Sand Creek Station Course Review

Sand Creek Station 
Newton, Kansas, United States

Architect: Jeff Brauer (2006)

7,339 Yard, Par-72

Rating/Slope: 76.3/136

My Quick Review: Interesting green contouring and shaping; a good second course on a Prairie Dunes pilgrimage.


Entrance




Simple Clubhouse




Logo, etc






Hole 1: Par 4, 419 Yards - Jeff did a great job of varying teeing angles between the different sets of tees and that starts at the 1st where the back set plays diagonally over a hazard while all other sets play straightaway.  No gentle handshake, though, no matter what tee is played.  Note the use of grass bunkers -- well used throughout the course.









Hole 2: Par 5, 579 Yards - Not my favourite hole on the course.  Rather narrow and long and into the wind.  Curious choice to place a tree in front of the green...





Hole 3: Par 3, 153 Yards




Hole 4: Par 5, 552 Yards --Good hole, great green.  Green shaping and contouring was a clear highlight of the golf course.








Hole 5: Par 4, 318 Yards






Hole 6: Par 4, 442 Yards -- ball-busting par-4.  Wasn't sure about the bunker shaping left of the green -- felt a but out-of-place.






Hole 7: Par 3, 203 Yards -- A really, really cool hole.  Brauer uses blindness here to take what would be such a typical downhill par-3 and makes it special.  Also, the green shape -- wide in the front, narrowing the farther into the green one gets -- is so simple but so clearly adds strategic interest.  Really well done here.







Hole 8: Par 4, 443 Yards -- some more varied teeing angles here with a back tee in another country playing diagonally over the water.




Hole 9: Par 4, 337 Yards -- All about positioning the tee shot to leave a preferred angle over/around the nasty green side bunkering.




Hole 10: Par 4, 612 Yards -- A hole that boasts the honour of being the longest hole in Kansas. Tee shot is a bit over the top with OB right and water left.  More water comes into play on the second and third shots.  May not be a GCA favourite but may well be the signature hole.









Hole 11: Par 4, 337 Yards -- Another really cool green shape here.  I called this green 'the eagle' because of the 'wings' back-left and back-right.









Hole 12: Par 4, 378 Yards -- Good hole.  Play out to the right and leave a clear but longer approach, or play to the left and face a blind approach over the 'floating' bunker (St Enodoc? OK, not quite).







Hole 13: Par 3, 183 Yards






Hole 14: Par 4, 438 Yards




Hole 15: Par 4, 342 Yards -- OK, so maybe the mounding lining the fairway is a bit excessive, but the hole strategy is clever. 







Hole 16: Par 5, 498 Yards -- Ho hum par-5 with another very good green -- if one looks closely they might see some Road Hole green in this one.









Hole 17: Par 3, 126 Yards -- Another cool green shape; horseshoe on this one.






Hole 18: Par 4, 373 Yards -- Difficult finisher.  Uphill and narrow tee shot.  If you need to make 4 to win a tournament here, you're going to earn it.





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