Bayside Golf Club

Straight off their subdued yet wildly thoughtful design at Wild Horse Golf Club just 90 miles away, the Bunker Hill team was given a very dramatic site on the edge of the Nebraska Sandhills overlooking Lake McConaughy. While this is within the sandhills region, the landforms and soils are drastically different from what you’ll find at courses like Wild Horse, Sand Hills, and Graybull. The deep ravines were carved out over many years of erosion and water flowing down towards the lake, but the silt and crushed limestone dominated soil complexion creates this rugged and jagged environment with sagebrush bushes and rocky outcroppings. Despite the difference in visual appearance and soil composition the golf resembles that of the “true” sandhills courses listed above with large undulating landforms, firm and fast playing conditions and the relentless and ever present wind.

The whole concept for the course and request from the owner was to make Bayside different from Wild Horse. In theory, this wouldn’t be too hard to do given how different the sites were from one another and the fact that the budget was minuscule, meaning they truly needed a minimalist course that laid on the land and was a product of the landscape. For Bayside, this meant being a little more wild and rugged, both descriptors of the land that it sits on and exactly what the course turned out to be.

Proctor, self admittedly, tends to build golf features a little more boldly while Axland tends to reel his ideas in and make them slightly more practical. But Axland didn’t spend a ton of time on this project resulting in an aggressively unique style of golf. This style shows throughout the front nine greens with big undulating contours that kick and corral balls. Some may argue that they are overworked or overbuilt but this is simply what the land provided. Greens like the rollicking fourth “were just sitting there” according to Proctor, who lived 30 miles from the course throughout the construction. Pair that with the notion that it needed to be different from Wild Horse and you get a great deal of variety and distinct greens that you won’t find elsewhere, not even on the back nine.

This project was originally going to be just nine holes (front nine) but the developer owned the tumultuous land where the back nine sits today and had a desire for a complete 18. Land so severe and wild that the design duo’s goal was to just make nine playable golf holes. As a result, the back nine greens are much more subtle than the first nine because just getting to the green was hard enough. They were able to massage and push around the land to make it playable without the need for large earthworks or transportation of dirt and it needed to be this way because all they had was a small bulldozer and backhoe for construction. This type of work is what I believe to be true minimalism. Making something from the land with minimal input and money that is made by and for the local people.

When you take all of this into consideration they were able to make a pretty exciting and memorable golf course given the circumstances. It may have made a better nine-hole course than 18, but I’m glad Bayside is what it is: a true reflection of the land and dedication of the people behind it.

1 Egg

(How We Rate Courses)

Good golf design and fun golf design are very different things. While Bayside is as fun to play as a 3-Egg Wild Horse, I can’t say that it’s as structurally sound and dynamic as Wild Horse. The back nine has forced carry after forced carry with several do-or-die type shots but there’s still a lot of sound strategy and well executed design work infused into every single golf hole. This course sits right on the edge of 0 and 1 Eggs, but ultimately the firm course presentation, unlimited fun factor, and accessibility give it the bump up.

Course Tour

No. 1, par 5 , 540 yards

A terrific opener that warms you up for what’s ahead; beautiful lay of the land holes with intricate and boldly shaped greens. The first snakes through some small dunes right in the lay up zone creating interest no matter how you decide to play it.

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No. 2, par 3, 158 yards

Mike O’Neil, a Nebraska local who started his golf construction career with Axland and Proctor, had a postcard from Royal Troon which had an image of the famous eighth hole dubbed “Postage Stamp.” He asked Proctor if they could build something resembling it for the second at Bayside and that’s how this hole came to be.

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No. 3, par 4, 403 yards

The first of many “hog’s back” fairways at Bayside. The third repeals shots down to a low point on the right and rewards the ones who take the aggressive line. In this case that means going over the large dune off the tee to a blind portion of the fairway and dodging the triplet of deep bunkers.

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No. 4, par 5, 468 yards

A vexing short par 5 that sports a significantly more dramatic “hog’s back” fairway than the third. Missing right creates a totally blind approach into the green and from this angle it’s nearly impossible to hold the surface. This tumbling green pitches away falling seven (!!) feet from front to back and has multiple sections with pronounced contours between them. Proctor built the green with such severity because of how short the par 5 was going to be and he wanted you to earn your birdie. Beyond the green is a chipping swale that sits 20+ feet below the green making for tricky recovery.

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No. 5, par 3, 150 yards

A neat ridge-top greensite makes distance control key here. Missing short leaves a daunting 15-foot uphill chip shot/putt, but landing on the back half of the green may result in ejection into the native grasses beyond.

