While you’ll have to have some mighty connections to play the Sand Hills Golf Club above, there’s plenty of Nebraska golf courses in the Sandhills you can play. We’ve been inspired by a guy named Arg who has set off on the ultimate golf expedition. He’s just hung up his IT hat after 32 years, sold his home in Chicago, and purchased a 35′ class A motorhome on his mission to spend 4-5 years traveling the U.S. play the best golf courses. He plans on adding to his repertoire of 700+ golf courses already played, and we’re envious to say the least! You can follow his exploits here on Golfwrx where he’s providing a running commentary on his travels. And, just as a side note, every course he’s played so far are included in our guide to the best public golf courses and resorts you can play.
We’re profiling the Nebraska Golf Trail today, essentially traveling the 455 miles across I-80 from Omaha on the east to Pine Bluffs on the Wyoming state line the west.
Starting in Omaha, there’s eight worthy municipals and semi-private layouts which could even provide for a full week of golf. Lincoln also has eight courses within close proximity of I-80. Both cities have ample lodging, restaurants, and a variety of attractions in addition to vibrant downtown areas. Heading west the population the population thins out, the land generally flat farmland, and the lure of the Sandhills some 200 miles west awaits.
An hour west of Lincoln you’ll find a classic parkland layout, the York Country Club, with Jim Engh’s touch shown on a renovation of the original 1919 design. In another hour I-80 merges with the Platte River and runs with the River for 215 miles until Big Springs. We’ll profile some of the more notable courses in our guide, which features the best public golf courses and resorts you can play. These golf course have been rated and profiled by the major golf publications and carry reviews that place them as the best in a given area. Alternatively, you can use our Nebraska guide and map to develop your own Nebraska Golf Trail.
Awarii Dunes is another hour west of Grand Island just off I-80 to the south at Kearney and a Jim Engh original design. Another hour west at Gothenburg is the “poor man’s” Sand Hills, Wild Horse, designed by Dave Proctor and Dave Axland who assisted Core and Crenshaw in building Sand Hills.
At North Platte we exit I-80 for the two hour drive north to Valentine to the Prairie Club with 36 holes by Graham Marsh and Tom Lehman in addition to a ten hole, par 3 layout by Olympic Golf Course architect Gil Hanse along with Geoff Shackelford. The 10 hole (cause there was only room for 10) Frederick Peak nearby is also worthy of your time.
Heading back towards I-80, Bayside, a Proctor/Axland design in Ogallala on the south shore of McConaughy Lake, is the last of the Sandhills golf you will find and a must-play on any visit to the area. A little off the beaten track in Scottsbluff are Riverview and Monument Shadows both literally in the shadows of of Scotts Bluff National Monument, an 800 foot bluff above the North Platte River that served as a landmark for Native Americans, and emigrants on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails.
