Finishing off Bellevue and Papillion courses

July 15, 2015

Started the day out at Tregaron in Bellevue. Leagues were playing on the front so they let me go on the back. Since I have not been hitting it very good since coming back from my surgery, I played the senior forward tees and had success in hitting fairways and thanks to a new wedge ( Titleist Vokey 48 ) I  was 3 for 3 on birdie putts!  A gentle rolling layout with wide fairways and large receptive greens through a beautiful neighborhood is worth the trip to south Omaha!

 

Par 3 made birdie putt @ Tregaron!

One mile to the north of Fairview road is Platteview Road and Platteview CC.  Platteview Country Club is more of a traditional tree lined club with many changes of elevation and most of the par 4's and 5's are doglegs. The back nine greens except for par 3's are hidden from the tee box because of the elevation. Tee shots must be well placed for scoring opportunities.

My final stop was at Papio Greens in Papillion. It is the only public par three 18 hole course in the state. Holes range from 100 to 155 yards making it a good short game practice with small greens and a driving range over a lake with floating golf balls.

Score Card: 108 courses played

Miles Driven: 108

Total Miles since 7/21/2014: 2412

Back in the "Golf Cart " again!

Lincoln had a record 10.90 inches of rain in May and another 7.66 in June, but that wasn't the reason I stayed home for 7 weeks. I had hemorrhoid surgery in early May to alleviate a serious problem with my "sitter".  Recovery has been long and painful but mostly missing fairways and greens. 

06/30/2015

After an ugly practice session at Holmes Golf course near home, I decided to head out Tuesday morning for two courses in Plattsmouth, Lake Ridge and Plattsmouth CC.  After driving up and down Hwy 75 looking for the entrance to Plattsmouth CC, I finally found a small sign and turned in to find out it had been closed and is now a garden center.  So , off to Beaver Creek and Lake Ridge Country Club.

Lake Creek is a very short course with gently rolling hills,spacious fairways and large flat greens. A golfer with a decent tee ball and a good short game can score very low here.

Score Card: 105 courses played

Miles Driven: 94

Total Miles since 7/21/2014: 2304

Burt and Washington

04/29/2015

Sounds like a couple a characters from Sesame Street, but it is the counties of Burt and Washington which are the home of three great golf courses. Oakland Country Club, Northridge Country Club and River Wild Golf Club. I started the day at Oakland, traditional tree lined club with with a very flat tract of land but offset with small flat crowned greens that let the ball roll off near the edges.  A very pleasant walk on a beautiful spring day.

Next stop was down the road to Tekamah and Northridge Country Club. This is a hidden gem that definitely needs a second look. I called my golf Bro Don in Texas when I got home and told him we are going to play here the next time he comes up. It is built on a series of ridges and valleys that does not have any flat spots and both downhill pat threes have water hazards in play. Well worth a drive to Tekamah!

Last stop of the day was at Blair and River Wild Golf Club. League golfers had the front nine full so I played the back nine which has 8 holes around the edge of the property with OB right. The other is a 200 yard downhill par three with a ditch hazard to the right of the green. Fairly flat fairways and medium to large greens make for a easy walk

Score Card: 104 courses played

Miles Driven: 186

Total Miles since 7/21/2014: 2210

Omaha gets number 100!

04/23/15

A gentle breeze and a nice temperatures sent me on the road again to Omaha.  Spring Lake Golf course is located in south Omaha near Spring Lake road and south 13th street. It is one of the oldest golf course in Omaha built in 1933 on the site  of an old dairy farm. It is well maintained and is great condition. Although it is short, I found out that on 3 of the greens that above the hole is an automatic three putt!  Being quite hilly, the uphill holes have small table top greens and the finishing hole is an uphill par 3 over a public street. Well worth a visit!

Off to my car and heading to LaVista Falls in LaVista. On a side note I finally got my car signs!

LaVista Falls is an executive course at 4080 yards that is built in a bowl shaped area. Water comes into play on most of the holes and green side bunkers on 7 holes. I was glad I got this course done as I read on line after getting home that their mayor is preparing the public for a conversion of the course to a regional park. The guy I was playing with also mentioned that to me.

Score Card: 101 courses played

Miles Driven: 109

Total Miles since 7/21/2014: 2024

Fremont Area

04/14/2015

Another perfect day in early April! Headed out to Hooper and arrived about 11am. The course is flat but has large cottonwoods throughout and water comes into play on the 1st ,2nd and 5th holes. Nice large undulated greens can leave long putts if you do not hit the correct shots. The par 3's have some length.

I had called the Fremont Country Club earlier and was told that non-members have to play with a member and I do not know any members there.

I headed south back through Fremont to Whitetail Run on the south side of the Platte river. It must have been my lucking day. After seeing the hills and elevation changes, I was elated when they had a special for cart and green fees. Could not pass that up! The course has generous fairways and nice sized greens, but the real test was the par 3's that average 188 yds (3) and the par 4's average 285 but some require layups because of the trees and hills.Did not see any deer but plenty of turkeys sounding off in the woods.

Two miles south is Valley View Golf Course. Looked like an easy walk so off I went. The first hill was down hill and then flat from 2 through 8. Most holes were tree lined and short, but the greens had a bad winter and need some work. They had done a nice job saving old trees with some carvings.

When I got to the 9th tee, I realized that a long par 5 uphill was the the only way out of the valley! Not only was it long but very steep up to the green. I stopped more than once to catch my breath!

Score Card: 99 courses played

Miles Driven: 141

Total Miles since 7/21/2014: 1915

Real Spring has returned

04/13/2015

Decided to re-visit a few places that were not open during the "January golf season". This time I was able to make phone contact with Fox Hollow in Sutton, York Country Club, Sandy Meadows in Waco, Elkhorn Valley in Hooper and both courses south of Fremont.

Arrived in Sutton at 11am Monday morning to a locked door. But I was not worried as the maintenance crews were working on the course. The course manager arrived a few minutes later. I mentioned that I was the guy who called him from the course in January and he gave me a complimentary round. I thanked him and headed to the first tee.

As you can see the fairways are very generous and large undulated greens were very receptive to iron shots. The 6th hole is one of the few 600 yard holes in the state.  It was an easy walk of gentle rolling hills.  Water hazards are in play on three of the holes.


Back to the road and a short drive to York Country Club.  It is a traditional tree lined country club with small round greens that are quite flat.  Most of the holes are crossed by a creek that meanders through the course.

 

My last stop of the day was a short drive east of York to exit 360 south of Waco. After seeing the very hilly layout from the clubhouse at Sandy Meadows, I decided that my legs have had a good workout and took a cart. A very short and hilly course with well placed hazards and table top small greens that demand accurate shots for par.

Score Card: 96 courses played

Miles Driven: 177

Total Miles since 7/21/2014: 1774

Schuyler Golf Course

03/09/2015

Nebraska golf weather has returned in this second week of March. However, several of the courses in my day trip zones around Lincoln are not open yet. I did find one that was open for today's trip to Schuyler Golf Club.

The course is a flat tree lined course of just over 3000 yards that has water hazards on 6 of the holes and a few sand bunkers. The greens are relatively small with some elevation and the par 9th being the smallest and the most elevated making it a tough finishing hole.

Scorecard: 93 courses played

Miles Driven: 138

Total Miles since 7/21/2014: 1597