Number 7: Sand Hills Golf Club

Ceiling: 97

Rating: 93.5

Trend over Time: 8.5

“You’ll get to the second green and every direction you look you will see absolutely NOTHING.” This is what I was told the day before I had the supreme pleasure of playing Coore and Crenshaw’s crowned jewel and the unequivocal best modern course in the states. When asked what it’s like out there, my answer is “well, it’s in the name. It’s a bunch of hills… of sand. And that’s it.” And by that’s it I mean that is IT. Like the thing we’ve been looking for. Because my goodness is it a cool place for golf. The budget was nothing. The amount of human intervention vs just building greens into the natural landscape was minimal. And if I’m not mistaken, there were only a couple bunkers on the whole courses that were shaped. Other than that, they were already there. It is the model, in the US at least, for finding an amazing site for golf and then just situating holes in the amazing land you have found. And who better than Bill and Ben to execute such a project?

Culture:

Sand Hills had a more spartan and down-to-earth feel than I would have imagined. It was super cool. Highly unique. Especially within the landscape of top courses. The pro shop still uses analog cashier deposits which truly may be the only time I’ve seen this anywhere. The buildings are all modest but nice. The membership has big names but isn’t as much of a “who’s who” as many of Sand Hills’ competitive set would be. And finally, the food is just what you would expect. Not fancy, but great, with an appreciation for doing the simple things right. A great burger, cookie, ham sandwich, things of that nature are what Sand Hills nails. Simply put, it is a golfer’s oasis. You don’t make the trek to Mullen, NE if you aren’t deeply passionate about the game and more importantly architecture. While funky juice is surely on offer, you don’t go to Sand Hills for a hit and giggle and glorified buddies wine tasting. It is a GOLF trip.

Competition:

This is an interesting one. While the course has plenty of chops for it. Sand Hills may be more at a loss on the competitive side than any course in my top 25. To my knowledge, the club has not hosted any major outside competitions since its opening in 1995. I believe there are multiple reasons for this. One, it is fundamentally not what the club was set out to be. Two, it is in the middle of nowhere and would be a logistical nightmare for people to get to and be housed at. And three, the longer a course goes without hosting something, the harder the question of “What would we host?” becomes to answer. My quick Sand Hills dream that I feel sure others have thought of… a Walker or Curtis Cup. Small group of players, match play, and made for different types of courses. Sand Hills is a place that you want to allow to be highly variable day to day and not be worried about how windy or hard it gets. Perfect for match play. Perfect for a Walker or Curtis Cup. Perfect for a small group of players. A boy can dream.

Architecture:

Or lack thereof? People refer to the work, in a completely non belittling manner, that Bill and Ben did at Sand Hills as discovering the golf course rather than creating it. The story goes that they initially identified 136 golf holes and had to select the best 18. They spent a whopping $1.2 million to build the golf course. For comparison, Shadow Creek, which is of a similar vintage, and is a completely manufactured course, was a $60 million project. Sand Hills has it all. It’s hilly, the ball bounces and rolls, you need creativity into the greens, it’s discerning off the tee but not punishing, plenty of greens ask you to be precise, but also some won’t punish you until you get there. When you discover land like Sand Hills, it’s really a process of getting out of the way and figuring out how to make the property sing. Now, that said, anyone who has tried to cook a great piece of meat knows how easy it is to mess up greatness. But, C&C have done this a time or two, and this effort will go down as the hallmark of their careers.