If I didn’t know better, I could assume my playing partner might be having an existential crisis right here in the ninth fairway. “I know where we are. It’s Shangri-La. But, seriously, where are we, exactly?” he asks without a speck of irony.

I try to be helpful. “We’re in Northeast Oklahoma. Picture the edge of the Southeast meeting the edge of Midwest.”

Like in Ozark?

“Not far off. A guy in the clubhouse said we’re three hours from Branson and Big Cedar Lodge by car or 17 minutes by private plane. You saw how it’s an easy 90 minutes from Tulsa, and we’re also not far from Bentonville, Arkansas and Springfield, Missouri.”

I feel like we’re explorers who found some hidden treasure or secret land.

I totally get his curiosity and sudden sense of wonder. Afton, Oklahoma’s Shangri-La Resort, nestled along the shores of vast Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, in a nook called Monkey Island, northeast Oklahoma is a hidden gem that might just be America’s next great golf destination.

For more than a decade, owner Eddy Gibbs has been breathing new life and vision into this lush lakefront find, first opened in 1969, and has transformed the property into a must-visit vacation attraction for golfers, lake lovers, and fun seekers from anywhere in the country. The setting is serene and rapturous with the Grand Lake all around, and now with Gibbs’ commitment and project-after-project to make Shangri-La a premier resort destination, this place is ready for its close-up and droves of bookings for buddies trips, bachelorette parties, weddings, family getaways and semi-large business groups.

Gibbs and his team have transformed the resort into the pride of Northeast Oklahoma and put the lakefront vacation oasis on the map nationally with an investment of more than $100 million into the property’s accommodations and upscale leisure amenities since taking it over in 2010.

In addition to the brand-new 119-room resort hotel, an indoor pool, 6,500 square-foot outdoor resort pool with splash pad and tanning ledge, luxury spa, full-service marina on gleaming, 46,500-acre Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees, and six distinct dining and cocktails venues culminate in an unforgettable getaway for golfers, families, groups, corporate and association retreats, and weddings.

45 HOLES OF PRIMETIME GOLF
Surrounded by the waters of Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees on three sides, the revered 27-hole championship Shangri-La golf course meanders through rolling parkland landscapes with elevated Bentgrass greens and clever bunkering along with more open, flowing fairways accented by ponds, streams and the breathtaking lakefront. Frequently ranked among the state’s Top Five golf courses – Shangri-La’s 27 holes and is made up of the Legends, Champions, and Heritage nines. The course challenges golfers of any skill level, with five tee boxes on each hole. The signature hole is Legends Nine, which features two separate greens complexes separated by a dramatic and spectacular waterfall. Known as “The Mickey Mantle Hole,” it’s named after the New York Yankees legend who hosted his Mickey Mantle Golf Classic charity tournament at Shangri-La from 1991 until his death in 1995. Mickey once holed an albatross on the challenging par five. The third hole on the Champions Course plays right along the edge of the vast lake and is one of the most dramatic holes on the property. In all, the golf experience here is satisfying and cerebral with plentiful natural beauty.

A PAR 3 COURSE THAT BLOWS AWAY ALL EXPECTATIONS
The addition of the dazzling par-54 short course, The Battlefield in June 2023 makes Shangri-La one of the few golf resorts offering 45 holes to members, guests and the general public in a lakefront setting. Built in honor of WWII veterans, each hole at The Battlefield is named after an Oklahoma WWII hero. Additional veterans are honored with weekly displays in The Battlefield Clubhouse.

The Tom Clark and Kevin Atkinson-designed, 3,000-yard Battlefield layout is a short course of creative, articulated scale and vision, constructed on an exceptional piece of land that features more than 100 feet of elevation change across its acreage. The scenic, strategic course was completed for $15 million with each hole named in honor of an Oklahoma veteran of WWII.

It’s a memorable, immersive playing experience from any of the five sets of tee boxes, plus up-close “Felix Tees” for beginners, youngsters or those wanting to work on their short game. This short course also has a 165-yard warm-up area and 10,000-square-foot putting green, and there’s also a practice range and short-game facility at the main clubhouse. Calling The Battlefield a par-3 course doesn’t really do it justice. The shot values are tremendous. Each green complex and hole design is an intriguing puzzle unto itself. Then there’s the natural beauty. It’s the kind of setting you don’t want to leave. The first thought the crosses your mind when you putt out on the 18^th is going back around this course, maybe from another set of tees. The Battlefield sets new standards in short course experiences. It sounds grandiose, but, in time, people might just start booking trips to Shangri-La just to play The Battlefield. That’s no knock on the excellent championship golf. The Battlefield is just that special.

