85. Hinterlands Tour, June 21-27, 2017 (Part II)

Hinterlands Tour, June 21-27, 2017 (Part II)

Before I continue, I need to add some additional information regarding Firethorn.  It was originally founded by Dick Youngscap, a Nebraskan who about 10 years later opened Sand Hills GC near Mullen, NE.  Sand Hills is located about 295 miles WNW of Firethorn in the middle of the Nebraska’s Sand Hills region, a vast (20,000 square miles) area covered my huge and beautiful sand dunes (it is reputed to be the largest contiguous area of sand dunes in the western hemisphere).  It is almost universally regarded as the finest golf course opened in the world after 1960…and the daring and brilliant decision to build such a course in an isolated area under the “build it and they will come theory” initiated the modern golden age of golf course architecture.  Bandon Dunes made this movement famous, but Sand Hills GC started it all.  How he has not been inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame (along with Mike Keiser) is simply astounding to me!

Now back to the more mundane. 

Wichita Country Club, June 24, 2017:  On Saturday morning, I drove south from Lincoln, NE to Wichita, KS, a trip of about 4:30 or 265 miles…and continued to be quite surprised by the rolling terrain in both states.  And during the drive south, I discovered why Flint Hills National Golf Club (a superb Tom Fazio designed course also located in Wichita that I played in April 2013) has its name---the region around Wichita is known as “Flint Hills”.

The club was founded in 1900 and started with a nine-hole course…moving to a new facility with 18 holes in 1913, and then moved to its present facility in 1950, building a 6498 yard par 71 course designed by William Diddle.   Since that time it has hosted three important USGA woman’s championships:  the 1955 Woman’s Open, the 1969 Woman’s Senior Amateur, and the 2010 Woman’s Mid-Amateur.  Also, it was cited several times in The Founders film cited at the start of my prior post.  Over the past year, Tripp Davis completed a renovation of WCC.  Davis’ work has been principally in the Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas area as well as the New York area.

WCC has not appeared on any Top 100 list.

Today is stretches to 6862 yards (par 71).  The land here is fairly flat, but the greens have good slopes and are well protected by properly place bunkers.  Course was in excellent condition.  Best holes to my mind are 358 yard sharp dogleg left par 4 #5, dogleg left uphill 570 yard par 5 #9, dogleg right 387 yard par 4 #12 which flows slightly down off tee and then up to green, and #16 and #17, par 5 and 3 respectively with superbly shaped greens that put a premium on approach placement.

The club is beautifully maintained and seems to be very active.  The hallways and walls of the rooms in the club are filled with a superb collection of golf memorabilia commemorating the greats of the game who have played this course.

After the round, I drove about an hour from Wichita to Hutchinson, Kansas.  My sense is that you know about Hutchinson only if  (1) you live or lived near there; (2) your business has been deeply involved with farm related commodities, and/or (3) you love the game of golf and are interested in golf architecture or great golf courses. 

After checking in at my hotel, I went downtown for dinner at Jillian’s, a fun and very nice Italian restaurant.  Was good to get to bed early…have along day coming on Sunday.

Prairie Dunes Country Club, June 25, 2017:  I tried to recall my previous trip here in summer (August I think) 1979.  I had visited close friends Susan and Bill F. in Steamboat Springs, CO and then drove east playing along the way at Cherry Hills (Denver), Prairie Dunes, Oak Tree (Oklahoma City), and Southern Hills (Tulsa).  All were “first time” for me, and PD was my 180^th course played.  Strange the coincidences in life…during my drive from Omaha to Wichita the previous day I spoke with Susan and Bill, and learned that Bill’s mom (a truly truly remarkable 94 year old) was fading quickly…and she passed away on Sunday June 25 and will be missed.

