Sand Hills Golf Club

Coore & Crenshaw's minimalist course in the Nebraska Sandhills, built by moving about 4,000 cubic yards of earth and widely credited with reviving natural design.

Lincoln developer Dick Youngscap surveyed thousands of acres of Sandhills ranchland in 1990 and brought in Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Over two years they found more than 130 natural hole sites and narrowed them to 18. A land swap added the parcel that now holds holes 12 through 15. The course cost about $1.2 million, partly because the native sand already met USGA greens specifications.

Only about 4,000 cubic yards of earth were moved. Fairways are broad and greens sit in hollows, on plateaus and against exposed dunes, with crater-like bunkers cut into the slopes. Winds are strong but have no reliable direction, so the holes were designed to play in any of them. The club has fewer than 200 members, most of whom fly in and stay on site. Its success changed what golfers expected from new courses and influenced Mike Keiser's development of Bandon Dunes.

Holes to know

7

Par 4 · 283 yd

The shortest par 4 on the card at 283 yards from the back tees.

16

Par 5 · 612 yd

The longest hole on the course at 612 yards from the back tees.

17

Par 3 · 150 yd

The shortest hole on the course at 150 yards, late in the round.