This enjoyable, accessible par-54 course which features holes from 110 to 245 yards, joins the acclaimed 27 championship holes at Shangri-La, the Legends, Heritage and Champions courses (framed elegantly on the shores of the expansive Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees) to present an extraordinary 45-hole golfer’s paradise that buddies’ trip groups and golf aficionados from all over the country will want to add to their bucket list.

OFF-COURSE FUN IN THE SUN
The Anchor, a two-year-old, six-acre indoor/outdoor activity park has basketball, tennis, pickleball, cornhole, and a unique “Mini-Fenway” WIFFLE®Ball park, as well as a catch-and-release fishing pond for children under 12. The Anchor’s 11,000 square-foot indoor space offers traditional arcade games plus virtual reality games, a LaserShot shooting simulator, and Trackman Golf simulators.

A popular spot for drinks and dining, the Sports Bar at The Anchor features dozens of sports screens including two giant video walls, along with ping-pong, pool, shuffleboard, darts, and foosball.

Shangri-La offers various dining rooms, ranging from the fine dining of The Summit Restaurant in the main clubhouse, to Eddy’s Lakeside Bar offering seasonal al fresco dining and cocktails at Shangri-La Marina. Doc’s Bar & Grill, in the hotel, offers food service for all three meals, 365 days a year. The Canteen at The Battlefield Clubhouse and the Pool Bar at the resort pool also offer food and beverage service. The staff is personable and fun – and many are solid karaoke singers. They make the stay extra special.

The resort’s full-service marina offers permanent rental slips and courtesy docks for those who visit the resort by water and is replete with a ship store that even sells gasoline and diesel. Boat and personal watercraft rentals are available, along with yacht charters and Oklahoma’s only parasailing adventures.

There’s always something new at Shangri-La. If a day of golf, followed by an evening of boating and great food and maybe a little karaoke thrown in sounds like the perfect getaway, you’re starting to see why Shangri-La is now on the map of essential golf resorts to include in your upcoming travel planning. Learn more at https://shangrilaok.com.

The Ultimate Golf Destination Right Here In The Midwest
By Ted J. Odorico, Editor/Publisher

Head West, young man! Or should I say Midwest? With 2020 behind us and spring just
around the corner, it’s time to start planning for the new golf season. I don’t know about you,
but I can’t think of a better way than to plan a trip to a great golf destination. The uncertainty
of the pandemic caused many to scrap any hope of planning such an adventure. Whether it’s
a couples getaway or the ultimate buddies trip, one can’t go wrong with French Lick Resort in
French Lick, Indiana.

It features world-class hotels, a casino to tempt even the savviest Las Vegas gambler, fine
dining and, of course, championship golf, boasting 45 holes by master course designers Pete
Dye and Donald Ross. Plus, the Valley Links Course, adjacent to French Lick Springs Hotel,
is a regulation-length, nine-hole course and a conversion of the original Tom Bendelow Valley
Links established in 1907. Just a 30-minute drive down the road in Jasper is Sultan’s Run
Golf Club, adding yet another championship course to the world-class offerings at French Lick
Resort. Sultan’s Run was designed by Dye disciple Tim Liddy and offers a parkland layout
featuring wonderful bunkering, hills and a waterfall located at the 18th green, making it one of
Indiana’s most gorgeous layouts.

But to truly appreciate this ultimate golf destination, you must first have an understanding of
French Lick Resort’s unique history.

Welcome To French Lick

French Lick Springs and West Baden Springs Hotels were the iconic symbols of great
economic achievement back in the early 1900s for rural southern Indiana. The region of
Orange County, with its small towns of French Lick and West Baden, became a famed
vacation and gathering place for wealthy and prominent society members.

In 1845, Dr. William Bowles built French Lick Springs Hotel, which drew guests from as far as
100 miles away to partake of the “miracle waters” from the sulfur springs that naturally
surfaced in the area. Five years later, another doctor by the name of John Lane saw the
success of French Lick Springs Hotel and decided to build his own health resort just 1 mile up
the road and named it Mile Lick Inn. He later changed the name of the hotel, and the town, to
West Baden Springs after the famous mineral springs in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Lee W. Sinclair transformed West Baden Springs Hotel into a sophisticated resort when he
assumed ownership in 1888. He added an opera house, golf courses, church, ball field and
double-decker pony and bicycle track. A fire ravaged the hotel in 1901, but Sinclair used the
opportunity to further transform West Baden Springs Hotel into a world-class facility. With a
$414,000 budget and a one-year timeline, Sinclair erected a hotel modeled after the grandest
spas of Europe, complete with the world’s largest free-span dome, which stretched 200 feet.
That same year, French Lick Springs Hotel also rose to international prominence after
Indianapolis Mayor Tom Taggart purchased the property. He expanded the hotel and added
luxurious furnishings and marble floors, designed two championship golf courses and started
bottling Pluto Water for national sale. During this time, Taggart became the Democratic National Committee chairman, and French Lick Springs Hotel became the unofficial headquarters for the Democratic national party.

