AN EPIC WESTERN GOLF ROAD TRIP - 5 STATES, 1,600 MILES, 5 GREAT COURSES IN 8 DAYS

When my good friend and regular golf partner asked me to drive back with him from Las Vegas on the back end of a road trip he was taking thru the National Parks of Utah, I looked at the itinerary and said "Sure, but where's the golfing?"  It's over 1,700 miles home from Las Vegas on the most direct route and there are hundreds of golfing options along the way, so how to select which ones to visit was our 1st course of business.

I remembered seeing a list on Golf.com from 2021 that ranked the top 100 courses in the US that you can play for under $150.  I'm always up for a good value so I studied the list to see if we could work some of these courses into our trip home.  The first one was obvious.  Sand Hollow was a bit over 2 hours from Vegas and ranked #3 on the list, and pictures of the out of this world back 9 on the cliff's edge in southern Utah was a no-brainer.  On the back end, Wild Horse in Gothenburg, Nebraska was about 3 hours west of Lincoln and near I-80, a straight shot home.  At #5 on the list, another obvious choice.  We had agreed that 5 rounds total was workable, so the 3 other courses to play was open for discussion.

The plan for the next 3 days after a Wednesday round at Sand Hollow included visits to Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell, Lower Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley, which placed us near the 4 corners, the spot were Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico meet. 

Two viable options existed for the three plays between Sand Hollow and Wild Horse. Option 1 was to head north to Colorado and play Redlands Mesa in Grand Junction (#43) and then head east across the Rockies to Common Ground in Aurora (#22), just outside Denver.  Buffalo Dunes in Garden City, KS (#20), in the far southwest corner of the state, could be a viable detour before heading north to Nebraska.

Option 2 was to head southeast to play two highly rated courses in New Mexico, Pinon Hills in Farmington (#23) in the northwest corner of the state, and Black Mesa in Espanola (#16), just north of Santa Fe.  I had read an article on Black Mesa on the Golf Club Atlas website and it looked amazing, so that was a course on my radar before I saw the Golf.com ranking.  Then head northeast to play Buffalo Dunes and Wild Horse.

Two problems with that plan.  Pinon Hills was closed for renovation and was questionable to be reopened by the time of our visit in early September.  And Black Mesa is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays due to staffing shortages and our visit was planned for a Monday.  But there was a potential alternative that could work.  Get to Black Mesa a day earlier for a Sunday morning round, then head southeast to Lubbock, TX to play The Rawls Course (#19), the home of the Texas Tech golf teams.  This Tom Doak design was created from a flat as a pancake cotton field and was open to the imagination of the esteemed golf architect, and I could grab a TTU Red Raider sweatshirt to add to my college collection.

After some discussion and further analysis, we agreed to go with the modified Option 2.  Although it was a few hours of additional drive time versus Option 1, Buffalo Dunes is a straight shot north from Lubbock thru Amarillo, the home of the Big Texan Steak Ranch and the 72 ounce steak challenge that I once saw on Man vs Food, an added bonus. (NOTE: We did NOT attempt the challenge).  So the golf was set. Sand Hollow on Wednesday, then Black Mesa, The Rawls Course, Buffalo Dunes and Wild Horse on consecutive days starting Sunday.

ROUND 1 - SAND HOLLOW

We arrived at Sand Hollow about an hour before our Noon tee time and hit a few warm up balls that were included in the $85 greens fee.  The tee sheet was wide open late morning and we found out (the hard way) why.  When it's 104 degrees in the high desert of southern Utah, you play early!  I was always the guy who said "Yes, it's 104 degrees but it's not that bad, it's a dry heat".  Never again will I utter these words! This is a desert course from start to finish and there is zero shade to be found, and by the 13th hole we had enough and had to call it a day.

What architects John Fought and Andy Staples created is amazing, both visually and design wise.  The front nine tumbles across the mountainous terrain with the signature red rock land forms featured prominently.  Fought and Staples also gave a nod to the region by using red sand in the bunkers, and acres of silvery green sagebrush is a striking contrast to the red tinged palette.  The 6th hole was memorable on the front side, a long (493 yds) par 4 with a slight dogleg left and a large, grass covered boulder bisecting the fairway before a precipitous drop to the green.