Upon arriving at the club, I immediately went to take a quick peak at the par 3 #10 sitting behind and to the left of the clubhouse, as I recalled starting my round in 1979 on that hole.  My host was John J (“JJ”), a retired commodities broker from Hutchinson who was introduced to me by Fergal.  We also played with Brian and Frank (the head of high net worth business at the largest local back, and the soon to be retired…and by now retired Director of Finance for the City of Hutchinson).  This was a fun group of good players who loved the game and their beloved “PD”. 

PD’s history is rich with hosted events and extensive in terms of Top 100 listings.  It has hosted:           

o   The US Senior Open (2006 won by Allen Doyle);

o   The US Woman’s Open (2001 won by Juli Inkster);

o   The US Mid-Amateur (1988 won by David Eger);

o   The US Woman’s Amateur (1964 won by Barbara McIntire, 1980 by Juli Inkster, and 1991 by Amy Fruhwirth);

o   The Curtis Cup (24^th in 1986 won by GB&I); and

o   The US Men’s Senior Amateur (1995 won by James Stahl, Jr.).

Additionally, it has hosted five Trans Mississippi Men’s Amateurs (including in 1958 won by Jack Nicklaus) and in 2014 hosted the NCAA Men’s Division I Championships.

Prairie Dunes has been included on 39 of the 41 World Top 50 or 100 listings that I have uncovered, missing only Golf Magazine’s first two World Top 50 published in 1979 and 1981.  It’s highest rating was #14 in GM in 1991, and its lowest rating was #59 in Golf Digest last year (excluding its “tie” for #100 on the MacWood “spoof” list when it had just 9 holes in 1939...more below).  It has appeared on every USA Top 100 list that I have uncovered…66 of 66 to date.  Highest rating #8 in GM in 1979 and currently #29, 14, and 18 in GD, GW and GM respectively, and GD has this one wrong. 

The course opened in 1937 with 9 holes built by Perry Maxwell and signs of Maxwell’s genius abound, especially on the greens.  After Perry Maxwell’s passing in 1952, his son Press Maxwell designed an additional nine holes to complete the 18.  The original nine are holes 1-2, 6-10, and 17-18 on the current layout.  A number of years ago PD expanded its National membership program, and that had kept the club healthy financially and highly active.  It was wonderful to see such a special gem thriving.

As I did in 1979, I looked for the Atlantic Ocean behind many of the dunes, again with no success.  As I understand it, according to Al Gore if I return on about 5 weeks, the Atlantic (and perhaps the Pacific as well) will be easily visible from the highest dunes at PD.  My round started poorly with a 45 on the front, but a very healthy two over 37 on the back brought a smile back to my face.

There simply are too many great holes to describe them all.  # 2 and #8 stand out as the best in my mind.  #2 is 164 from the back to a green half way up a dune (Atlantic not behind dune but 6^th tee is) to a multi-tiered green sloped sharply from back to front.  The fact that I hit my tee shot to about 6’ has nothing to do with my describing this hole (besides I missed the putt).  #8 was included as the best #8 hole in the USA by Dan Jenkins and Ben Hogan in their 1965 book.  I can do no better than to quote from this book’s special description of this club, course and hole (note…today the 8^th is 468 yards and the course stretches to 6947 yards (par 70):

8 PRAIRIE DUNES
PAR 4 424 YARDS

Straight away in the distance, crawling across the horizon, are the sweeping sandhills. To the right and left, twitching in the normal 25 mph wind, are broad, swollen patches of knee-high native grass, festering clumps of yucca plants, plum thickets and sunflowers. This is the outlook from every tee at one of America's most unusual golf courses, Prairie Dunes Country Club, a course whose scenery and shot-making requirements are those of a Scottish links, but whose location—Hutchinson, Kans.—could hardly be farther from the Irish Sea.

As country clubs go, Prairie Dunes is certainly not opulent. The small clubhouse is white frame, the landscaping is, for the most part, Kansas natural and the lawn is spotted and unshaded. As for cuisine, it does exist, but a Hutchinson gourmet would prefer the Town Club for an evening out. Thus the country club is strictly a golf course, but a distinctive one.