During the Democratic Governors Conference at French Lick in 1931, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt rounded up support for the party’s presidential nomination; a year later, he became
the official Democratic candidate and won the presidency in 1932. While French Lick Springs
Hotel remained a functioning resort over the next 100 years, the same could not be said for
West Baden Springs Hotel. After the stock market crash of 1929, the hotel was sold to the
Society of Jesus for one dollar in 1934.

The Jesuits removed many of the building’s elegant appointments and operated it as a
seminary for 30 years. Northwood College was the next tenant, from 1967 to 1983, and then
the magnificent building sat unoccupied for 13 years

When a 180-foot, six-story section of West Baden Springs Hotel collapsed in 1991, it
crumbled further from its glory days. The once-lavish hotel—dubbed the “Eighth Wonder of
the World” by journalists when it opened—was reduced to a pile of rubble. It now had a not-
so-prestigious place on the National Trust’s list of 11 Most Endangered Historic Properties in
the United States. Luckily for the withering structure, help was nearby. Indiana Landmarks,
the largest nonprofit preservation group in the nation, partnered with philanthropists Bill and
Gayle Cook to make a permanent, positive impact on both the hotel and the depressed region
around it. In addition to pioneering medical advances, Bill and Gayle, along with son Carl, had
become revered leaders of the American historical restoration movement by acquiring and
rehabbing dozens of buildings throughout the state. They wanted their work to result in living,
breathing historic places that would be around for centuries to come.

French Lick Resort was the ideal target. Mr. Cook’s initial handshake on a multi-million-dollar
pledge for the stabilization and partial renovation of West Baden Springs Hotel got the ball
rolling on a much more ambitious plan than anyone could have imagined. Their investment
not only saved West Baden Springs Hotel but also restored French Lick Springs Hotel to its
former glory.

The refurbished French Lick Springs Hotel and its new casino officially opened in November
2006, and the large part of the restoration of West Baden Springs Hotel started the next day.
When it was all said and done, it required about $600 million in renovations to create the
resort you see today. More than a decade after “The Save of the Century,” tourism is once
again thriving in the area.

Book the ultimate golf vacation and start your golf season right with a trip to French Lick
Resort: www.frenchlick.com.

North of Eight Mile Road, the unofficial Detroit city limits indicator made famous by Eminem, past the assembly plants, strip malls and potholed streets common of suburban Detroit, prepare to “Lose Yourself” amongst a series of Detroit golf courses offering their own M&M: majesty and memories.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic marks the PGA Tour’s return to the state of Michigan for the first time in a decade at the venerable Detroit Golf Club from June 25-30. This will be the first PGA event held in Motown proper, where The Four Tops are more than just your first few tee shots and The Jackson 5 is not the outing two holes ahead holding up the pace of play. Visitors attending the tournament looking to get in a few rounds will be, as Martha and the Vandellas sang, dancing in the street with excitement over the golf options in Metro Detroit.

Most of the critically-acclaimed Michigan courses — Arcadia Bluffs, Forest Dunes, Bay Harbor — are in northern Michigan and travelling there from Detroit requires a Cameron Champ drive and Phil Mickelson “escapability” through highways and rural roads. Make no mistake, those venues are all worth the trip but if you’re in town for the tournament and want to stay local you’ll find a number of challenging, scenic courses in the area.

Start with Cherry Creek, a Lanny Wadkins/Mike Bylen design 15 miles north of Detroit in Shelby Township. Stretching nearly 6,800 yards from the tips, the course reminds you immediately you’re in the Great Lakes state on the 422-yard par 4 first hole with water on the left and woods on the right. The course’s length won’t intimidate you but the trees demand accurate shots, especially on the 491-yard par 5 fifth where a straight tee shot will give you a nice look at the green in two. The par 5 ninth plays 581 from the tips but is a much more generous driving hole and the split fairway gives you options into the small green.

