The Prairie Club - Valentine, NE (sandhills region of Nebraska)

[Skaffa77]

My buddies and I planned an overnight golf trip to The Prairie Club this year. For those unaware of The Prairie Club...it is a semi-private golf club located near Valentine, NE which is about 1.5 hours north of the famous Sand Hills. In previous years, I've visited Dismal River (Jack Nickalus course in the sand hills of Nebraska) with a different group of guys, but felt that The Prairie Club was much a similar experience and give you the feel of prairie links style golf. The accommodations were excellent as well!

 

Thought I'd share a few pictures of their Pines course and Dunes course. The Pines course was narrower and had quite a few holes with pines trees lining the fairway. The Dunes is the more wide open, rolling hills type of layout.

 

Enjoy the pics (sorry, they were from my iPhone)!

 

Welcome to The Prairie Club:

 

 

Wide open driving range:

 

 

The Pines Course:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Skaffa77]

[b][u]The Dunes Course:[/u][/b]
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And they close the day with a bagpiper near the clubhouse!!!
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[lacosteguy]

Thanks for the pictures!
Did you like this or Dismal River more?

[Arizonalefty59]

Wow that could honestly be a US Open venue.

[sharkiesj]

Thanks for sharing. Those are nice pics. What's the best way to get there? I'd be flying from SoCal. Was it an all day thing like Bandon is, somewhat, or what's the best route to take.

[cvvorst]

I had the good fortune of golfing with skaffa, and driving out there.

We drove from Omaha, which i think is the shortest route from a semi major airport. It took us 4.5 hours.

I can easily say it was the best golf experience of my life, and i have had the good fortune to golf amazing courses all over the us.

Both courses were great, but our group really appreciated the dunes course.

The dunes course was a little more open, but a great drive could penalize you via a natural bunker or tall grass.

Overall, i would go back there anytime i get permission from the wife/my daughter

Thanks again to skaffa for setting this up! It was an amazing trip, one I'll never forget!

(I'm on my phone and up early with my little girl, so my grammar and punctuation might be poor)

[puttnforthe8]

Was just there in July.

Denver is just as close as anywhere else and it is an easy drive.

We played Dismal River, Ballyneal, Prairie Club on the trip...couldn't get on Sand Hills.

Yes - it is a Bandon type trip....there is nothing else anywhere. Even less than Bandon.

[Skaffa77]

[quote name='lacosteguy' timestamp='1377404065' post='7739677']
Thanks for the pictures!
Did you like this or Dismal River more?
[/quote]

Honestly...can't say I liked it more than Dismal, but I wouldn't necessarily say Dismal is better. They are very comparable both in the course style and conditions as well as the accomidations. Now Prairie is semi-private so it does get more people out there and isn't as "exclusive". You're more likely to run into other groups out on the course where at Dismal you might be lucky to see another group or 2 out on the course.

Dismal just opened the new Doak course which is supposed to be awesome, but I havent had the chance to play that one.

[Skaffa77]

[quote name='sharkiesj' timestamp='1377417474' post='7739999']
Thanks for sharing. Those are nice pics. What's the best way to get there? I'd be flying from SoCal. Was it an all day thing like Bandon is, somewhat, or what's the best route to take.
[/quote]

It is in the middle of no where! Just small towns via 2 lane highways after you exit the interstate. Closest major airports are Denver or Omaha As was stated...Denver will be a 6 hour drive. Omaha will be a 5.5 hour drive. You'll probably have better luck getting a direct flight into Denver.

[jeramydavid]

I have hunted north west Nebraska for years and always wish I had more time to golf while I'm out there... I gotta imagine the wind is brutal out there at times.

[I_HATE_SNOW]

We sure enjoyed both courses and had a great meal at the clubhouse too.

[puttnforthe8]

[quote name='jeramydavid' timestamp='1377456972' post='7741549']
I have hunted north west Nebraska for years and always wish I had more time to golf while I'm out there... I gotta imagine the wind is brutal out there at times.
[/quote]


Not really, at least not in July when I was there....normal wind...had to play max 1.5 clubs sometimes. Mornings always were calm.

With the new course at Dismal, I believe it is far better than Prairie. That being said, Prairie has some of the hottest women working at the facility...I fell in love at least 3-4 times: from the reception to the cleaning to the restaurant. Whoda thunk in NE, all that talent.

[I_HATE_SNOW]

[quote name='puttnforthe8' timestamp='1377484399' post='7744307']
[quote name='jeramydavid' timestamp='1377456972' post='7741549']
I have hunted north west Nebraska for years and always wish I had more time to golf while I'm out there... I gotta imagine the wind is brutal out there at times.
[/quote]


Not really, at least not in July when I was there....normal wind...had to play max 1.5 clubs sometimes. Mornings always were calm.

With the new course at Dismal, I believe it is far better than Prairie. That being said, Prairie has some of the hottest women working at the facility...I fell in love at least 3-4 times: from the reception to the cleaning to the restaurant. Whoda thunk in NE, all that talent.
[/quote]

They are planning another 18 at the Prairie Club, not sure when.

[deadsolid...shank]

[quote name='puttnforthe8' timestamp='1377484399' post='7744307']
[quote name='jeramydavid' timestamp='1377456972' post='7741549']
I have hunted north west Nebraska for years and always wish I had more time to golf while I'm out there... I gotta imagine the wind is brutal out there at times.
[/quote]


Not really, at least not in July when I was there....normal wind...had to play max 1.5 clubs sometimes. Mornings always were calm.

With the new course at Dismal, I believe it is far better than Prairie. That being said, Prairie has some of the hottest women working at the facility...I fell in love at least 3-4 times: from the reception to the cleaning to the restaurant. Whoda thunk in NE, all that talent.
[/quote]

The girls working the restaraunt (when we there anyway) were all from Europe, and yes they were awfully nice. They were telling us the deal how they ended up there, but I just cant remember the details (very possibly I was quite distracted and wasn't listening). I probably shouldn't comment on the "talent" in Nebraska since I married a Nebraska girl.

If you can go with a member its an added bonus because you can go up in the Eagles Nest ( I think that is the correct name), above the restaraunt. Its smaller, has a few tv's and a pool table. Also you can go out on the balcony for a few over the course.

[Cysmic]

A couple of buddies and I also went out to The Prairie Club back in early August. It was absolutely outstanding. The only issue we had was it rained bad enough Saturday morning they wouldn't let us out on the course right away. That meant we were only able to get two rounds on the Dunes course as opposed to the three we got in Friday on the Pines. Here are some of the pictures from our trip.

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[mac94]

Can't wait to go there.

[I_HATE_SNOW]

The only sand traps with rakes are the ones next to the greens. The rest are all natural, very firm sand.