This incongruous touch of Scotland on the Kansas plains was founded in 1937 as another golfing lark of the Emerson Carey family, a ruling dynasty in Hutchinson. It was built by Emerson Carey Jr. and his brother, Bill, who succeeded their father as benefactors of the town. Emerson Carey Sr., before his death in the '30s, had provided Hutchinson with four golf courses and a public park. The young Carey brothers hired Golf Architect Perry Maxwell to lay out a different kind of course on the unusual duneland in the area. Maxwell set forth each day with a bag of apples and a thermos to walk the ground, and he kept coming home confused. "There are 118 golf holes out there," he once said. "All I have to do is eliminate 100." Finally, he ran out of time—or apples—and he laid out Prairie Dunes.

By modern championship standards, Maxwell's 6,522-yard course is not long, but its rough more than makes up for any lack of distance. Even the best player has been known to take 15 swings or so trying to disgorge the ball from a yucca plant. The course first came to public attention in 1958, only a year after the second nine holes was completed, when a burly 18-year-old named Jack Nicklaus won the Trans-Mississippi Amateur there. Although he won, Nicklaus did not manage a round below 72, and to this day he still talks about the severity of the course. In 1962, Arnold Palmer and Nicklaus played an exhibition round at Prairie Dunes. They shot 72 and 77, and in the process Nicklaus demonstrated how to take an eight out of the matted rough.

There is also the wind. It can be so severe a factor that a hole which plays with a driver and a wedge on one day may require a driver, a spoon and a wedge the next.

The Prairie Dunes golfer constantly finds himself brooding on a windy hilltop—called a tee box by club members—from which he peers down into a swale of thorny growth. He can see little fairway on which his shot can safely land. Thus every hole becomes a challenge, but none is more challenging than the 8th. It is a long, forced dogleg to the right with no reward whatever for trying to cut across. The fairway rises gradually, bumping its way over four ancient dunes—formations that were apparently caused by the wind that whips into Hutchinson from the Arkansas River Valley. The first dune is 165 yards out from the tee and about six feet high. They get successively higher, the last one rising about 50 feet. A perfect tee shot will carry the first dune and have enough length and fade to clear the second, too. After that, the green, protected by four bunkers on the right and one more on the left, each of which is dotted with yucca plants, can be reached with a solid three-iron. The green itself, well uphill from the fairway, is large and severely contoured, inviting three excellent pin positions and making a long, curling putt a decided possibility.

My drive cleared the first grass-covered dune—called Hockaday's Hill in honor of a club member named Ray Hockaday whose drives always landed there—and the second dune as well. As promised, I had a three-iron to the green, but did not quite make it, glancing off into a right-hand bunker. Fortunately, I was in sand instead of a yucca plant. My trap shot was uneventful and my 20-foot putt woefully offline. I made the next putt from five feet for a hard bogey and leaned, more than satisfied, into the wind blowing over the Kansas sunflowers from an invisible sea.

Pictures follow.  I rest my case.

PD #2 164 yard par 3

PD #8 468 yds...approach shot

PD #12, 395 yds...approach with trees protecting green

PD #18, 390 yds...nailed 3 wood to just over back and got up and down for par

Shadow Glen Golf Club, June 25, 2017:  JJ, Brian, and Frank were well aware of my ridiculous schedule for the day and sent me packing with my customary chicken salad sandwich (whole-wheat toast with lettuce and tomato and no mayo on the bread) to go for my 3:05 drive to Shadow Glen outside of Kansas City, KS.  I had not heard of Shadow Glen until I saw it amongst my unplayed USA Top 100…having been #82 on GD in 1995 and never appearing on any other list.  How this one made a Top 100 is one of the great mysteries.  Designed by Tom Weiskopf, Jay Morrish and Tom Watson (who grew up in Kansas City) and opened in 1989.  The golf course is clearly subservient to the houses development through which it winds, and the site is much too hilly for a golf course.  It plays to 7051 yards (par 72).  In particular I did not like the par 5 10^th or the sharply downhill par 3 12^th…and must say, there were no holes that stick in my mind as being holes I am rushing to get back to.