But the back nine is where you can start cruisin’ like Smokey Robinson with a few straightforward par 4s before a fun 5-3-5-3-5 finish. Number 15 plays only 140 yards and 16 plays 511 yards with a creek sneaking in front of the green to keep you honest. More water returns along the left side of the 175-yard par 3 17th before the signature 561-yard par 5 18th combines water, trees, creeks, fairway bunkers and a likely audience from the banquet patio overlooking the green. Cue the Stevie Wonder Spotify if you’re feeling uptight over your final putt for the match.

Ten minutes north of Cherry Creek in neighboring Washington Township is The Orchards Golf Club, a 7,000-yard Robert Trent Jones II-designed peach consistently ranked as one of the best public courses in Michigan. Ryan Moore won the 2002 U.S Amateur Pub-Links here and Mike Weir holds the course record. You may catch a glimpse of the Detroit skyline on a clear day from course’s high points but if don’t fret the missed view if you’re focused on the course’s own beauty.

An old silo on the left side of the par-4 first hole harkens back to the area’s farming days as the first four holes play open before turning into the woods. The par-5 538-yard sixth hole plays as one of the toughest holes — it’s the number one-handicapped hole from the front tees — not because of its length but because of its elevated, guarded green that requires an accurate approach shot with jail on either side of the fairway. If you pull or block your approach, start the three-minute search clock and hope for some skinny trees and no leaves.

Jones brings you out of the woods with the 441-yard uphill par-4 ninth that plays as the number one-handicapped hole from the tips and turns you onto the back-nine with another uphill, 412-yard par 4. The 607-yard par 5 eleventh begins the open, links-like feel of the back nine that RTJ Jr. enthusiasts will appreciate. The 522-yard par 5 15th runs parallel to the 11th and brings heather and bunkers into play while the 374-yard par 4 16th is one of the rare holes on the course with a water hazard that forces a fairway wood or long-iron tee shot. The 17th is a 452-yard par 4 with more elevation and bunkers, and then you reach the fun, 413-yard downhill 18th. Long hitters need to be careful as a corked drive could roll into a devious little pond guarding the green, one of only two greens with water near it. The Orchards calls itself “Your Club For The Day” and the elegant, inspiring course will be one you’ll remember every day.

Another course within a Sergio Garcia lipped putt of The Orchards is Greystone, which provides more than The Same Old Song when it comes to layout and playability. Greystone is built along an old gravel quarry and while holes 1-15 are solid, if unspectacular, holes, it’s the three-hole finish that consistently ranks as one of the best finishing stretches in the state. Number 16 measures as a 209-yard par-3 from the tips with an elevated tee shot to a green almost entirely surrounded by water; 17 is a 412-yard par-4 with a hard-sloping fairway and an all-carry approach shot, and 18 is a 451-yard boulder of a hole where bombers may only need a wedge from the elevated fairway into another water-protected green.

After playing a course built around the rocks, you’ll be ready for a drink on the rocks. The Brown Iron Brewhouse combines the best of Michigan’s bursting craft beer scene with a hearty Texas-influenced barbecue menu. Try the smoked brisket with tater tots and a Detroit Helles on Wheels lager and the sleeve you went through on the finishing stretch will be temporarily numbed by the smoky meat and smooth lager. If you happened to go through a sleeve of Pro V1’s, the Dark Nemesis imperial stout with a 12 percent APV might be a more appropriate drink.

Yet the true platinum record of Metro Detroit golf is Shepherd’s Hollow, located in Clarkston just off I-75 near the DTE Energy Music Theater, which will host legendary Michigan rocker Bob Seger’s final Detroit-area shows the weekend prior to the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Designed in 2000 by famed Michigan-based architect Arthur Hills and a sister course to Cherry Creek, Shepherd’s Hollow is carved through thick woods alongside a Society of Jesus colombiere center that gives new meaning the phrase “golf gods.” Shepherd’s Hollow is home to 27 holes with the traditional 1-18 layout surpassing 7,100 yards and its Pinehurst-like clubhouse has an Old Time Rock n’ Roll feel with wicker rockers and wait staff clad in white shirts and black pants.

National and local golf pundits often say Shepherd’s Hollow is the best Up North golf course in Southeastern Michigan, and the roaming 482-yard opening hole instantly brings to mind the pine tree-lined epic tracks of Traverse City, Boyne Highlands, Gaylord and other northern Michigan golf destinations. The fairways are deceptively wide as Arthur Hills lives up to his name with undulations, slopes, and elevations that ensure the trees are always just within reach. Take advantage of the 498-yard par 5 seventh but beware its small, tiered green surrounded by thick rough, deep bunkers and trees. Aside from that, it’s easy to hit in two.

