Thursday, December 1, 2011

Prairie Dunes

Driving out of Stillwater, we headed north on I-35, into Kansas and on the Kansas Turnpike. Speed limit was 75, but that didn't stop Richard from getting a ticket for going 88 mph. He handled the highway patrol well. Better him than me.

We got to Hutchinson KS about 7 but spend some time driving around looking for the hotel. The men were getting mighty antsy that they had not had dinner yet and it was dark. Like Jerry Seinfeld says, the older you get, the more you start acting like a kid again. We finally found the hotel and went to dinner at the Lone Star Steakhouse next door. It was quiet for a Monday night. Our waitress was called "Homeskillet" by the manager :) After dinner I was able to use the computer at the hotel which was great.

Tuesday morning it was cold again but we had breakfast and headed to the course. Prairie Dunes is a very historic and original course, located in the sand hills just northeast of town. This area looks like no place else, even the land right around it. Much of the course is just long grass, pasture-like. And the dunes are quiet large.

The clubhouse was remarkably nice and I enjoyed meeting the staff and seeing the place. It looked like my kind of place. We warmed up on the range and then went out. I carried my clubs and walked so that helped to warm up.

The holes here are all named with old-style names and signs which I liked. Greens sloped quite a bit, mainly back to front. There were many elevated greens with false fronts. You really have to be a good iron player here. I drove the ball well, made some putts and shot a good round of 89.

This being a small town, it was a jeans-permitted place, at least for the locals. I thought that gave it a very authentic vibe. The course was a true original and is certainly an inspiration to many other courses. It definitely lives up to its high rankings. In fact they should probably be higher.

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