Gamble Ranch in Brewster..."the next sand hills"

[sosinsurr]

Link below.

 

For anyone who has no idea what Sand Hills is...google "sand hills Nebraska."

 

You'll find one of the U.S. premier private courses (according to Golfweek and what not)

[Tupperwolf]

Many of the golf courses around me are struggling right now and barely staying afloat. Seems like a bad time to build new ones, although I certainly admire the desire to have more courses like Sand Hills!

[Metalhead]

Well there is WINE VALLEY in Walla Walla...or the Palouse Ridge in Pullman...both pretty sweet Links courses!

[sosinsurr]

No, this was being built/planned out in the northern part of E-WA. I really don't consider Walla Walla or Pullman middle of no where

[teejaywhy]

"The next Sand Hills..."

Hmm...

[url]http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/blogs/wheres-matty-g/2011/02/catching-up-with-david-mclay-k.html[/url]

[Metalhead]

[quote name='tjy355' timestamp='1301437304' post='3100313']
"The next Sand Hills..."

Hmm...

[url]http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/blogs/wheres-matty-g/2011/02/catching-up-with-david-mclay-k.html[/url]
[/quote]

cool thanks for the link...looks promising....kinda sounds like a bit of rivalry between Kidd and Doak too...this could be a good this for course design between these two...

[sosinsurr]

[quote name='tjy355' timestamp='1301437304' post='3100313']
"The next Sand Hills..."

Hmm...

[url="http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/blogs/wheres-matty-g/2011/02/catching-up-with-david-mclay-k.html"]http://www.golfdiges...id-mclay-k.html[/url]
[/quote]

You're the man! Explains why I couldn't find it when searching "sports illustrated" lol but yup, that's the one. Off on the RTJ part too lol. But that's the one I'd read about! So thank you!

[teejaywhy]

[b][i]"The U.S. is quiet,” Kidd says, “but I’ve got a project in central Washington that might be the next Sand Hills.”[/i][/b][b][i]
[/i][/b] [i][b]Gamble Ranch will be built on 1,000 acres of sand dunes near Brewster, overlooking the Columbia River. Kidd was working on the property a few years ago, marking bunkers and starting to clear land, when the owners, a local farming family, shut the project down because of the collapse in the economy. “They’re hoping to pull the trigger when the snow clears,” Kidd says. “There are ribbons all over that place. I’d spent a month marking out the course, and then it just stopped. There’s no real estate, no big clubhouse and amazing views. It’s pure golf. And working with sand dunes is butter.”[/b]


[/i]What I read into that is the project is on hold due to the economy. "Hoping" to relaunch this spring.

Any info about whether this is a private club or resort development? Sounds like there is no real estate component to the project.

[i]
[/i][url="http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/blogs/wheres-matty-g/2011/02/catching-up-with-david-mclay-k.html#ixzz1I5v6zIZF"][/url]

[sosinsurr]

Wouldn't be the first time WA was supposed to get a decked out course that fell through. They were building a course out in Westport that was supposed to be "bling-bling" but that fell through in development.

[teejaywhy]

[quote name='sosinsurr' timestamp='1301509267' post='3102935']
Wouldn't be the first time WA was supposed to get a decked out course that fell through. They were building a course out in Westport that was supposed to be "bling-bling" but that fell through in development.
[/quote]

Probably not a bad thing. We need less bling bling and more courses that are made for playing golf (like Sand Hills).

[oregongolf]

First I've heard of this... I'm crossing my fingers though. There is some amazing golf east of the Cascades in Washington.

[parpar41]

Thanks for the link to the GolfWeek article.

I just read the article and then I looked up Brewster, WA on the map.

Looks like a fantastic site near the river, but MAN, that is a remote location.

to get there from the Seattle area, you drive past Chelan, where, I understand, the Bear Mountain course is already struggling given the remote location.

Brewster is even more remote.

I do, however, wish them the best of luck

[sosinsurr]

[quote name='parpar41' timestamp='1312509216' post='3453026']
Thanks for the link to the GolfWeek article.

