View source for Sand Hills Golf Club

{{short description|Golf club in Mullen, Nebraska, United States}}
{{Infobox golf facility
| name                = Sand Hills Golf Club
| image               =
| imagesize           = <!-- include units -->
| caption             =
| pushpin_map         = USA#USA Nebraska
| pushpin_relief      = <!-- any non-blank value to display relief map, if available -->
| pushpin_mapsize     = <!-- width of map (e.g., 220 without the px), default is 250 -->
| pushpin_map_alt     = <!-- alternative text for map, see WP:ALT for details -->
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| coordinates         = {{Coord|41|51|24|N|101|5|27|W|region:US-NE_type:landmark_scale:10000|display=inline,title}}
| location            = [[Mullen, Nebraska]]
| establishment       = 1994
| type                = Private
| owner               = <!-- name of organization/company -->
| operator            = <!-- name of organization/company -->
| holes               = 18
| tournaments         =
| greens              = <!-- type of grass used -->
| fairways            = <!-- type of grass used -->
| website             =
| course1             = <!-- individual course name, can leave blank if same as article title -->
| designer1           = Bill Coore and [[Ben Crenshaw]]
| par1                = 71
| length1             = 7,089 yd
| rating1             =
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| module              = <!-- or 'embedded' or 'nrhp' -->
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}}
'''Sand Hills Golf Club''' is a golf club in [[Mullen, Nebraska]], United States. Notable for its remote location and minimalist design among the [[Sandhills (Nebraska)|sandhills of Nebraska]], it is consistently ranked among the top golf courses in the world<ref name=golf.com>{{cite magazine |title=GOLF's 2022 ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the US|url=https://golf.com/travel/how-different-golf-us-top-100-courses-1995|magazine=GOLF.com |date=November 16, 2022 |at=13|first1=Ran|last1=Morrissett |access-date=18 November 2022}}</ref><ref name=golfdigest.com>{{cite magazine |title=Sand Hills Golf Club |url=https://www.golfdigest.com/story/sand-hills-golf-club |magazine=GolfDigest.com |date=December 27, 2016 |access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref> and the best courses designed since 1960,<ref name=golf2>{{cite magazine |author=Joe Passov |title=The Greatest Course of the Last 50 Years – Sand Hills |url=http://www.golf.com/courses-and-travel/greatest-course-last-50-years-sand-hills |magazine=GOLF.com |date=August 23, 2009 |access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref> notably being named #1 in ''[[Golfweek]]'' magazine's 2022 list of the "Top 200 Modern Courses", defined as courses built no earlier than 1960, in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/lists/best-modern-golf-courses-bandon-dunes-kiawah-island-tpc-sawgrass/ |title=Golfweek's Best Modern Courses 2022: From Bandon Dunes to Kiawah Island, the top 200 golf courses built after 1960 |first=Jason |last=Lusk |work=Golfweek |date=May 23, 2022 |access-date=June 21, 2022}}</ref> The golf course architecture website ''Golf Club Atlas'' called it "the most natural course built in the United States since World War I".<ref name=GCA>{{cite web|url=https://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/sand-hills/ |title=Sand Hills Golf Club |website=Golf Club Atlas |accessdate=March 16, 2021}}</ref>
==Course history and design==
Because of Nebraska's unique topography, course architects Bill Coore and [[Ben Crenshaw]] moved only {{convert|4,000|cuyd|m3}} of earth when designing the course.<ref name=golfdigest.com/> [[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]] developer Dick Youngscap surveyed several thousand acres of land in 1990 and worked with Coore and Crenshaw to survey the land and find an ideal spot for the course.<ref name=omaha>{{cite news |author=Stu Pospisil |url=https://www.omaha.com/sports/local-golf/q-a-sand-hills-golf-club-designer-and-developer-ben/article_8e697d8b-eb0d-5233-a186-dbdd761eacc1.html |title=Q&A: Sand Hills Golf Club designer and developer Ben Crenshaw |newspaper=Omaha World-Herald |date=November 17, 2016 |access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref> During two years of surveying the land, Coore and Crenshaw found over 130 "natural golf holes" on the property—defined as locations that had well-defined areas that could easily be converted into teeing areas, fairways, hazards, and greens. They spent much of that time narrowing the list of possible holes to 18 and determining an ideal course routing.<ref name=GCA/><ref name=golftripper>{{cite web |url=http://www.golftripper.com/sand-hills-golf-club/ |title=The Itinerant Golfer's Take on Sand Hills Golf Club |access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref> At one point during the design phase, when Coore and Crenshaw were making little headway on a routing, Crenshaw stepped over a boundary fence and found a parcel of land that he saw as ideal, reporting back to Coore that he should see this particular parcel. Soon thereafter, Youngscap arranged a land swap with the owner of the adjacent parcel, which today contains the 12th through 15th holes.<ref name=GCA/> The course itself covers {{convert|130|acre|ha}}.<ref name=golf.com/>
$1.2 million was spent building the course, far less than other highly rated modern golf courses.<ref name=golf.com/> One major source of savings came about when soil analysis found that the sand on the property had perfectly round grains—making it essentially identical to the "USGA greens mix", a special type of sandy soil that the [[United States Golf Association]] considers ideal for the needs of a golf green. At the time the course was being constructed, the average cost to build a green to USGA specifications was around $40,000, including not only the cost of the soil itself but also installing drainage systems. Because the ideal soil was already present, the greens required no drainage, making the cost to build all 18 greens less than $6,000. By itself, this reduced the course cost by over $700,000.<ref name=GCA/><ref name=golftripper/>
Ranking among the most exclusive courses in the United States,<ref name=golfadvisor>{{cite magazine |title=How To Sneak Onto 5 Of America's Most Exclusive Golf Courses |url=https://www.golfadvisor.com/articles/gvi/cr-how-to-sneak-onto-5-of-americas-most-exclusive-golf-courses-17357.htm |magazine=Golf Advisor |date=April 29, 2015 |access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref> the club reportedly has fewer than 200 members from across the country,<ref name=golftripper/> almost none of whom reside in 500-person [[Mullen, Nebraska|Mullen]]. Most members fly into [[Denver International Airport|Denver]], [[Eppley Airfield|Omaha]], or nearby [[North Platte Regional Airport|North Platte]] when playing at the course and stay in the on-site accommodations that can host about 55 people.<ref name=golfcoursegurus>{{cite web |url=https://www.golfcoursegurus.com/reviews/sand-hills-golf-club/ |title=Sand Hills Golf Club (Mullen, Nebraska) |author=Bill Satterfield |date=2010 |access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref>
Youngscap's influence on Mike Keiser's development of [[Bandon Dunes Golf Resort]] is well documented.<ref name=golfKeiser>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xWDWCQAAQBAJ&dq=youngscap+influence+on+mike+keiser&pg=PA95|title=From Turnberry to Tasmania - Adventures of a Traveling Golfer|author=John Steinbreder|date=2015 |access-date=18 November 2022|isbn=9781589799950}}</ref>
==Course details==
{{Golf18|center=true}}
{{par18|5|4|3|4|4|3|4|4|4|35|4|4|4|3|5|4|5|3|4|36|71}}
{{black18|name=Black| |549|458|216|485|412|198|283|367|402|3370|472|408|417|216|508|469|612|150|467|3719|7089}}
{{end18}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Golf clubs and courses in Nebraska]]
[[Category:Hooker County, Nebraska]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Nebraska]]
[[Category:Golf clubs and courses designed by Coore & Crenshaw]]
[[Category:1994 establishments in Nebraska]]