The back nine opens with 456-yard and 483-yard par 4s and a 226-yard par 3, so the big sticks will get a work out early before the pine trees stand tall on the 354 and 449-yard 15th and 16th holes. Your driver can rest up during this stretch before facing the magnificent par 5 18th. Playing 564 yards from the tips, the hole opens with another deceptively-wide uphill fairway shot that will queue The Temptations for long hitters who will have to Get Ready for a 220-yard all-carry second shot over water to the green. Other hitters who Ain’t Too Proud to Beg can lay up along a narrow fairway strip weaving down the left side of the water and set up a third shot into the big, multi-tiered green. Some players will end with circles on the card, some will end with squares, but all players will walk away putting a star around Shepherd’s Hollow.

And like the music that took its name from the city, Metro Detroit golf will be stuck in your head and have you wanting to replay it over and over again. Florida and California and the Carolinas may be at the top of your golf travel lists but hopefully after the Rocket Mortgage Classic this summer, the Detroit area golf scene will earn, as the late Aretha Franklin sang, your R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Kyle Gillis is a Detroit native whose work has been featured in The Expeditioner, Wall Street Journal, the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other publications.

I’d seen this movie before, or variations of it. Dozens of times. But never while playing Branson golf.

I strike a pure sand wedge from 95 yards, sending the ball high against the autumn blue, then watch it light a few feet past the hole on a gentle ledge that, apparently, was flat enough to ward off the nasty backspin I’d managed to impart on the ball’s hide.

“Come back,” said one compadre.

And so it did, slowly, as if scripted for maximum drama in more than a few golf flicks through the years. “Tin Cup” comes to mind. “The Legend of Bagger Vance.” The immortal “Caddyshack.”

We watched its backward progress, covering the 10 feet or so between divot and cup with almost imperceptibly increasing speed. Rolling, rolling …

And then it was gone.

My first ace in 46 years of battling this damned game.

I whooped. My friends whooped even louder. High fives. Hugs. That out-of-breath glow after four holes on Mountain Top, what might be the best 13-hole par 3 course in the nation, certainly in the southern Plains, definitely in Missouri, open only a year and carved through limestone Ozarks cliffs by Gary Player with impish and muscular glee.

Yeah, this place called Branson was growin’ on me quick.

It doesn’t take much effort to feel the golfing gravitational pull of Nebraska’s Prairie Club. After five years in business just a few miles from the South Dakota border, on the scenic edge of the Cornhusker State’s stunning Sandhills, the remote resort — you’ve gotta negotiate a couple miles of dirt road to get there from what passes as the nearest main highway — has attracted some 400 members, most of them from the upper Great Plains but some from as far away as San Jose, Calif. It’s got that kind of unique and refreshing allure.

Take retired businessman and former college physics professor Geoff Fox, for instance. Founder of Fox Apparel — motocross riders and fans will recognize that name — came across The Prairie Club while surfing the web one day a few years ago.

“I saw something about it online, made the trip out here and bought a membership on the spot,” Fox said over a plate of pasta in the Canyon Room, the resort’s public dining area overlooking the wooded Snake River Canyon and the 18th hole of Graham Marsh’s Pines Course, one of two full-length circuits that are as different from each other as two tight but single-minded siblings (the other course, the links-style Dunes, was authored by Tom Lehman and sports nary a tree). “This is maybe only the fourth or fifth time I’ve made it here, but I love it.”

Fox didn’t just fly in for the night, as some folks do — the closest commercial airport is in North Platte, about an hour and a half south, while both Omaha and Denver are five to six languid hours down the road. He had arrived that morning after driving three and a half days from San Jose in his Tesla. “I scoped out the charging stations along the way, got here and headed straight for the first tee of the Pines.” He planned to hang around for a couple days before continuing on to Chicago. “It’s been a great trip so far.”

Video Bonus!

Secret Golf’s Steve Elkington and new correspondent Diane Knox travel to Valentine, Nebraska and play the Prairie Club

No doubt about that. Prairie Club is as pure as destination golf gets, with a “national membership” dimension that has put it on solid financial footing. It’s staffed by locals who love being there and managers who, though they may come from a bit farther away — such as Head Professional and Director of Golf Loudon Steffes — put forth a brand of bedrock friendliness that can’t be faked. And while it’s tempting to just show up and hang out in the clubhouse bar and nurse a Moscow Mule or three, or lounge out on the big ol’ patio with a stogie, there’s little reason for any visitor, member or otherwise to stall or waste any time on their way to one of the big courses. They’re that good, mixing challenge, fun, strategic surprises, solid conditioning and, yes, view after stunning view.

