Ride the rim of the Snake River Canyon on the Pines Course at The Prairie Club in Valentine, Nebraska
VALENTINE, Neb. – The Pines Course at The Prairie Club combines the best of the club's remote location in central Nebraska's Sandhills.
The 7,403-yard par-73 layout, designed by Graham Marsh in 2010, wanders spectacularly through the dunes that make its sister track (the Dunes Course by Tom Lehman) one of the top 100 public courses in the country, yet also weaves a narrow path through the evergreens and cedar trees near the rim of the Snake River Canyon.
Six holes on the Pines Course directly hug the canyon with greens perched along its edges, teasing golfers with sounds of the river hidden below. The best holes might be the yin-and-yang of the No. 1 handicap at No. 8, a demanding 462-yard par 4, followed by the potentially drivable 314-yard ninth hole, home to a treacherous green. It's pure genius. Tufts of turf spring up like mushrooms in the eye-popping bunkers, a unique touch that adds to their difficulty.
Narrower fairways and more undulating greens make the Pines play slightly tougher than the Dunes. While the Dunes constantly wins the rankings war, Patrick Kilbride, head professional at The Prairie Club, tends to favor the Pines for its Carolinas feel, a notion shared by many members.
Golfweek ranks the Dunes second and the Pines fourth among the state's best public courses. "Both of them are second-shot golf courses," Kilbride said. "The greens are a challenge."
The Prairie Club - Pines Course
in
Valentine
88897 State Highway 97Valentine, NE 69201
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- The Prairie Club rises from the Sandhills of nowhere, Nebraska
- See nothing, experience everything on the Dunes golf course at The Prairie Club
- Ride the rim of the Snake River Canyon on the Pines Course at The Prairie Club in Valentine, Nebraska
- There's nothing plain about The Prairie Club in Valentine, Nebraska
The Prairie Club rises from the Sandhills of nowhere, Nebraska
Imagine the plains as they once were when American settlers drove through riding wagon trains. There are large stretches of the drive to The Prairie Club in Neb [...]
Photo Gallery: There's nothing plain about The Prairie Club in Valentine, Nebraska
Photo Gallery: See nothing, experience everything on the Dunes golf course at The Prairie Club in Valentine, Nebraska