Shadow Glen #4146 yds over deep gorge.

84. Hinterlands Tour, June 21-27, 2017 (Part I)

Hinterlands Tour, June 21-27, 2017 (Part I)

           

This has been a tough tour to plan…lots of events this time of year at many clubs, some long driving distances involved (obviously flew from Boston and will fly to North Dakota), and of course finding places that will be open on Monday or can fit you in on weekends.  But after juggling the itinerary a few times it all worked out…if a bit hectic (even for me).

The evening before this trip Pat and I attended a showing of the film “The Founders” which is about the 13 founders of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).  Theirs is really a remarkable story of a true group of pioneers…not just regarding women’s golf but all of women’s athletics.  Enjoyed it but wished it showed more of Mickey Wright’s golf swing (Ben Hogan called her swing the best he ever saw).  Anyhow…see it if you have the chance.

Pat and I got home and soon heard that the Republican won the tightly fought House seat in Georgia.  Great news…sure hope the Dems keep Nancy Pelosi as their “leader” in the House!!!  ;-)

On the morning of 6/20 I awoke at 2:15am after a relaxing 4 hours sleep...had to catch a 5am flight to Des Moines, IA (connecting at O’Hare in Chicago).  Most thankfully was upgraded on both flights and was able to sleep for about 1- 1 ½ hours on the first flight.  Connection time was tight and we taxied at O’Hare for about 25+ minutes, but I made the connection as did my checked luggage J.

Des Moines Golf & Country Club--North and South Courses, June 21, 2017:  As a city, Des Moines surprised me…very positively.  It is one the fastest growing cities in the USA and in recent years has become a major major insurance center…apparently now with more jobs in the insurance industry than Hartford, CT.  The publishing industry is a large employer here as well (including, according to Wikipedia, Golf Digest).

Des Moines G&CC was founded in 1897, started with 9 holes on a 40 acre field in what is now downtown Des Moines, then moved to another city location in 1923 where 18 holes were built.  In the 1960’s with Interstates 80 and 235 being planned to go right through the club’s property, a 471 acre plot of land west of downtown (and considered to be in the “boonies” at that point) was purchased and Pete Dye retained to design two golf courses (North and South).  This new facility was dedicated in 1970.  More recently, both courses have undergone extensive renovations under Dye’s supervision.

In 1999, DMGCC hosted the US Senior Open won by Dave Eichleberger, and will host the Solheim Cup in August 2017.  I distinctly remember watching the 1999 US Senior Open on television and the huge galleries attending the event (252,800 for the week).  As with the US Senior Open, the Solheim Cup will be contested over a “composite” course consisting of holes 10-18 of the North (as the front nine of the Composite), followed by holes 1-7, then 17 and 18 of the South (as the back nine of the Composite). 

Neither the North or South Course has ever been included on a USA or World Top 100 listing.

I teed off as a single on the South Course at 10:20.  South plays a big 7347 yards from the back tees (par 72).   Best holes IMO were #8 and #17…both are par threes (right next to each other) with #8 being uphill to a green with a deep false front and sloping very sharply back to front, and #17 a good “Redan” (adaptation of hole #14 at North Berwick in Scotland).  Pics of both follow. 

Hole #12 is also an excellent par 4 angling right for 386 yards with a large pond protecting the right side of the fairway and the angle to the hole, creating a short but effective “Cape” hole (bite off as much as you can chew). I played well (42-38 = 80) and liked the course but was not overwhelmed.  First few holes are very open and not especially interesting, but the course improves after that point.   

I finished the South around 12:40 and the starter said I should try to go off the back side of the North which I did with a member, Kary S., an orthopedic surgeon and good guy.  