Which is better, the Dunes or the Pines? We’ll call it a draw to keep the peace, though each has its adamant adherents.

With its first tee located a good quarter-mile or more from the Lodge’s front door, on the far side of the two-ended practice range, the Dunes is a wild, rangy rascal of a routing across heaving dunes, with dozens of bunkers that you know were there long before Lehman laid eyes on the site. You can see them all across the Sand Hills, exposed by eons of howling prairie winds, framed in shocks of tall fescue, just waiting for a great golf hole to rise up around them. Lehman and a crack earthmoving crew did their part, finding mostly huge, green complexes among the hillocks and creating broad, well-bunkered driving lanes — most of them beyond a forced carry of 50 to 120 yards — that pretty much beg for the big dog on every tee … though upon further review, after suffering the slings and arrows of a sneaky angle and diving deep into the native rough, you might pull a 3-wood or long iron the next time around. The very first hole presents such a tasty choice; there’s plenty of room on that uphill fairway some 230 yards away, but a layup just beyond a gaggle of cross bunkers is the better call for big hitters. The Dunes rolls and sways from there, way out into the yonder, far from any hint of civilization, before turning toward home. Lehman ratchets up the pucker factor starting at around hole 14, and doesn’t let up until you’ve negotiated the final two doglegs, one moving right, the other left, both canted along natural slopes and asking for your level best iron approach from what’s anything but a level lie.

The Pines, as we said, is a different animal altogether, no less beautiful or dangerous — some would say it’s the tougher go by a stroke or two thanks to the presence of pine and fir forests along several holes in the middle of the circuit, a couple sneaky crosscutting ravines, some rock outcroppings and the Snake River gorge itself, lurking just beyond the next rise (and right behind the green on the gorgeous, slightly downhill par-3 10th). Marsh proves a master of rhythm and nuance, smoothing transitions from wideopen prairie to forest and back again with clever design elements — subtle mounding, semi-blind tee shots (and on the spectacular par 5 16th, a blind second shot, too), greens nudged up against hillsides or ensconced in natural amphitheaters. And while its middle stretch is sweet indeed (No. 9 is as fine a reachable par 4 as you’ll ever find), the finish is world-class, including perhaps the best finisher in the state, a hard-bending par 5 bordered by dense brush and the gorge on its inner elbow, with a necklace of bunkers bisecting its tumbling fairway. Chances are you’ll putt out in front of a small crowd not 30 yards away, knocking back beers and tucking into a big Nebraska-grown ribeye, so bear down and drain that sucker.

Yep, it’s all about the golf at the Prairie Club. There’s no spa, no swimming pool, few other distractions beyond the occasional bird hunt along the river. And while it’s surprisingly popular among vacationing couples who might or might not play golf, the overwhelming majority of activity is with guys’ groups. That’s just how owner/developer Paul Schock drew it up when he envisioned this place, hired architects, watched the plans for the courses take shape (including Gil Hanse’s tricky and fun threepar, 10-hole Horse Course, perfect for a late-afternoon emergency round with a craft beer in one hand and a couple wedges in the other) and oversaw the construction of Prairie Club’s handsome three-story, 40,000 sq. ft. lodge with its mix of richly appointed yet straightforward single rooms, double and two-bedroom suites — and nearby Canyon Rim Cabins, three of them altogether, offering four to eight bedrooms. He figured the region needed a middle-range destination to round out Nebraska’s surprisingly rich golf landscape; with the world-renowned, Top 5-ranked Sand Hills just 75 miles away — it’s ultra-private and therefore as out of reach for most folks as Cypress Point or Pine Valley — and another semi-private operation, Dismal River, even closer, The Prairie Club was perfectly positioned to become a strong magnet for getaway-hungry golfers from the Dakotas, Minnesota, Colorado, Wyoming, and southern Canada. From the courses’ opening each May to when they bed down in late October, traffic is steady, grateful and never overwhelming.

Get the big picture? This place is worth a special trip no matter where you’re coming from, or what mode of transport gets you there — Tesla or pickup truck, commercial bird or private plane. After all, this is Nebraska, friends. The definition of centrally located, smack in the middle of the continent, a flyover state no more. Especially if you’re packing sticks.

www.theprairieclub.com