They offer stay and play or you can stay in Valentine and pay the public rate. One course is members only per day and one is public. All golf is unlimited for the day for the public course + 10 hole short course. Most people play morning 18, lunch, afternoon 18 then dinner and/short course. I played 63 one day and we were coming up 18 at 10:30 pm not being able to see a ball after it left the teebox
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3 days unlimited golf, 2 nights in lodge and numerous beers/nooners was $1200 with a member. Without a member I do not believe is that much more. 2 dinners and 3 lunches was probably another $150.
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Prairie Club Pines
Valentine, NE
Graham Marsh
The Pines is a nice change of pace that starts in the prairie and moves in and out of the pine lined terrain along the snake river canyon, a great compliment to the Dunes Course. The green pads are a nice deviation as well, instead of swales and inner mounding they have more defined slopes creating tiers. I’m a big fan of courses providing different settings and challenges at resorts and the 2 here have their own personality while still being in the same family (i.e. Bandon Dunes vs Trails, Lawsonia Links vs Woodlands). Pines can also provide a nice respite from the usually present winds. The routing popping in and out of the prairie/dunes and trees/canyon make for fun runs or pockets of holes enhancing their memorability. I do wish the tree/canyon holes pushed up a little closer to the canyon and gave longer views down into it like their neighbor down the road (heard there are rumors of possibly doing this). The par 5s are very good highlighted by 7. Tighter drive where angles matter. Hug the left gunch for a more open shot, bail out right and a couple trees need to be accounted for on the 2nd if you take the risk into the well guarded green. 9 is an impressive driveable par 4 where a flighted running driver can chase up the steep false front into the shallow green for an eagle look (or 3 putt par in my case 
). 18 is an interesting risk/reward finish that plays very different depending on the tee. I hit hybrid then 6i from 2 ups and driver then 4i from 1 ups. Tough to hold the green downwind, especially with the numerous viewing areas and adirondack chairs on the patio long right watching. The Dunes may be the bigger better course, but given 10 rounds I might choose the Pines 6 to Dunes 4 because of the calmer less chaotic round.
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Did a solo trip with the idea of playing golf in 3 states in 3 days.
Started by flying into Detroit on Tuesday and playing the UM course. Got paired with a couple alums who play it all the time and a tourist from China who was playing it for the third day in a row. Really loved the course - even better than I remember but, man, those bunkers were tough.
After golf I drove over to South Bend. Here is where I messed up slightly: got a great deal on the hotel and booked that first before I could book the tee times. Turns out the Warren course was closed for an event on Wednesday, which meant I had to play the states slightly out of order. So, instead I drove through the rain into Illinois and played a soggy Calumet. Course was a beast with no runout due to the rain-soaked fairways. I was the only person willing to play in the rain, so I had the place to myself. I may have been the only person to play golf in Chicagoland on Wednesday.
Had grand plans of a second 18 at Canal Shores at the start of the trip but I was too drenched for another 18 and went back to the Bend. Thursday morning got a text the Warren course was walking only, which didn’t impact me so I decided to checkout of my hotel and do extra warm-up. But when I got there I was informed the range was closed. The good news is since I was already there they let me got out early as a single. The Warren is a gem I would play every day.
Thought that was going to be the end of golf for this trip but while I was talking to the starters at the Warren and mentioned I was disappointed I wouldn’t be able to play the Burke since it hadn’t opened after its renovation. Turns out that Thursday was their opening day. Made a call and got a their fourth tee time. Its lost a little of the quirk I remember with this latest version but $15 to carry on a leisurely early afternoon round can’t be beat.
Great trip and not too much windshield time. Loved flying solo and not having to coordinate schedules or get a group consensus when the plans had to change. Think I may try this again next year and try to check off a few states I haven’t played yet.
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Epic shots.
I want this in my life. I keep creating different Nebraska golf trips in Google maps.
Thank you for sharing.
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Where was the pin on this one when you played?
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You can barely see it, but far left side of the green.
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I used to beat the prior 9 hole version up back in the day. It looks like 2,6,7 (formerly 3,7,8) and the second half of 4 are still where they used to be.
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Heres another one to add (also have Fredericks Peak incoming).