I thought the North course was far superior to the South.  It totals a shorter (but healthy) 7267 yards (par 72).   Best holes include:

o   #1 a 402 yard dogleg left uphill par 4;

o   #4 a 409 yard straight par 4 with a large tree sitting on the left side about 300 yards off the tee forcing player to hit to right off the tee or hit a big sweeping draw…approach is to a very shallow green on any approach shot over leaves a delicate pitch back (which I sadly learned);

o   #10 a 366 yard downhill par 4 turning to the right…with green orientation, bunkering, and angle creating a very difficult approach from right side of fairway (and tougher from front right of green);

o   #12 a 160 or 194 yard par 3 with a boomerang or “U” shaped green (two yardages are to front and back sections of green) with a bunker sitting in between the two sections of the green (the U sits sideways with the “top opening” to the left)...cool hole;

For what it is worth (perhaps zippo), I would have used the entire North for major events as opposed to the Championship/Composite course. 

#5 on South...183 yard par 3

#8 on South, 213 yards...lousy pic except good pic of my index finger

#17 South...198 yard Redan par 3

#12 North par 3 160 or 194 yards...boomerang green ...see bunker between

After the second round, I drove about 40 miles ENE of Des Moines to The Harvester Golf Club in Rhodes, IA, arriving around 7pm.

The Harvester Golf Club, June 22, 2017:  I stayed overnight in one of the course’s lodges…which was very nice.   But there was one major problem…this place is in the middle of farm country, they have orange juice, coffee, and rolls for breakfast, and no milk of any kind…so how do I have my Fiber One for breakfast before my round?  I asked if there was a place to buy milk (and a refrigerator to store it overnight) nearby, and was told there is a gas station eight miles away…but who knows what they carry?  Decided that since I am playing at 7:20am and my second round is just 35 minutes away and is not until 11:00am, I will have time for my cereal late in the morning at Wakonda.

It was around 7:30pm when I drove around Harvester (about 90 minutes before sunset) and the place looked fabulous.  I had heard from other raters that it is very special and always in perfect condition.  Was certainly looking forward to playing it the next morning.

Went off at 7:15am…first off the first tee.  The course is in simply perfect condition.  Greens are very firm and fast and running at least 12.5’ (for sure would be 13+’ by the afternoon) on the stimp.  Property has lots of land movement (I always thought that Iowa was dead flat???) and course makes great use of the land.  Designed by Keith Foster and completed in 2000, it stretches to a robust 7345 yards (par 72).  It has not hosted any major events and while it was on the Golf Week USA Modern Top 100 2003-10 and 2013-15 (peaking at #52 in 2006 and ’07) it was never high enough to make my merged Classic/Modern Golf Week list.  My best guess is that it never met the minimum number of evaluations to make the Golf Digest or Golf Magazine lists.

I loved the course.  Fairways are wide and sharply sloping, greens are large and underlating and sloping, and the terrain is hilly but playable.  And talk about wide open spaces…look at some of pics here.  I had a 42-41 = 83, and was hitting the ball really well.  Wind was blowing about 15-20mph and my tees were 6430 yards…about 7+% longer than this old body is used to and it was noticeable (although the firm fairways helped a lot).  Into the wind and uphill was quite a struggle but great fun.  Favorite holes were:

o   #2…all time great…360 yd par 4 uphill (especially on approach) turning right with split fairway…right fairway requires a big drive to narrow landing area and provides risky shortcut but is well protected by deep bunkers and fescue; left fairway is wide but slopes heavily LàR and is the longer route leaving a sharply uphill approach to infinity green with a false front and back/right…one of the best holes I have ever played! (even though I had a 6 after a seemingly perfect drive and 6 iron);

o   #4 is a 575 yd par 5 essentially flat (but with mounds and rolls throughout the fairway) and turning right about 100 yards before the semi punchbowl green well protected by deep bunkers front/right, left, and behind and angles from 8 o’clock to 2 o’clock sloping from front to back!;

