AdamScott321Mania

As part of a golf and sightseeing trip that spanned from Kansas City to Rapid City, Wild Horse was my second golf stop on the trip. Having read about Wild Horse being one of the best value golf courses in the country, my expectations were sky high. After you turn of the enter the property, you know you are at a unique place. For as far as the eye can see, prairie lands with with absolutely stunning sand blowouts that are quite common in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. Although the clubhouse isn't anything large or flamboyant or anything like a clubhouse you would see in the pretentious northeast, it is what you expect and want from a public course in Gothenburg, Nebraska. In sum, the vibes this place gives off are incredible. Finally, after warming up on the all grass practice facilities, we headed for the first tee. Our twosome virtually had the course to ourselves. We took our time weaving through the dunes, playing a wide variety of low and high shots that had to avoid deep, penal, linksy bunkers while taking into account the harsh winds and fast and firm soil. Although Wild Horse is appealing to the eye and, what makes this course a gem is the playability combined with the amount of fun shots at your disposal. As a 9 handicap who was playing more like a 15 at the time, I carded a 77 while hitting many mediocre shots that ended up being excellent due to the contours of the course. Modern golf course architecture is moving in the direction of being more fun and playable, and Wild Horse is a great example of this, and should be played on any trip to the Sand Hills.

Brooklawn is simply a fun place to play. The club is a classic A.W. Tillinghast design, and features many of his fun architectural ways. Many of the greens slope back to front and are quite slick, and the fairways are on the narrow side, but are definitely not to punishing. In addition, the course features a lot of truly enjoyable shot making holes that include interesting pin placements and elevation changes.

Brooklawn has hosted a US Senior Open and a US Women's Open, and is truly the real deal.

No. 8 is just an excellent golf experience. The trek is much more of a parkland layout than no. 2, but still has severe roll offs, penalizing bunkers, and quick greens. This is just another excellent course at an excellent destination.

No. 8 is a good course to play before No. 2.

Pound Ridge is overall, an excellent golfing experience. With a slope from the tips in the mid 140's, this is definitely the best public golf course in Westchester, in terms of difficulty. Other than Bethpage Black, it is probably the best in the metro area for public courses. The layout is difficult, but not that it is unplayable. In addition, the course is in great condition, just like at a top notch private club, and many of the holes are so extremely well-designed, and beautiful that you forget NYC is only 40 or so minutes to the south. It is a must play, and is worthy of at least consideration for a professional tournament at some level.