Golf in Lincoln

by Ken Hambleton

Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit a ball into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible…

The best keeps getting better for Lincoln golfers.

After fortunate spring rains and comfortable summer temperatures, Lincoln has taken another step toward meeting the golf needs and desires of golfers everywhere.

From Lincoln’s four 18-hole championship city-owned courses — Holmes, Pioneers, Highlands, and Mahoney — to the nine-hole par 3 Ager Memorial Course, to the four privately-owned, public courses, three country clubs, and dozens of courses within 25 miles of Lincoln, there is something for everyone.

Beginning with the first city course, rebuilt in 1933, Pioneers Golf Course is like a comfort zone for all golfers.

The tree-lined holes and the challenging grass bunkers lead to the quintessential greens. Rebuilt tee boxes, new irrigation systems, and a high standard of greens-keeping make Pioneers a city favorite. A north-south layout for much of the course changes the course challenges with Nebraska’s winds.

Highlands Golf Course, in the northwest corner of the city, near the airport, is Lincoln’s logical transition course.

More of a links-style layout, with challenging length from the tips to deep fescue roughs, Highlands was built in 1993 and has very few trees but boasts a plethora of large bunkers. Typically, quick greens, plenty of undulations, and enough tee-box choices to challenge every level of golf skill.

Holmes Golf Course and Mahoney Golf Course represent the design of the 1960s and mid-1970s.

Holmes is a part of the Holmes Lake area. That means you get some of the best views in Lincoln, water all around the north end of the course, enough length for long hitters, and forward tee boxes for those who don’t hit drives over 250 yards. Golfers face the challenges of more elevation changes than any public course in Lincoln.

Initially, Mahoney was a good starting place for golfers. The relatively simple setup, with six par-3 holes, was relatively easy when the course was built in the mid-1970s. But the trees have grown, the dogleg holes must be negotiated, and the big greens demand a good short game.

In the middle of the city, Ager is a par-3 course with the best fairways and greens, partly maintained by the University of Nebraska PGM program.

Originally a course for juniors to learn golf and golf etiquette, the nine-hole gem has become a favorite of adults because of the forest-like setup on holes from 70 yards to 175 yards that play through a tree-lined park. Antelope Creek runs through the course, and Ager is the site of Lincoln’s first golf course, built in the early 1900s.

Far from done, beyond the city-owned and operated courses, Lincoln offers the redesigned NuMark, a 27-hole golf course, the five-star Golf Digest-rated Woodland Hills Course near Eagle, the par-3, Pine Valley, the much-improved Hidden Valley 18-hole course, and the popular 18-hole championship course, Crooked Creek just four miles east of Lincoln.

Short drives can get you to superior nine-hole courses, including David City, Seward Country Club, Crete’s College Heights Country Club, Friend Country Club, and Thunder Ridge in Milford. Great 18-hole layouts in the immediate area include the challenging and beautiful Beatrice Country Club, Iron Horse near Ashland, and the newly rebuilt Quarry Oaks course, just south of Iron Horse.

Nebraska also boasts some of the top courses in the world: Sandhills near Mullen, Landman near Homer, and Tantanka near Niobrara. The new course near Maxwell, Gray Bull, opened in the fall of 2024. It is owned and operated by the Dormie Network, which runs the famous Arnold Palmer-designed Arbor Links in Nebraska City.

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *