'The Best Modern Golf Courses in the North Central U.S.'

Home , Greenskeeper, Pete Dye, Whistling Straits

business jet TRAVELER • August/September 2006 The Best Modern Golf Courses in the North Central U.S.

Our series on America’s best golf courses continues with a look at the three best modern courses in the North Central U.S. as determined by Golfweek N I E L K

magazine’s handpicked panel of 385 . S

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course raters. The raters, who are D

A Sand Hills Golf Club Hole No. 8 R students of architecture, attend national workshops and each evaluate B 15 to 20 courses per year. Sand Hills Golf Club, Mullen, Nebraska Here’s what distinguishes the top modern Golfweek’s perennial number-one modern course is courses in the North Central U.S., according to a naturalistic prairie gem set in the vast mid-American Airport Golfweek architecture editor Bradley S. Klein. grasslands. Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw Hooker County (MHN), 2,525-ft runway, and opened in 1995, it offers windswept, wide-open We’ve also included information on the most conve- 55-mile drive. nient places to land your business jet near each holes and green contours that are often hilarious yet FBO: None work well because they fit the native contours of the course. land. The journey to Sand Hills, 55 miles north of Mullen, is like a sojourn to Look for a report on the best modern courses in Mecca, as is staying in the on-site cabins overlooking the Dismal River. the South Central U.S. in our next issue. N I E L K T

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O Y D E L N D N A Whistling Straights Hole No. 7 Muirﬁeld Village Hole No. 18 A R O J B Whistling Straights, Kohler, Wisconsin Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio Prior to the 2004 PGA Championship here “The House that Jack Built,” Jack Nicklaus’ Airport Airport (won by Vijay Sing in a playoff with Justin hometown tribute course, has hosted the PGA Tour’s Leonard and Chris DiMarco), the grounds crew Sheboygan County Memorial (SBM), Memorial Tournament since 1976 and regularly wins Dublin (OSU), 5,402-ft runway, ﬁve-mile drive. 5,004-ft runway, seven-mile drive. started counting all of the bunkers and quit when FBO: Western Shore Aviation, plaudits as the circuit’s most meticulously manicured FBO: Ohio State University, they reached 1,100. No one, not even designer (920) 467-6151. layout. The elegant routing by Desmond Muirhead (614) 292-5580; (800) 777-5488. Pete Dye, knows for sure how many pot bunkers and Nicklaus in 1974 gave breathing room for each and sandy waste areas are at this stunning setting. With two miles of shoreline holes fairway, and the Golden Bear continues to micromanage every square foot of this on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, it’s hard even to concentrate on the shots. parkland layout. It’s sixth on Golfweek’s modern-courses list. Kudos, too, to veteran The par threes, all of them perched on the water’s edge, are especially scenic. greenskeeper Paul B. Latshaw. It’s always fun to play a course you’ve seen on TV, Whistling Straits, ranked fourth on Golfweek’s modern list, is one of four stellar though for all the times you’ve watched them play the devilish, 363-yard, par-4 14th resort courses that are part of the American Club. All of them are worth playing. hole, you still won’t believe how narrow and tilted the putting surface is.