But little on the first 9 could prepare you for what awaits.  Turn the corner after finishing the par 3 11th and two of the most audacious holes imaginable are unveiled.  The 12th is 443 yards running along the edge of a cliff, uphill all the way with a jaw dropping view of the multi-colored mountains.  The 13th hole provides a similar view at 120 less yards, and make sure you take in the stunning vista from behind both greens.

The steeply downhill 14th stretches the limits of a par 4 at 525 yards, which leads to the par 3 15th.  That anyone could envision a hole at this place pays homage to the imagination of the designers.  The green juts out from the mountainside so the tee shot is all carry over the ravine except for the strip of grass in front of the putting surface.  The 230 yd back tee is placed between rock outcrops for an inspired visual, and each tee offers a totally different perspective as the angle changes, a truly unique design.

The focus on the dramatic 4 hole stretch is in no way meant to diminish the rest of the course as Sand Hollow is a shining example of the beauty of desert golf throughout, and the southern Utah mountain back drops are the cherry on the scenery sundae.  The 9th and 18th holes are both stellar endings to each nine, almost identical distances (433 vs 435) with elevated, well bunkered greens and great views of the contemporary clubhouse perched on the hill.

After the round I told the young lady working in the pro shop about the Golf.com rankings and saw the look of surprise and excitement when she scrolled down the computer screen and saw Sand Hollow ranked 3rd (behind Bethpage Black and the Links at Lawsonia in Wisconsin).  That was a fitting end to the day and only sealed my resolve to return and play the last 6 holes of this amazing golf adventure (just not on a very hot summer afternoon!).

CLICK HERE for the full Photo Tour of Sand Hollow...

ROUND 2 - BLACK MESA

I was familiar with Black Mesa, the 16th ranked course on the Golf.com list, which is located in Espanola, New Mexico, just north of Santa Fe.  I'm a frequent visitor to the Golf Club Atlas website, which devotes its content to courses featuring architecturally significant design elements, and the Baxter Spann routing was covered in vivid detail and was on my radar to visit someday.  Our round on a sunny Sunday morning did not disappoint!  The routing expertly weaves up and around the mountains and canyons that delightfully displays the 6,000 feet elevation scenery.

Spann pushed the design envelope to straddle the line between innovative brilliance and over the top excess, but my thought is that his creation at Black Mesa clearly falls on the former.  The short par four 1st hole is a perfect example of many elements he uses throughout the routing.  The tee shot is semi blind over a hill, and although you can only see the left edge of the fairway, you know it has to be there, and ample room is found on the right side.  The elevated green is shifted slightly left with a greenside bunker carry, and the slopes will tend to funnel long approaches back to the center of the putting surface.

And the one thing that sticks in my mind are the greens.  They are big and angled with movement in every direction imaginable, which puts a premium on the short game to avoid mind numbing putts.  For a first-time visitor, this can be extremely intimidating, but the slopes can both help and hinder.  I thought I had airmailed my chip shot from just off the 14th green, only to find that my ball reached the top of a ridge and slowly rolled down to a few feet from the pin for a kick in par.

On the very next hole, a long par 3, I hit the middle right part of the green with a 4 wood and had a 25 foot birdie putt.  The pin was precariously placed just left of the spine that runs up the putting surface.  My 1st putt rode the spine and boomeranged right, still about the same distance away. The subsequent 4 putt double bogey was a round crusher.  Black Mesa giveth and then Black Mesa taketh away.

However, I found the course very playable with a great variety of holes that held my interest thru out, and a 1 over par start thru 5 holes had me feeling great until my chipping and putting fell apart on the uber challenging greens and I reverted to my typical bogey plus golf.  There is room off the tee on most holes, with diagonal angles to the 2nd, 5th, 12th and 18th fairways that adds a touch of visual deception.  But if a wayward shot does sail into the desert, there are several signs posted that highly suggest you just might want to skip the ball search as there are inhabitants roaming around that you don't want to encounter.  

The 16th hole garners the most attention, appropriately labeled "Stairway to Seven".  The 536 yd par 5 was positioned in a canyon and rises sharply, with one of the narrower fairways fraught with danger on both sides.  My 2nd shot found the desert right and soon after I wrote the dreaded 7 on the scorecard.  

