Wild Horse GC, Gothenburg NE

[M2R]

I you have been to Wild Horse , what were your impressions and when did you play?

This course has made some the top "___" type lists lately like The Thrifty 50 .

[M2R]

When: Early October 2006
Course: Wild Horse
Location: Gothenburg, NE
Cost:$33 walking, $47 riding.

Rated by Golfweek as the 25th best modern (build after 1960) course in US. This course isn't near any metro area and I can't imagine why it exists at all. However if a person were to get a chance to play here, it’s likely they wouldn't be disappointed. The drive North on 47 toward Gothenburg went through some of the prettiest sand hills prairie I have ever seen.

I did begin to wonder what I had gotten myself into driving down the gravel road toward the course with nothing in site but corn fields on both sides. I arrived at the course to find almost no trees, no water in play on any holes, and nearly flat terrain with only small rolling hills and mounds. The clubhouse is moderate in size with lockers, showers, and everything else I would want, everything on a modest scale. There are a few homes on the perimeter of the site and some of them may actually be larger than the clubhouse itself. These homes are the first thing I saw approaching the course. However the houses were not obviously visible while playing the course. The course has a nice practice facility with separate areas for the driving range (with many target flags from 100 yards to 300+ yards), two target greens in an area dedicated to less than 100 yard shots, a green dedicated to bunker practice, and an absolutely monstrous putting/chipping green.

Fairways snake their way thru native Nebraska sand hills prairie to large greens that seem US Open slick and hard. I chatted with some of the maintenance personnel and they said their goal was to keep the greens at 12-14, conditions permitting. The day I played the greens were set up to run 13-13.5, easily faster than anything I’ve seen before or since. There are some man made bunkers but the majority are just natural areas where the wind has blown large holes into the ground. These natural bunkers are strewn about at various places in the fairway and rough. Some are in play and others are more a visual obstacles than a hazard to play. The natural sand in the bunkers is very fine, powdery, and heavy; bring a sand wedge with decent bounce.

The course is well marked with 200, 150, and 100 yard plates and yardages on sprinkler heads. The 150 is also marked on each side of the fairway by bleached buffalo skulls pegged into the ground. However with some of the greens being maybe 40 yards deep, it is helpful to know the pin placements (which were provided in the pro shop). Getting on the green in regulation may not be enough to secure a par. Some greens have as many as five tiers and if the ball ends up above the hole on the wrong tier - forget it, you are in trouble.

Carts can only be driven in the fairways, never in the rough. The course is easy to walk as there are separate walking paths (about 4 feet wide and mowed close to the ground) that go directly through the rough to the next teeing ground. The courses defenses are wind, natural prairie rough and large difficult greens. In most places the grass in the rough is knee to waist high. Even if you could find your ball (unlikely) it would be difficult to move it more than a few feet. In other places the rough is only a few inches high and it is easy to find the ball and play it. However it is far more likely that missing the fairway by more than a few feet will result in taking an unplayable. Pace of play starting at 1:20 pm on a Monday was less than 4 hours but from other reviews that I have read, the norm may be closer to 5 hours.

Playing here might be similar to the links experience playing across the pond - although I have never played outside the US. I certainly have never thought, or even begun to suspect, that a course could play this hard and fast. About the only negative thing from my day at Wild Horse was finding a set of tees to play. It was almost a 1500 yard jump from the silver tees (4843 yards) back to the black tees (6325 yards) but only a few hundred more to move back to the gold (6805 yards). I played from the black tees and it intimidated the heck out of me. I didn't see another person all day playing tees other than silver. Even the women were all playing from the silver tees.

To fully appreciate this you need a day when the wind is blowing and the course and greens are in good condition. If you were unlucky enough to arrive during a wet spell with no wind, this course wouldn’t be that memorable.

[tjy355]

M2R - Thanks for your most excellent review!

This sounds like the style of course I hope will become more popular in the USA.