Layman's Hall

Sutherland, Nebraska

Walkable: Yes.
Architect: Marty Johnson
Highlighted holes: 3, 4, 8

Before it was considered flyover country, Nebraska was throughway country. The Mormon Trail, Pony Express, and Oregon Trail all ran through the expansive prairies that today mark some of the first settlements in the early American West. The Oregon Trail Golf Course in Sutherland is a perfect stopping point as you too make your way across the state. Designed by Marty Johnson, it is one of a number of courses across Nebraska and the Midwest that preserve his legacy of building small town public layouts with character.

They are absolutely not overselling their course with their phone number: (308) 386-4653 (FUN-GOLF), and they sneak a good deal of it into this hillside nine. The round starts with an honor box by the door – if no one’s in the clubhouse. The first hole begins at the top of the hill and plays along tower road and a tall radio array, which is somehow scenic in a rural America way. The holes play down to the reservoir before crossing back and forth along the hill and ending up right about where you began. The routing brings you back to the clubhouse halfway through if you want to sneak in an extra five holes, something you can do at $40 for all-day play.

There are only a few cart paths which adds to the charm and, while it lacks bunkers, the course makes use of rough covered humps placed near the fronts of greens. It took until the ninth hole before I noticed that there wasn’t a sand trap on the course, which seems like a good sign: it was a delightful experience without them.

*Playing the Wednesday before Thanksgiving meant that the greens were sanded over and temporary pins were stuck at the ends of the fairways. My interpretation is that this was a good thing – they take care of their greens. While it leaves me unable to comment on them, it gives me a good excuse to come back and provide an update.

Three: The third is a short downhill par four with a fairway that slopes harshly from right to left and the lake sits right behind the green. The question from the tee is, “is it worth it to take drive to get close enough to attempt an easy birdie? Or better to lay up to the right side of the fairway to play it safe?” I was captivated by the movement in the fairway and the infinityesque green.

Four: The fourth is a long par five that technically plays along the reservoir, but trees along the bank obscure the water and keep you from getting near the edge. This feels like a missed opportunity, which I’ll address shortly. It’s a long drive out to the corner of the fairway where a couple of small trees block the view of the green.

I would love to see them clear the trees out on the left of 4, open it up, and bring the reservoir into play. If you were to combine that with mowing the fairway out into the bulge while leaving the trees in the center, you would create a dramatic option for going for the green in two. This route would require anywhere from a 250 to 300 yard carry depending on existing or additional tee boxes and create a strategic option that looks a little like the eighteenth at Pebble Beach. You can see the existing hole as well as my proposal, below.

Eight: While only 320 yards, this short right angled uphill par four is no slouch. It might be temping to cut the corner, but everything falls off into the trees and creates a difficult recovery for anyone over the edge. The green looks to slope left to right, adding to its defenses. The fairway includes some rolls on the right where some otherwise good drives can get hung up.

Final thoughts: Courses like Oregon Trail are a good reminder that golf doesn’t have to be hard to be fun. Short par fours, good scenery, clever hole designs, and a nine hole course off I-80 in Nebraska can be all you need. This is the second course (along with Four Winds in Kimball) that has snuck up on me. While it is the antithesis of this kind of blog, knowing nothing and having zero expectations going into a course can bring just as much joy of knowing what to expect and going in excited. Joke’s on you though, I put this warning at the bottom.