Black Mesa is loaded with potential signature holes, like the 3rd, the first par 5 and longest hole at a formidable 603 yards (and still 574 yds from the White tees we played).  This monster requires 3 solid shots to reach the sharply angled green, and Spann uses several grassy hollows as hazards along the way, a design element that is repeated in the routing.  For someone like myself who believes that sand traps are often overused in modern course design, this was a welcome decision. 

The par 3's are all outstanding, with the 11th green positioned on the edge of a rock amphitheater, an amazing view on a course that is loaded with spectacular eye candy.  Would a little local knowledge have helped? Absolutely, and the 3rd member of our group, a businessman from Oregon also making his 1st tour of Black Mesa, unfortunately provided no assistance.  But I had so much fun at this course that my score (95) was irrelevant.  Black Mesa was the most expensive round on the trip at $89 and was worth every penny.  This course was a true joy to play from start to finish.

CLICK HERE for the full Photo Tour of Black Mesa...

ROUND 3 - THE RAWLS COURSE

Tom Doak is known for a minimal approach to golf course design that focuses on using the natural contours of the land.  That's why his hiring to create a first-class layout on a pool table flat cotton field on the edge of the Texas Tech campus was a bit of a surprise.  But he used his full toolbox of skills and vivid imagination to move 1.3 million cubic yards of topsoil to form a 7,300 yard masterpiece worthy of top level play.  

The Rawls Course is named after Jerry Rawls, a TTU alum and the driving force behind the hiring of Doak and the funding of the course construction.  A berm was built on the borders of the property to provide a focused golf experience away from the bustle of the Lubbock campus.  The course features bouncy, undulating fairways as wide as the state of Texas, with vast areas of prairie grasses bordering many of the landing areas.  Although there are trees (mostly evergreens) scattered about the routing, this course has all the trademarks of a links course without the North Sea where the high plains wind will blow freely to affect play.

The main challenge to par are the gnarly bunkers that are seemingly everywhere.  These beasts are big, deep and many are fringed with thick grass that is as penal as the sand itself.  Avoiding them is priority number 1 to post a good score.  I think there are over 90 total, but I honestly lost count.  Many of them are placed as cross bunkers in the fairways, a feature that tightens the landing zones considerably.

A perfect example of the severity of the traps is on the 3rd hole, at 170 yds the shortest at The Rawls Course.  The green sits on a mound with a back to front slope, with 2 sand filled craters carved into the slope below the putting surface, presenting a devilish 2nd shot for those unfortunate to find the hazard.  A similar, though less dramatic look is repeated on the 6th, another par 3 that feels like it belongs in the sand hills of western Nebraska than the high plains of west Texas.

The greens were smooth and slick with a lot of slope and contours that lends to many challenging pin placements to test the best college golfers, and The Rawls Course is commonly included in lists of the top campus courses in the U.S.  A frequent host to numerous Division 1 regional tournaments and U.S. Open qualifiers, I surprisingly shot my best round of the trip, an 89, but this was by far my best day on the greens, with a downhill, 25 foot par putt on the long par 3 16th and a miraculous 50 footer from the fringe on the daunting 18th that saved par and my quest to break 90.

And that is the beauty of The Rawls Course that many attempt but few achieve, a layout that will provide a stern test to the best but also a very playable round to less accomplished golfers, myself included.  The 6,270 yd White tees (the 3rd set) were a perfect distance for our game. We did have some help, as a pairing with a friendly father/son duo who frequently play here was a local knowledge advantage we didn't have at the other courses on the trip.

The ending stretch of holes are the unmistakable highlight at The Rawls Course.  The 15th is a long par 4 (468 yd Tips, 408 yd White) with three yawning sand traps at the top of a ridge on the right edge of the fairway, then a tumble down to the green.  The16th is 239 yds from the tips (and 192 from the White tees), slightly uphill with room to the right to bail and avoid the traps left, which is exactly what I did for my 1 putt par.

