall prairie grasses throughout bordering the landing zones, six ponds, 35 sand traps, and generous, undulating and contoured green complexes. There’s tees from 5,059 yards to 6,562 yards off the back tees, the white tees play to 6,129 yards, 68.8/118, course/slope ratings, designed by Buzz Didier.

The Masters Golf Trip, from the west

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We’ve covered approaching Augusta for The Masters from the north and south. With this post we’ll outline the golf course/overnight options to the west of Augusta and really, there’s only one option for an upscale experience.

If you’re not trying to save a few bucks on your trip to Augusta, then Reynolds Plantation will be your choice of golf and lodging.

Reynolds boast six premium layouts designed by the elite of golf course architects including Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Rees Jones, and Bob Cupp with only the Creek Club by Jim Engh not open to public play. Accommodations here include the Ritz Carlton or lodging in rental homes and cottages in the community, let’s say an airbnb on steroids, and leased directly by the Reynolds management company.

Reynolds is located in Greensboro, Georgia exactly midway between Augusta and Atlanta, a mere 1 1/2 hour drive either way. It’s a 12,000 acre residential development on Lake Oconee with eleven restaurants, four full-service marinas, swimming pools, 21 miles of pedestrian trails, and tennis courts.

The golf is anchored by The Landing, a Bob Cupp design, and the first course developed on the property in 1986 with his Preserve course opening in 1988. They were followed by Jack Nicklaus’ Great Waters, The National by Tom Fazio, and The Oconee by Rees Jones. Great Waters might be the most popular, arguably the most scenic, with nearly half the holes on the Lake and the 27 hole National considered the most challenging. All in all, a high end venue, setting, and world class accommodations whether you’re headed to The Masters or looking for a weeks long golf vacation.

The Masters, heading to Augusta from the south, and we don’t mean Savannah!

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Magnolia Lane, Augusta National Golf Club

In the last post we approached Augusta and The Masters from the Columbia area, today, we’re approach Augusta from the south in small towns like Swainsboro, Statesboro, and Sandersville where, as in Columbia, significantly lower hotel rates and reasonably good public access golf is available. All there areas are around 1 1/2 hours from Augusta and the traffic into the city if you’re trying to be there before the gates open is a breeze compared to 1-20.

Near Sandersville, there the Twin City CC, a classic middle Georgia parkland layout through the pine trees. In Swainsboro just off I-16, there’s the Swainsboro Country Club, a semi-private Arthur Davis design just south of the airport where you’ll find narrow doglegs through the pines and a very welcoming clubhouse.

Swainsboro Country Club

Just down I-16 towards Savannah is the Willow Lake Golf Course in Metter. It’s set in scenic countryside and characterized by narrow pine tree lined fairways over slightly rolling hills with numerous water hazards and well protected greensites.

Georgia Southern University Golf Course

Finally, we’re just south of Statesboro where we find the 2013 restoration and renaming of Georgia Southern University Golf Club. Georgia Southern with an enrollment of over 22,000 has invested heavily in the update to the golf course and it’s impressive. The strategic layout meanders through a residential development with most of the holes bordered by homes without impacting play. It’s a parkland layout with scattered trees lining the broad fairways, water in play on the majority of the holes, and well bunkered fairways and greens. It’s an Arthur Davis original design from the 1980s updated by Robert Walker.

The Masters,Columbia, SC overnight best golf courses you can play

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With The Masters coming up the week of April 3, many attendees find staying in the Columbia, SC area convenient and cost effective. Columbia is only 70 miles or so east of Augusta, but the difference in hotel and golf rates is significant. Whereas a La Quinta in Augusta is being advertised for $549, you can stay at an Embassy Suites for $166 in Columbia! Green fees in the Augusta area also are inflated to 3X the normal rates during Masters week as well.

In terms of golf, the former University of South Carolina Golf Club, now Cobblestone Park is your best bet for an upscale daily fee golf offering, but there are half-dozen others in our guide to the best public golf courses in Columbia that are worth considering depending on your budget.

Sandhills Golf, Nebraska

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Frederick Peak Golf Course

The new golf course just outside Sioux City, Landmand, is going to generate a lot of inquisitive play to the area. Many, like us, may want to stretch the itinerary and make the trip to The Prairie Club in Valentine, a full 240 miles to the west. Along the way, there’s some interesting public access courses which add considerable value to the trek, maybe even creating the Northern Nebraska Golf Trail in addition to the Nebraska State guide to the best public golf courses.

First off would be the Tatanka Golf Club in Niobrara, 90 miles northwest. In addition to golf, there’s the Santee Sioux Nation’s Ohiya Casino. The course is a Paul Albanese design on a broad stretch of land with nary a flat lie to its credit.

Tatanka Golf Club

It’s just another 1 1/2 hours southwest to the Atkinson Stuart Country Club, a small town, 9 holes built by its members in the early 1970s. There also the Mill Race Park and Campgrounds adjoining if you’re the camping type, otherwise there’s several small motels and B&Bs in town for the overnight.

After another 1 1/2 hours west, we arrive in the Valentine area where the Prairie Club receives top billing nationally, but don’t overlook the 10 hole, Frederick Peak Golf Club. It’s a Tom Lehman design, a unique rolling layout bordered by prairie grasses at rates that might be equal to the cost of lunch at the Prairie Club!