I just read the article and then I looked up Brewster, WA on the map.

Looks like a fantastic site near the river, but MAN, that is a remote location.

to get there from the Seattle area, you drive past Chelan, where, I understand, the Bear Mountain course is already struggling given the remote location.

Brewster is even more remote.

I do, however, wish them the best of luck
[/quote]

Do you know where Sand Hills is? lol google map "mullen, Nebraska" and tell me that's not more remote than brewster. I played my first two years of college golf in Nebraska and have been to Mullen...it's quite out there.

[HighandDry]

When I was out at Bandon this year, my caddy was a local guy. He was telling me that when the golf course was being developed, the locals were laughing. Building a course in the middle of nowhere on sand dunes?

I guess it's like field of dreams, "If you build it, they will come."

The big difference is that the developer, Keiser, had (has) tons of money.

[Skaffa77]

Wasn't Dismal River in Mullen, NE (developed by Jack Nicklaus) supposed to the next "Sand Hills"?   I've never played Sand Hills, but have played Dismal River and it was phenominal.   My understanding that people still consider Sand Hills to be "superior" to Dismal River.  

BTW - sosinsurr is right...Mullen, NE is very isolated.   Just rolling hills for miles in each direction.  It really makes it a wonderful experience when you are on the course.   Nothing, but you, the ball and the golf course.

[sky7051]

Living approx 1hr from brewster I was excited to see the first signs that this may happen. Then it died off and seemed like nothing was gonna get done. Well I'm happy to report I swung up by the gated private (dirt) road the other day and you can see all sorts of equipment moving back and forth across the hillsides. The was also 5 dump truck loads of sand that past through the gate as I was watching equipment. The course will have an amazing vantage point looking up and down the columbia river and up the Okanogan River. Will be a gorgeous location. Found some pics online of their marketing holes they're working on first.

[color=#009933][size=2]www.panoramio.com/photo/50874995[/size][/color]

[parpar41]

[quote name='sky7051' timestamp='1335250166' post='4779142']
Living approx 1hr from brewster I was excited to see the first signs that this may happen. Then it died off and seemed like nothing was gonna get done. Well I'm happy to report I swung up by the gated private (dirt) road the other day and you can see all sorts of equipment moving back and forth across the hillsides. The was also 5 dump truck loads of sand that past through the gate as I was watching equipment. The course will have an amazing vantage point looking up and down the columbia river and up the Okanogan River. Will be a gorgeous location. Found some pics online of their marketing holes they're working on first.

[color=#009933][size=2]www.panoramio.com/photo/50874995[/size][/color]
[/quote]

Great news!

A sign the economy is improving?

Maybe an indication the US economy as a whole really is recovering.

[Dr. Shankenstein]

Desert Canyon+ Bear Mt. Ranch+ Gamble Ranch= Trifecta. That would be an epic(and close to home) weekend.

[oregongolf]

Just an update to this thread... Gamble Sands is supposed to open July 2014.

The [url="http://www.golferswest.com/destinations/a-hole-by-hole-look-at-gamble-sands/"]hole by hole[/url] looks sweet... I see shades of Wine Valley and Tetherow.

[Weekday Golfer]

[url="http://methowvalleynews.com/2013/10/02/a-sand-trap-that-looks-like-a-golf-course/"]http://methowvalleynews.com/2013/10/02/a-sand-trap-that-looks-like-a-golf-course/[/url]

$150 per round, $50 for a cart, caddies available, short distances to walk, no trees, will be fun in our 100 degree summer weather!

I can see the location from my house, and have driven up above it many many times.

I am very interested in playing it, but for that cost not so sure. We have Desert Canyon and Bear Mountain within 45 minutes and they are almost half price!

My hope is that it brings in people to help boost our two smaller courses, Lake woods and Alta Lake, Alta Lake is a nice course, definitely worth a try, and Lake woods is a cheap, fun course, that doesn't see a lot of traffic.