The big finish is an unusual par 5 duo stretching to 639 and 578 yards, respectively and 2 difficult pars to end the round.  The 17th has trees to the right off the tee and a 2nd shot carry over a tangled grass depression, then straight up to a green bisected by a ridge.  The 18th incorporates the pond that's shared with the 10th hole, the only water hazard on the course.  The tee shot is best positioned to the left to have a better angle at the green, which is tight to the water that runs the entire back half of the hole, a great risk/reward ending for tournament play.

We visited The Rawls Course on Labor Day and a Senior Rate w/cart of $47 was a super deal for a course of this quality, ranked #19 on the Golf.com list.  Plus Jerry's Grill, with the Texas Tech logoed chairs, was a great place to have a drink and a burger after the round. This was a really cool track with loads of strategic plays and a testament to what a top level course designer can accomplish with a blank canvas. 

CLICK HERE for the full Photo Tour of The Rawls Course...

ROUND 4 - BUFFALO DUNES

After a stop at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo (quite an experience!), we continued on our way to Garden City, Kansas, home of Buffalo Dunes.  Garden City is located in the far southwest corner of the Sunflower State, near, well, not much of anything.  This is rural America at its finest, with a great golf course to boot! 

When I was checking in for our mid-morning round, the friendly young man working the counter said the greens fee was $65.  I asked if that was per person and he said, "No, for both."  Including cart and range balls.  Good start!  The course was sparsely populated on a hot Tuesday morning, and we completed the round in under 4 hours, but I was in no hurry.  After the first few holes, it was apparent that stopping at this remote golf outpost was a fantastic idea.

The course is just under 6,900 yds from the Brown tees, the shortest length of the 5 we visited on this trip, and we played the 6,400 yd White tees, which was more than enough for our skill level.  The fairways were tight and flanked by thick, ankle deep rough and native grasses. and you were just as likely to lose a ball in the rough as the prairie.  Buffalo Dunes most resembled the parkland courses I'm used to playing in Chicago, and although there were not thick forests of hardwoods, there were plenty of mature trees and I hit a bunch of them on my way to the worst score of the trip (103, yikes!).

Buffalo Dunes has been going through an extensive renovation process that has largely been accomplished using volunteer labor from the community, an amazing success story that will provide an estimated $800K worth of improvements for a fraction in actual cash expenditures.  When we arrived at the 1st green of the 391 yd opener, we met Superintendent Clay Payne, who shared that we were the last group to ever play the current green, and before we reached our cart the flag was out and the turf was being torn up.  

What the course has to offer is a great variety of holes and a stellar layout that expertly flows over the rolling topography of the region.  Water comes into play on 4 holes (#'s 5,7,12,13) and the sand traps were placed smartly for maximum effect.  The 2nd hole, a 423 yd par 4, was a good example of what was to come.  The dogleg left is slightly uphill from the tee, then heads downward at the bend, and the sand trap about 30 yards from the green is fringed by thick, knee high grasses and wildflowers, a signature look that is repeated thru out the course. 

There are excellent holes to be found across the round, but as a group I really enjoyed the par 5's.  They range from 515 yds (#4) to a stout 593 yds (#10) and are far from ordinary.  The 10th hole is an impressive start to the back side as it twists right past several large trees, and 14 (539 yds) offers a visually imposing drive with OB left (there's a little more room than it appears) that also bends to the right, with a large signature bunker pinching the right fairway about 100 yards out from the green, a tough play out if you find it.

If I had to pick my favorite holes, I'd go with #8 and #16.  The 8th is a 167 yd par 3 that showcases the sandy soil of this region.  The green sits atop a hill with a blow out bunker front left and several more surrounding the putting surface.  The 16th is a short (357 yd) dogleg left, with an uphill approach to an infinity green floating on the horizon, a really fun hole.

After the round I talked with Head Pro Jason Hase and Zac Miller, the coach of the woman's golf team at the local community college, and I shared that Buffalo Dunes would be a $100 a round course back in Chicago, and they replied "We hear that a lot."  Besides holding the #20 spot on the Golf.com value course list, Buffalo Dunes was also ranked as the #8 municipal course, just behind Bethpage Black, Chambers Bay and Torrey Pines South, all hosts to recent U.S. Opens, which is pretty darn good company to keep.

