Nebraska’s Rural Golf Courses on the Rise
By Aaron Bonderson • Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media • May 8, 2025
Tyler Hadden stands in front of GrayBull, behind the clubhouse. He said managing the course has been exciting but a big undertaking (Aaron Bonderson, Nebraska Public Media News)
Nebraska is emerging as a leader in golf course development. It’s one of the few states building courses away from residential developments. Nebraska Public Media recently spotlighted the state’s blossoming number of rural golf courses, tracing the movement from the iconic Sand Hills Golf Club to Landmand and now to GrayBull Club for its state-of-the-art sprinkler system. With insights from Ron Whitten, longtime editor at Golf Digest magazine from 1985 to 2022, the article explores why Nebraska’s sandy soil, rolling terrain, and groundwater management have positioned the state as a premier destination for links-style golf in the U.S.
Rural Nebraska golf courses garnering national attention
One new course in the otherworldly Sandhills is running with new technology to manage water use.
Tyler Hadden is the general manager at GrayBull Club, a private course north of Maxwell that officially opened its doors May 1.
The new facility is going for a “rustic elegance” vibe, Hadden said.
It’s owned by Dormie Network, which also has properties in Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia, in addition to ArborLinks in Nebraska City.
Zach Peed, whose family runs Sandhills Global, a magazine publisher based in Lincoln, runs Dormie Network. This is the first golf course Dormie has built. Its other courses were bought and renovated.
“The Sandhills were appealing because it's a phenomenal place to play golf,” Hadden said.
The property contains 15 cottages that can accommodate 60 people per night. “We're a stay and play operation,” Hadden said. The goal is to provide as many amenities as possible for the members who can afford it.
GrayBull aims to attract a national audience.
“We'll probably be really close to 50-50, maybe even less locals,” Hadden said.
It’s also a night and day difference in building the course, compared to northern Michigan where Hadden grew up. While one course may move 80,000 square feet of dirt on one hole, Hadden said they didn’t push that much soil on the entire course at GrayBull.
“We were gifted with some really good natural terrain,” Hadden said.
During construction, not one tree was removed because… there weren’t any. Hadden said building a new course from the ground up meant his groundskeepers are gifted with leading irrigation technology.
“You can just hit a button from 100 miles away and [start] one sprinkler head,” Hadden said.
More precise sprinkler usage saves water. And as a links-style course, Hadden said GrayBull doesn't want to be “lush.”
“We're not supposed to be incredibly green. We want to play fast and firm and dry,” Hadden said.
He didn’t have specific numbers on water usage at GrayBull.
The advanced sprinkler system did more than keep the fairways pretty. It also prevented disaster. Last year, a wildfire burned grassland north of Maxwell and nearly torched GrayBull while it was under construction.
The head groundskeeper turned on the sprinklers to quench the flames and avoid a major setback.
Read the full article by Aaron Bonderson of Nebraska Public Media published on May 8, 2025.
Tyler holds a cup of coffee and points out to course at GrayBull. (Aaron Bonderson, Nebraska Public Media News)