Tatanaka GC
Niobrara, NE
Designed by Paul Albanese
Just off the Outlaw Scenic Byway and part of the Sante Sioux Reservation and Ohiya Casino, Tatanka, a Dakota word for Buffalo had us roaming the large mounding terrain low in valleys and high on ridges with views for 30-40 miles. The routing from 2-8 and 11-17 was impressive as it was not simply up and down the hills but into them, along them, and on top of them. 1, 9, 10, and 18 were ok holes but straight down and up to get back to clubhouse high point. 9 was kept interesting with a creek cutting diagonally right at driver landing distance and large double green with 18. A unique course in the sand hills since it has an abundance of properly used trees. We didn’t see any buffalo but heard them over a hill on 4. Very worth a stop on its’ own or on the way to The Prairie Club.
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Grad school at ND was a treat. A lot of Burke my first year because I could go over lunch. Second year at Warren we got a ridiculously low full season rate as students and I never had a class after 11AM my 4th quarter. We had a standing eightsome 5 days a week. You are right…its an every day course…X2. Havent been back in a long time so thanks for the photos and some motivation to look into heading down.
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Awesome to see! Played the Burke several times per week in grad school, still the only HIO I have to date. Was a treat to shoot over to the Warren course, too.
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I appreciate that you left the casino out of your pics. @avess and @cbass both said it looks like an unfinished Home Depot at different points in our round and I think that’s a perfect description.
As a guy who plays mostly flat places Tatanka has had my number, but I’ll keep going back when I can. It’s a steal.
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Hah we said the same. I also thought it looked like a Fleet Farm. Having the 9s finish all uphill into an ugly ass casino is my big disappointment in an otherwise great course.
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Took a weekend trip to the Quad Cities. Started by living the C-Suite life on Thursday at Davenport CC – a Colt/Alison Gem. The entire place is great, but 9 and the 16-18 finishing stretch are really special.
Then headed to TPC Deere Run on Friday where infrastructure was getting built for the tournament next month. Similar to Davenport, the finishing stretch of 16-18 was the most memorable (might have something to do with the infrastructure).
Then we took a jaunt out to Iowa City and played University of Iowa’s Finkbine Course as well as Wellman Golf Club – a sand green course 20 minutes from Iowa City in a rural community. The novelty of sand greens and a community owned/maintained course was a real highlight during the trip – and a surprisingly fun layout with a lot of elevation change.
Finally we wrapped up with Fyre Lake, a really fun and challenging Jack course with great green complexes. #3 is one of the hardest Par 4 I have played in quite some time.
Overall a great and affordable golf trip, with only Deere Run clocking in at over $100.
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Spending the week on Fripp Island, SC for family vacation so I played both the Ocean Point and Ocean Creek courses. First was Ocean Point. My first time playing golf right on the ocean and there are a few holes with incredible views. And the wind was whipping most of the day. That made it fun, but the course itself is meh at best. Greens were small and boring. If this course weren’t on the ocean I’d say it’s a pass.
Yesterday I played the Ocean Creek course solo. Never sucks to play 18 in under three hours. It’s a DL3 design. I really enjoyed it. Tee to green there’s not a whole lot going on, but the greens and surrounds were really fun. Lots of mowed down spots that allowed for some cool chipping options. Greens are pretty big and way more movement than Ocean Point. Also some cool scenery for a pop culture nerd like me—Fripp Island is where some of Forrest Gump was shot. The 6th hole is a par 3 that looks out to this endless marsh, and you can almost see Forrest and Bubba wading through it from the scene when they first get to Vietnam. And a cool bench on the fifth…
Also, Fripp totally slaps for a family vacation spot. 10/10 would recommend!
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Cruden Bay today with big hitting @wmorton829.
Apologies that I had to shoot off straight after Wes. Great to meet you. Enjoy the rest of your trip.
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Wellman hell ya! Love that place.
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Don’t tell too many people about this wonderful place. We like the prices. Also Deere just raised their prices for local to get it over $100.
DCC is my favorite, I’m glad you got a chance to check it out. Nothing like it in the area.
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Phenomenal course and great hang! Thanks for having me out today @MrDaveKerr
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Prairie Club HORSE Course
Valentine, NE
Designed by Gil Hanse & Geoff Shackelford
Let’s round out PC by highlighting the can’t miss “par 3” course. A true golf playground. 10 greens, no tees. Grab a 6 pack, drop a ball, pick a green and play on until someone has H.O.R.S.E. There is a flow to course if you wanted to play all 10 greens, but the round is only limited by your imagination. The greens are small with varying shapes and will play differently based on the yardage and angle in you choose. It’s tough to leave time in your day for here with unlimited golf on regular courses, but it absolutely deserves a couple hours of your time. If you had a tough day and need a moment of reflection, there is also a point of solitude overlooking the canyon 
.
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