As the renovation process continues, the plan is for the work to be completed by 2026, the 50th anniversary of Buffalo Dunes.  Sounds like a perfect time for a return trip to this proud muni and the community it serves. 

CLICK HERE for the full Photo Tour of Buffalo Dunes...

ROUND 5 - WILD HORSE

The sand hills of Nebraska is a fertile landscape for top end private golf clubs, but just off I-80 in the small town of Gothenburg (population 3,478) is a highly regarded golf course that all can enjoy.  Dan Proctor and Dave Axland were key members of the team that created the acclaimed Sand Hills Golf Club, a few hours northwest of Gothenburg, and a group of avid local golfers who dreamed to build an 18 hole course hired the Coore & Crenshaw shapers to transform that dream into a highly regarded reality.

Proctor and Axland were able to transform pastureland into a 7,000 yard layout that plays as fast and firm as any course I've ever experienced.  The fairways are wide and a well struck shot will roll and roll, then roll a little more.  Close to 90 sand traps are spread liberally thruout, with the majority being carved out of the native sand hills. I was told that the greens were running at 12 on the stimpmeter, and it's really hard to understand how fast that is until you experience it, and the putting surfaces at Wild Horse were as close to perfect to be found outside the PGA tour.

We played the Black tees (2nd set), which are just under 6,400 yards, and that distance with these conditions did not feel onerous. but there were several hefty carries off the tee over the prairie grasses that put a bit of pressure on the driver.  The course runs seamlessly over the rolling terrain with unbroken vistas of the vast western Nebraska landscape.  The wide strips of green fairway are a striking contrast against the straw colored, wispy prairie, both a stark and stunning visual.

I was a little shaky at the start with 2 double bogeys but overall this might have been my best ball striking day of the trip, and back-to-back pars on the 4th (150 yd par 3) and 5th (339 yd par 4) holes boosted my confidence.  One of my best shots of the year, a 160 yard approach on the 6th hole to 8 feet, offered a great look at a birdie.  But I was above the hole. On some of the fastest greens I've ever played.  My birdie putt ran 10 feet past the cup down the slope, and a disastrous 4-putt double bogey derailed the round and I never quite got it back together.

I still had a chance for a decent score until Wild Horse spun me around like an out-of-control top.  The 15th hole is only 307 yards from the Black tees, and I hit my best drive of the day that skirted

by a fairway trap and stopped about 70 yards short of the hole.  A single green side trap stood between my ball and the pin on the wide but shallow putting surface, and I sailed my approach into another trap
hidden behind.  The sand wedge out bounced across the green and just off, but a good chip and a 1 putt could still save a bogey.  And I hit the chip shot exactly as I wanted, but it kept rolling and rolling and dribbled back into the back bunker!  I threw in the towel after my snowman and staggered in with a 100.

But as with my round at Black Mesa, the score was irrelevant.  Wild Horse was just so much fun to play, an epic ending to a once-in-a-lifetime golf buddy road trip.  The wind was fairly benign on our visit, but I can only imagine what kind of mischief the course would present if the breeze was blowing across the mostly treeless palette.  

Wild Horse has received many accolades from different golf media over the years (including the #5 ranking on the Golf.com list), and its close proximity to I-80 has made it a popular destination for adventurous golfers. The greens fee of $79 for a weekday morning (including cart and range access) was a bargain when considering the quality of the layout and the top-notch conditions.  Add in a super friendly and welcoming staff and the sight of a cool little robot scooping up balls on the range and our visit to Wild Horse was an A+ experience.

CLICK HERE for the full Photo Tour of Wild Horse...

All told we drove over 1,600 miles from our starting point in Las Vegas to the final round at Wild Horse, but we never spent more than 6 hours in a day on the road, which made the trip workable.  The scenery was spectacular, from the high desert mountains of Utah and New Mexico to the western plains of Texas and the rolling sand hills of Nebraska and Kansas.

And the golf was amazing.  5 great courses that we played for a total of $333, proof that you don't have to pay exorbitant green fees for a first-class experience.  The one thing they all shared was a genuine pride that the management and staff had about their course.  They all know they have something special and are working hard to maintain that level of excellence and are happy to welcome any golfer willing to make the trip.  This was truly an epic golf adventure that I'll never forget.