In a classic 1993 fast food commercial, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird locked horns in what turned out to be a laughably absurd game of H-O-R-S-E. It was fun, catchy and entertaining.
Fun, catchy and entertaining make up the recipe for enjoying the Horse Course at The Prairie Club in the sandhills of Valentine, Nebraska. Opened in 2010, the Gil Hanse-Geoff Shackelford-Jim Wagner design does something most courses don’t — it indelibly becomes what the golfer wants it to be.
“It’s modeled after the game of Horse,” says Prairie Club head professional Adam Speck in a recent phone interview. “So if you and I are playing — just like we would be playing basketball — if you win the first hole, you get to pick where we tee off and what hole we go to next. And then if you win again, you get to pick the next teeing area and the next hole. And then so on and so forth, just like you would kind of in the game of horse for basketball.”
For starters, here’s the abridged description of the Horse Course: It’s a short walk that places a premium on the short game. Mapped out across 12 rugged acres, the 10 holes measure no more than 1,125 yards depending on how it’s played. The average hole length runs about 95 yards. Routing is suggested but not mandatory. There are no set tees, inviting dozens of combinations to play each hole.
“When we tell people there are no tee boxes, that kind of trips some people up, especially in golf,” Speck says. “I’m sure you’ve been on a golf course before with not a lot of signage or not a lot of instructions. And it takes a little bit to figure out that you can go where you’d like to on your own.”
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The routing exists, but Speck explains that if a golfer gets to No. 2, looks at a map and decides the shot to the ninth green would be more fun, they are free to execute the shot. Or maybe a ninth-hole wedge to the first green seems more plausible? That’s fine as well.
“Once you get acclimated to it, then you’re really able to feel comfortable and kind of make the experience your own versus ‘Oh, no, I need to go from one to two to three,” Speck says. “And once you figure out, ‘Oh, we can kind of go wherever we’d like to,’ then it turns it into you’re not really playing golf anymore.”
Or code for a different kind of fun experience.
One question begs, though. Doesn’t routing on the fly lead to pace-of-play issues or gridlock on certain holes? Speck says in his seven years at the club, he has never fielded one complaint. Most groups stay to themselves or respect the makeshift routing another group might decide to follow.
With a couple of wedges, putter and balls in hand, it’s much like using painting tools on a canvas; it’s all about the golfer’s creativity. Stay for five minutes? Terrific. Play all day? That works, too. Driver isn’t recommended because the longest shot would technically be from No. 1 to No. 5, a bit extreme.
For the past two decades, the U.S. Golf Association and PGA of America have brainstormed ways to make the game more attractive, fun and accessible. Myriad campaigns have been floated to create awareness that, hey, golf can be cool. The Horse Course would certainly fit that premise.
Although it wasn’t constructed as the Prairie Club’s main attraction, the Horse Course’s appeal lies in its laid-back charm. It serves as a complement to the two championship-style, 18-hole Dunes Course and Pine Course.
Sitting just east of the clubhouse, the layout that abuts the Snake River rim contains mainly fescue and colonial bentgrass. Similar to the championship courses, find the gnarly rough and it becomes as challenging as spinning tires in deep mud. It takes a deft touch to get out. The green complexes have ample undulation, meaning that it helps to be able to read breaks to avoid consequential, unforgiving putts. Even with the greens running slower, averaging about an 8 1/2 to 9 on the Stimpmeter, Speck says, they can be tricky.
Hanse’s signature bunkering also comes into play, where each blends seamlessly and naturally with surrounding vegetation. When looking at the 10th hole, for example, there’s an oversized bunker washout area that extends from the ninth through 10th greens.
Overall, the Horse Course comes with high praise. In 2013, GOLF Magazine ranked it the 10th most “Most Fun Course You Can Play In America.” A Prairie Club promotional video includes Geoff Ogilvy, 2006 U.S. Open champion, gushing about the entire approach.
“Two more examples … of what golf needs more of: the pitch and putt course at Turnberry in Scotland and the par-3 Horse Course at the Prairie Club in Nebraska. If every new course devoted five acres to short courses, far more people would be attracted to golf,” Ogilvy says.
More than that, there’s another element almost forgotten. As fun as the Horse Course can be, an underlying factor can be found in the simple notion that it’s effective in ameliorating flaws in the short game.
“It’s typically around 100 yards and in, which is the area that most — I’ll speak for myself — people probably need to work on anyway. So to be able to go out and play 10, 20, 30 holes, however many you’re going to play and be able to work on your game at the same time versus just going out to your range and beating balls, it’s a good way to sneak in practice without knowing you’re practicing and do it with some friends,” Speck says.
The Prairie Club does offer a stay-and-play package, which equates to the Horse Course greens fees being included. If a patron has a reservation on either of the championship designs, the Horse Course is automatically included. And if someone only wanted to play the Horse Course?
“It is a goodwill donation to our scholarship fund [at the golfer’s discretion],” adds Speck.
In the end, it circles back to the fun factor. It’s loose, inventive and alluring all rolled into one.
“Since there are no tee boxes,” Speck says, “it’s kind of like a golfer’s playground.”