The owner, Dick Youngscap, took a huge risk in the mid 1990s by decided to build a golf course in the middle of the Sand Hills of Nebraska where play is limited by weather and geography.
But, fortune favors the brave and Sand Hills is an absolute gem, Top 10 in the World. Designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore with very limited earth moving required, the golf course evokes the sense of St. Andrews but in a very different setting. Like the Old Course, the fairways are huge, the greens allow the ground game and the course is affected by the wind, encouraging players to move the ball back in their stance and keep it low.
This golf course really put Coore and Crenshaw on the design map and they have gone on to create wonderful courses around the world including Hidden Creek in New Jersey, Colorado Golf Club near Denver and Friars Head on Long Island. You can see some great photos on their site here.
Sand Hills was at the forefront of the trend towards natural golf and has led to some wonderful golf courses that have followed in its wake, such as Ballyneal in Colorado, Prairie Club in South Dakota and the soon to be opened Cabot Links in Canada.
Sand Hills is the new definition of golf, nothing fancy, no carts, no paths, no country club, no cart girls, no bag drop, just golf....pure golf.
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