o   #7 a 405 yd very uphill par 4 doglegging right to an infinity green with a false front and bunkered on left and right; both fairway and green slope severely from LàR;

o   #9 and #10 both have wonderfully natural green settings

o   #11 is a very flat par 4 with “marsh/fescue” on left and bunkers right and S curves RàLàR, a very natural looking hole that just “fits”

o   #14, a 230 yard sharply downhill par 3 with two sets of tees providing very very different angles into the green…which is very deep with a good sized swale in its center, not quite as deep as a Macdonald/Raynor Biarritz hole; it reminded me in some ways of the 7^th at Brookline which also has a semi-Biarritz swale…while Harvester’s #14 is longer, downhill, and bunkered left and right like a Biarritz,;

o   #17, 180 yard slightly downhill par three with green on a peninsula alongside the lake…green angles from 8 o’clock to 2 o’clock and a bail out area is available to its left.

Was not quite sure what I thought about #18, a flat 565 yard par 5 that circles the lake for about 180° in clockwise direction.  Reminded me of #6 at Bay Hill (FL), but going in the opposite direction.

Exhilarating round and tough in the wind.  The 650 yard very uphill and turning left par 5 15^th was playing into the wind…my tees were 550 yards and I needed a good drive, 3 wood, 4 utility and 9 iron to reach it.

Look at the pictures…highly underrated track IMHO!

approach on #2 uphill split fairway short par 4...fabulous hole, terrible pic

#4 green which runs away from you

Short par 4 uphill #5

Approach to infinity green on #7

#9 a 465 yd par 4...lake to left of fairway

approach to #9 with wonderful green setting

#12 a 4120 yard par 4...uphill

Approach on #12 with large bowl short of green

#14 230 yard par 3 downhill from right set of tees...semi Biarritz

#17 sticking out on peninsula...180 yards to a very very deep green

After the round, I drove about 30 minutes back to Des Moines to play The Wakonda Club.

The Wakonda Club, June 22, 2017:  Founded in 1922 and designed by William Langford (Skokie CC in IL and Lawsonia Links WI, both of which I love, amongst dozens of designs).  This must have been a very stuffy club in its early years as in 1938 the Board of Directors passed a resolution requiring that male golfers must wear shirts…the good news being that no such resolution was passed regarding female golfers.  It hosted a number of premier events including the Western Am in ’47, the Trans Mississippi in ’55, the Western Woman’s Open in ’56, and culminating with the US Amateur in 1963 (won by Deane Beaman).  For the last three years Wakonda has hosted the Champions Tour’s Principal Charity Classic (won on June 11 by Brandt Jobe). 

In terms of Top 100 lists, Wakonda was included on Golf Digest’s 1966 and 1967 200 Toughest lists, as well as #98 on Golf Week’s first Top 100 Classic Courses list published in 1997…but it have never made a true USA Top 100.

Apparently, a bunch of environmentalists and tree hugging members objected to the removal of 98 fully grown trees from the course in 2008 and forced the planting of several hundred new trees…as a result, the course today is starting to shows the signs of being over treed.  The course was crowed with construction workers taking down grandstands etc etc from the Champions Tour event some 11 days earlier.  It was in very good shape (the folks in IA know how to grow grass), and the land has excellent movement.  While I liked the course, I found the layout somewhat convoluted and 11 of the 14 par 4’s and 5’s run north-south or south-north and all four par 3’s run east-west or west-east.  Most of all, it needs to take down some trees (they have a strange tendency to grow over time). 

The round was interrupted by some lightning within 5 miles and we were pulled off the course for about 45 minutes.  I ended up shooting a 42-41 = 83 and after thanking head pro Aaron Krueger headed west and then north to the great state of South Dakota. Having played in IA (four courses I might add) I now stood at 46 states played and hoped to make SD my 47^th early that evening.  But first I had to complete a 3:05 205 mile drive to SD just west of Sioux City, IA.  Yes, the plan was to play 54 holes on this day!

