Dismal River Golf Club (Red)

The White course was first unveiled at Dismal River Golf Club in 2006 and Jack Nicklaus laid it out amongst the Nebraskan dunes. Seven years later, in 2013, a complementary Tom Doak layout opened to critical acclaim.

The Red course traverses up the dunes for the opening holes and then wends its way back down to the Dismal River, with the home hole finishing alongside the water where the imposing dunes and bluff form a dramatic backdrop on the opposing river bank.

Architect Tom Doak commented as follows: “The cliché about designing a course in the Sandhills is that you can see potential golf holes in almost any direction you look. There's some truth to that. The land is fascinating because there are undulations that never end. But the land is also deceptive. A lot of the holes you see don't work out. You walk out 200 yards and find a blind ridge. Or a feature that seems like it’s 300 yards away is actually 800 yards. Or you find a great hole but you can't go right from there to the tee of another hole that works.”

Clearly the landforms of the Nebraska Sandhills provide the opportunity for links-like golf. All that is missing is the sea. If there was only a mere whiff of salt in the air, every golfer would be convinced that the ocean is only a dune away.