Post by biffdit on Jul 1, 2019 11:56:23 GMT -5
Prairie Dunes Country Club, Hutchinson, KS
Design: Perry Maxwell (1937) / Press Maxwell (1957) / Dave Axland (2014)
Prairie Dunes was the top nine-hole course in America for 20 years. By the time the club found funds to expand it to 18, original architect Perry Maxwell had passed away, but his son Press was able to add nine more holes seamlessly, putting three on the front nine and six on the back. The original nine holes play today as 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18. He also replicated his father’s great greens, which seem to break in three different directions. Prairie Dunes reflects all that is common in rural Kansas: sand dunes, prairie grasses, yucca plants, cottonwoods and constant wind.
Design: Perry Maxwell (1937) / Press Maxwell (1957) / Dave Axland (2014)
Prairie Dunes was the top nine-hole course in America for 20 years. By the time the club found funds to expand it to 18, original architect Perry Maxwell had passed away, but his son Press was able to add nine more holes seamlessly, putting three on the front nine and six on the back. The original nine holes play today as 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18. He also replicated his father’s great greens, which seem to break in three different directions. Prairie Dunes reflects all that is common in rural Kansas: sand dunes, prairie grasses, yucca plants, cottonwoods and constant wind.
Events Held
Trans-Mississippi Amateur: 1958, 1973, 1987, 1996, 2005, 2017
U.S. Women's Amateur: 1964, 1980, 1991
Curtis Cup Match: 1986
U.S. Mid-Amateur: 1988
U.S. Senior Amateur: 1995
U.S. Women's Open: 2002
U.S. Senior Open: 2006
NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships: 2014
Kansas Amateur : 1962, 1967, 1976, 1984, 1993, 2010
Honors
Golfweek 2008 - #9 of America's Best Classical Golf Courses
Golf Digest 2018/19 - #27 of America's Greatest Golf Courses
Golf Magazine 2017 - #18 in the United States & #25 in the World
Golf Digest 2001 - #2, #8 & #10 among the Best 99 Holes in the U.S.[2]
Audubon International - Obtained certification in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses program
Trans-Mississippi Amateur: 1958, 1973, 1987, 1996, 2005, 2017
U.S. Women's Amateur: 1964, 1980, 1991
Curtis Cup Match: 1986
U.S. Mid-Amateur: 1988
U.S. Senior Amateur: 1995
U.S. Women's Open: 2002
U.S. Senior Open: 2006
NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships: 2014
Kansas Amateur : 1962, 1967, 1976, 1984, 1993, 2010
Honors
Golfweek 2008 - #9 of America's Best Classical Golf Courses
Golf Digest 2018/19 - #27 of America's Greatest Golf Courses
Golf Magazine 2017 - #18 in the United States & #25 in the World
Golf Digest 2001 - #2, #8 & #10 among the Best 99 Holes in the U.S.[2]
Audubon International - Obtained certification in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses program
Article regarding the creation of this iconic course.
Notes: I've been a local here for the past 29 years. I grew up playing golf at every course in the area except this one. I've never been lucky enough to have been invited by a member. When I was 12 years old, the 2002 U.S. Women's open came about and I volunteered immediately. For the weekend, I was tasked with scoreboard keeping on the 16th green. I still remember the hot summer air and warm breezes to this day. In 2006, the U.S. Senior's open came through. I was working a full time job elsewhere during that tournament, but I was still able to volunteer for a few hours a day. I never ventured very far, but I remember the rolling fairways and the sloping greens as some of the most beautiful I've ever seen.
I'm fortunate enough now to work for the City of Hutchinson, and I have access to some of the best lidar and aerial photography of Prairie Dunes available. I'm just starting to understand how the course creator works, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.
I've spent around 25 hours so far on this course. I hope to release it in the next couple months. But I think I'm going take my time and try to do it right.
Thanks for looking.
Layout of course.
Hole #2 Tee
Hole #2 Green
Hole #4 Green
Hole #6 Fairway to Green
Hole #8 Fairway
Hole #12 Fairway