Dakota Dunes Country Club, June 22, 2017: Those of you folks who have suffered through this blog and the emails that preceded it may recall that in 2013 I was working to complete the courses that had ever been on the Top 50 in the USA.  Just before taking a trip to South Dakota, Minneapolis, Illinois and Indiana on that quest, I learned that the course that I had planned to play in the middle of SD no longer existed.  Sutton Bay was once ranked as #37 on the merged GW list but the land on which it was built eventually fractured and the entire course tumbled into the Missouri River.  A new course also designed by Graham Marsh was built higher up and still exists, but the high rankings were garnered by the original course.  That saved me from making an arduous trip to the middle of SD…look at a map of SD and you will discover that all of its cities are located near its perimeter…there is almost nothing in its middle.  But, as a result, I had never played golf or set foot in SD.   One other extraneous (and worthless) fact…beside the original Sutton Bay, only one course from SD had ever been included on any “Top” listing…Elmwood Park was on the 1966 and 1967 GD 200 Toughest lists.

So my drive north to SD was purely to put 18 SD holes under my belt and get to 47 states in my quest toward 50.  I chose Dakota Dunes as it was the closest to any place I was going on the trip…the town of Dakota Dunes lies in SD just over the Missouri River from Sioux City, IA and is the home of the Dakota Dunes CC and about 105 miles directly north of Omaha, NE.

I arrived at DDCC around 6:15pm and was on the course quickly.  This was to be my third round of the day and after it I had to drive the 105 miles south to Omaha, so no time to dilly dally.  DDCC was designed by Arnold Palmer and opened for play in 1991.  It is part of a planned community developed by Iowa Public Service (now called MidAmerican Energy).  It hosted about 10 events of the now Web.com tour and currently stretches to 7157 yards.  Unfortunately, tree growth is now almost choking the course almost creating a canopy over some fairways.  I was a bit tired, wanted to get on the road to Omaha while it was still light, and quickly played it.  Upon finishing, said thanks to the staff, packed the car and was heading south.  Was less tired than I thought I would be and actually parred the 18^th.  Did consume caffeine for the drive to Omaha!

Arrived in Omaha around 10pm and went straight to bed.  Had a 7:30 tee off the next morning at Field Club of Omaha.  Had bagged state #47, even if it meant 54 holes and about 350 miles (about 5 hours 40 minutes) of driving…and I faced another 54 Friday (but much less driving).

Field Club of Omaha, June 23, 2017:  Founded in 1898, The Field Club of Omaha is still located at its original site, close to downtown.  In 1941 the club hosted the US Amateur won by Bud Ward.  Shortly after WWII, the club lost about 30% of its property through eminent domain for the building of a Veterans Hospital. (see pic below…the northeast portion of the property now houses the hospital.  The course remains at 18 holes but much shorter…now just 5198 yards from the tips (par 67), reminding me of my home muni in Queens NY…Kissena, which was 4600 yards from the tips (par 64).  FC is actually is fairly good condition (although the fairway grass was a bit long) and its greens are fast and tough with severe slopes.  Its trees need trimming but it is a fun 18 holes to play.  Greens are very very small...just larger than Brookline's.  It is a real museum and I told the pro that the greens keeper needed his job title changed to museum curator.  Pat will be pleased to hear that I spent part of the morning at a museum.

Field Club #1  310 yards

Field Club #4 178 yard par 3

Field Club #7 545 yard par 5

Field Club #14 175 par 3

Layout of Field Club in 1941...area on top left now hospital

I played awful on the front and just badly on the back (despite a birdie on #1) and ended up with a 44-39 = 83).  Given this was to be my second straight day of 54 holes, 5200 yards sounded perfect!

