Prairie Dunes CC plus Nebraska trip review

[Validator]

Took a trip to the great plains with my 3 adult sons for the first time.We like to play quick,play back ,fast greens and play be all the rules-Caps range from plus 3 to 6.

 

Flew into Wichita,Ka:

-Played Sand creek station on arrival day as a throw in.Not a bad $40 course.Decent shape-a few bad holes.Crowded and normal public play--fairly slow-group took our ball on blind hole.

-Headed to Prairie Dunes CC and played 54 holes over 2 days-For sure a championship course-played totally different with wind the 2nd day.A little surprised by the condition outside of greens/fairways-Group in front of us playing in t shirts which was a little surprising.great course but not sure of such a high ranking based on others behind it I have played

-Stayed and played at wildhorse next-36 holes.Best greens we played and really enjoyed the course.Best $80 public course you will play.Accommodations were a dump-restaurant not much better-

-The Prairie Club was next -3 nights-72 on Dunes-36 On Pines-stayed in single bunk houses.2 Solid courses-Place was empty-Food,service and lodging was excellent

-Arbor Links last stop.A run of the mill cc.Greens way to slow and took forever to play.Dormie Club property-Lodging and food fantastic.

-Flew out of Omaha

Recap-Our consensus

 

1-Prairie Dunes cc

 

2,3,4-Interchangeable between PC courses and wild horse

 

Arbor a distant 5th and Sand creek distant 6th

 

Everbody we came across was super nice-

 

Was surprised how expensive The Prairie Club tuned out to be-and also not much of a golf vibe

 

Area tough to get to and lots of driving.The Prairie Club was the centerpiece of our trip but wouldnt go back -Its a few notches below Bandon,SV,Pebble,Pinehurst--More in line with Paynes Valley,Streamsong,Sea island--But none the less 2 very good courses.

 

I would go back to Nebraska but only if SH,Landmand,CapRock on the agenda--3 course we have not played.

[Stetson]

That is pretty great.  Glad you enjoyed it. Wild Horse and Prairie Club are pretty cool places 

[Husker4theSpurs]

I'm surprised both greens and pace of play were that slow at ArborLinks.

Prairie Club generally packed but that time of year it can be empty due to holiday.

I had a similar feeling about Prairie Dunes. I felt like Sand Creek Station was a pleasant surprise.

[southpaw72]

Im kind of shocked at your disappointment in sand creek. It’s a fantastic public course and hosts/hosted many Usga events. Last played it a few weeks ago and it was in superb shape (especially given how much play it gets) Curious what hole you’re calling blind as well. 

 

As far as the condition of PD aside from greens and fairways it’s a course built by a plow and scraper in the hills of rural Kansas lol. That’s the whole charm of it. The layout speaks for itself. Not the lack of concrete cart paths, razor sharp edged bunkers etc. It’s one of the best courses in the world for a reason! 

[SHGolfer]

PD is a good litmus test about what you want from a golf course.  It has ZERO pretense about itself.  I would put it up against anything I have played and it would not be out of place.  It's ranked where it is for good reasons.