A first walk into Eden: Wildhorse's Opening Hole



I sat transfixed staring onto rolling links land blending in with an endless prairie and blue sky. Jim Morrison and The Doors were slowly playing their interlude into "The End" in my mind. According to the news, the end of the world was supposed to be taking place at anytime on this day while I was sitting on the 15th fairway. If The Rapture was to begin today and the world was coming to an end, I had just found my entrance to the afterlife, and its was located in Gothenburg, Nebraska while at Wildhorse Golf Club.



Discovering your inner-spirit with the view from the 17th

 I have been truly blessed in my lifetime to play a number of unforgettable courses all over the country and overseas. Some were built by great men with immense resources. Others by prolific architects who have helped create a legendary club that have hosted events that ring in every golfer's minds. While I stood there on the 15th fairway at Wildhorse, it once again occurred to me that I was taking in a place that was so pure in its simplest form: the design, it's intent, and it's pure honesty. Wildhorse is accessible to all of us who truly relish the game as it should be played, and is operated in a fashion that never overpowers the purpose for one's journey: the golf course. The clubhouse blends into the landscape, while the people serve as ambassadors during your trip to nirvana between 9-hole sessions. Yes my friends, Wildhorse is truly a place where links golf is achieved in its purest strategy and form without being connected to the sea, but provides a sense of solitude only provided in such a place as the Nebraska Sandhills.

Located roughly 4 hours west of Omaha, Wildhorse Golf Club is located in the modest town of Gothenburg, Nebraska. Just 6 minutes from the featureless I-80 west corridor, the visitor is welcomed with a setting that can only be described as humble links land with subdued features. Sandy soil, natural sand "blow-outs" for bunkers, and near-perfect growing conditions provide golfers with green conditions that demand only the slightest draw of the blade to watch a ball roll perfectly on-line to the hole with every attempt. In contrast to so many modern aerial-shot designs, the course demands the player to re-invent his game and utilize different methods of approach that only re-capture your joy of play and shot-making as you did as an innocent child playing long ago.

In my experience, a true test of of great course is to look at your bag at the end of the round and see how many clubs are dirty. In my case, all 12 had seen use during the 54 holes I played. This, in addition to being able to instantly remember each hole 3 days after playing measures greatness. The routing not only demands superior shot-making, but utilizes the wind in each direction during your round which leads to constant creativity and use of intellect. With the wind whipping at a a steady 15mph, the player must avoid the "wooga" (what the locals call the rough) along with adopting the use of the putter in a more liberal fashion: the turf provides you with a perfect setting to execute true links-style shots.

In final, the course utilizes angles and strategies at a level commensurate with such links as Ballybunion and Pacific Dunes. There is always a choice to make off the tee--your journey only begins once you commit to a direction and accept the shot that is given to you by the design. That's the beauty of of Wildhorse: strategy and nature are the prevailing challenges. It is up to your own creativity, conviction, and confidence to achieve a good score.

Holes of Note...OK..they are all good, but here's a few of the finest in my book:





The Green at 15: Small & Nasty



Hole 15:  Par 4, 342 yardsI believe this may be one of the finest examples of what a short par 4 in golf should be. The golfer will be faced with a predominant west wind into their face on the tee shot. Bunkers envelop both sides of the fairway, and dictate the player to hit a 230-yard shot into a receptive fairway. Once arriving to your shot, the narrow green is settled in the most perfect knoll protected by an ominous bunker and closely-mown turf to reject any imperfect shot. Long approaches will meet a bunker in the back of this green which is protected by vegetation. Based on your decision off the tee, the angle of approach from the left-side of the fairway provides the player with the best chance for holding a firm green. Do not even THINK about trying to go for the pins at Wildhorse...you must approach each green taking in mind the release of the ball towards the hole. Therefore, a critical focus on placement to the right of the left-side pin placement is the only chance for reward. If only more architects would relish the short par 4 design concept: It rewards both discipline and execution.



The Beast: The 451-yard par 4 8th hole



Hole 8: Par 4, 451 yardsAnd so there was the beast. This par 4 into the wind gives any player all that they want with a massive blow-out ready to take in errant shots on the left and tapered rough lines of native grass on the right. Add in some severely contoured fairways and you've got yourself a classic. The green site both days featured a pin placement that brought a large mound on the front left portion of the green into play, making par an amazing accomplishment.




Hole 10: Par 4, 408 yards The tee shot demands a solid 240-yard shot....that's the easy part. If you want to talk about greens with serious intrigue, this is it. Massively contoured and into a south wind, your decision on not only club selection, but ball flight is critical to hold this green.


7th hole angle from right-side of approach



Hole 7:  Par 4, 364 yardsSeeing a trend here? Another short par 4 leaves you tempted to take out driver, but a prevailing west wind can bring trouble into play. The beauty of this hole lies in the strategic value of your tee shot: the left side can gain you more yardage, but will leave you with a blind approach, while challenging the right-hand side provides a multitude of options on your approach. The open green site allows for a classic bump and run shot into the green....my many thanks goes out to the maintenance crew at WH for creating a turf situation that both encourages and provides players with the ability to play the hole as it was designed!

In many instances, I have read the overused cliche of "golf is a journey." I could spend the next 14 pages writing about each hole, or I could simply tell you this: Get in your car, head west, and play Wildhorse. Don Graham and his entire staff are committed to providing you golf without any of the other tedious distractions that so many other golf operations have had to stoop to. You won't see a fancy up sell at the counter. No corny hole sponsors on each hole. This is everything that American golf SHOULD be when it is at its best: discover a great piece of land, built a phenomenal golf links, and DON'T screw it up.