Omaha Country Club, June 23, 2017:  OCC is clearly the premier club in Omaha (although I have a sense that 95-115 years ago, The Field Club was quite a rival).  OCC was founded in 1899.  In 1927 OCC’s new clubhouse located north of downtown (and in what were then “the boonies”) opened with an 18 hole course designed by William Langford and Theodore Moreau on a huge 300 acre piece of land.  In 1951 Perry Maxwell was commissioned to renovate OCC as was Keith Foster in 2005.  From the tips today it plays to 6771 yards (par 72) with seemingly plenty of room available to increase that yardage if the club desired.  As with Field Club the property is very hilly (again and like IA, isn’t Nebraska supposed to be flat outside of the Sand Hills region??) and flat lies are a rare find on the course.  It was in nearly perfect condition when I played it…nicely firm and fast (of course, I would prefer a touch more brown).  The property is rich with infinity greens, false fronts, Maxwell “rolls”, and severely sloping greens.  Shockingly, it has never appeared on any USA Top 100 listing.

OCC hosted a highly successful US Senior Open ion 2013 (won by Kenny Perry, who won that event again last week at Salem CC north of Boston) and at last week’s event the USGA announced that OCC will host the US Senior Open again in 2021.

I thought the course was excellent…and that its “bones” were potentially fabulous (fabulous being better than excellent).  In many ways it reminded me of Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, NC, which about 5 years ago underwent one of the finest renovation efforts I have seen (by Coore/Crenshaw).  The terrain is very hilly and offers a number of very dramatic holes.  To my mind, some further tree trimming/removal would be in order to open the course up more…the potential for a great track is there.  Additionally it had the feeling of being a wonderful club (and if my memory is correct, I believe there is at least one highly successful investor from Omaha who is a member…but I was polite enough to not enquire).

Hit the ball very well especially on back nine for a 41-38 = 79.  Favorite holes include #5, 6, 9, 10, 16-18.  There are only about 5 holes (and only one of them on the back nine) that are not significantly uphill or downhill.  Following are some pics:

After the round, it was time to drive to my next stop, Lincoln, NE, some 57 miles away to play Firethorn GC and close out my second day in a row of 54 holes.

Firethorn Golf Club, June 23, 2017:  Lincoln NE…home to the legendary Nebraska Cornhuskers but sadly diminished in recent years.  In 1986 Pete Dye and then later Rod Whitman designed Firethorn just outside of Lincoln.  It is a very tough course (as one would expect from Pete Dye) and has several holes (in particular #17 and #18) build close of wetlands/marshlands that feel very much like playing golf on Hilton Head Island (but probably do not feel that way except for the summer months).

The course plays to 7025 yards (par 72) and is built on relatively flat terrain.  It hosted the 1996 US Woman’s Amateur Championship.  In terms of USA Top 100 ratings, Firethorn was #29 on the initial GolfWeek Modern Top 100 published in 1997, which placed it as #58 on my merged GolfWeek list for that year (it stayed on my merged 100 in 1998 (#72) and 1999 (#94) and eventually disappeared from the Modern 100 starting in 2003.

I had a strange round…firing an awful 46 on the front but then rallying for a one over 36 on the back.  Very strange as I would have expected to fade later in this my third round of the day (last gasp??).  Overall I liked the course a lot although it is too encroached by housing for my tastes and has two bad holes IMO.  On #2 the second shot is completely blind, which I usually do not mind, but that hole is cart paths only and one has no sense of where or what to hit on the approach (ended up guessing wrong as losing a ball).  Then on #16, Pete left in two trees which have now grown to the point where the tee shot is like kicking a field goal (but I birdied it so who am I to complain).

#16 at Firethorn...hit a rifle shot or kick a field goal;  i hit it over, and got a birdie 3...equal to field goal  😁

Finished the round about 8:45pm…a very long day (two very long days).  Truth, which you probably guessed is that I took a cart on every course this trip…no way otherwise.  Got to hotel, had quick dinner, and got to bed.  Only 18 tomorrow, yea!!!!  But a long drive to Wichita, KS (boo!!!).

Next post…last 6 courses on this trip!  KS and ND (will I get in #38?).

Happy July 4th...we are 241 years old!!