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No 6, par 4, 461 yards

As mentioned in the “take note” this hole was designed to be a par 5 with a tee on the other side of the road that never got built. This would have made the drive more compelling by allowing aggressive players to cut the corner and attack the green in two, while the safer route would force three shots to get home. Approaches into the tiny perched green are a chore as missing right leaves you in a deep hollow and using the shortgrass backstop left of the green overzealously will also send your ball down into the hollow.

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No. 7, par 4, 307 yards

A wonderful, strategic short par 4 with a bold “double plateau” style green. Pins on the right tier are not to be fooled with.

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No. 8, par 3, 178 yards

Arguably the most conventional hole on the course, this straightforward par 3 plays to a green benched into a dune with a beautifully shaped waste bunker short.

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No. 9, par 4, 410 yards

The upper and lower tees here create very different views on the ninth. From below you face all the bunkers head on and must carry the long cross bunker but also need to be aware of the pines beyond. The upper tee sets you up more parallel to the fairway and provides a much more pleasant view. Proctor noted that the hole was supposed to have a tee even further back on the hill making the hole play like a true par 4 vs. a drive and wedge.

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No. 10, par 4, 357 yards

The beginning of the madness. You are tasked with two forced carries here at the 10th and anything right finds the rocky ravine. This hole plays drivable on downwind days if you are up for the risk.

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Favorite Hole

No. 11, par 5, 652 yards

Is this my favorite hole? Yes.

Is it incredibly penal, over the top, nearly unplayable, and a pure execution examination? Yes.

After a long uphill cart ride from the 10th green, you arrive at the 11th aptly named “Forever,” but I prefer to call it “Pirate’s Plank.” This monster ridge-to-ridge par 5 plays as intimidatingly hard as it looks with steep fall off on all sides and a narrow fairway that squeezes down to 20 yards wide at the entrance of the green. The diagonal carry over the Kapalua-sized ravine leaves no room for error; slightly left and you’re over the backside of the ridge or miss just right into the punishing arroyo wash. If you can conquer the drive you’re only ¼ of the way there and it’s time to “walk the plank!” You need four exceptional shots here just to make a par but the everpresent wind makes going four-for-four incredibly difficult. To make matters worse, the green pitches away from you falling three and half (!!!) feet from front to back.

Yes, this hole is slightly insane but that’s what makes it so interesting to play (for me at least). You’re almost guaranteed to have an eventful and memorable time here, whether good or bad. I truly enjoy the one-of-one nature of this hole despite its overly penal test and always stand on the tee excited to take a stab at glory or utter defeat.

Two things to note about the backstory of this hole is that Axland and Proctor’s original green was positioned around 70 yards forward from where this green is today. During construction, one of the owner’s insisted on pushing it all the way back to the far end point of the ridgeline. The designers mentioned to the owner that the requested greensite would be nearly unplayable but here we are today. The team needed material to build up the green on this peninsula, thus the 20+ bunkers down the right side were dug out to collect dirt to build the green.

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No. 12, par 4, 400 yards

Another ridge-to-ridge hole with a diagonal carry over a deep ravine. The green is sort of a lion’s mouth but instead of a bunker cutting into the putting surface the ravine does.

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No. 13, par 3, 205 yards

A rejecting greensite perched up on top of a ridgeline. The contours resemble a “reverse redan” template where accessing the back pins are best done so by banking the ball off the front left kicker slope although there’s very little room for error. Misses short and right are faced with a wall of grass and bunkers.

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No. 14, par 4, 380 yards

The 14th utilizes the ravine quite well as does most of the holes on the back nine. Since you tee off parallel to this hazard, hugging the ravine provides a shorter approach into the punchbowl green while the loads of room right leave a longer second shot.

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No. 15, par 5, 616 yards

A hole of grand proportions. This fairway tumbles down the steep ridgeline nearly 80 feet. Cutting the corner off the tee allows you to go for the green in two, but you guessed it, the green sits on a ridgetop with steep fall offs short and long that makes staying on the domed green a challenge.

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No. 16, par 4, 308 yards

A well-bunkered short par 4 that was modeled after the 10th hole at Riviera. The size and angle of the green certainly do a good job of replicating George Thomas’s famous drive and pitch hole.

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No. 17, par 3, 138 yards

If you have a “Postage Stamp” green then you need a Riviera No. 6-inspired donut green as well. The owner himself dug this bunker in the center of the green against Proctor’s will.

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No. 18, par 4, 415 yards

The deep blowout bunker on the left is the only obstacle you need to avoid here at the last. The green is huge and lightly contoured leaving you with a gentle descent to your rollercoaster back nine. If you happened to tear through your glove during your round there is a barbed wire glove cemetery behind the green.

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Additional Content

“Courses to Play Off I-80 in Nebraska” (reel by Matt Rouches)