Landmand Golf Club

All elite courses have one thing in common: sense of place.

Landmand fits the Nebraska landscape. It is expansive, extreme and bold. One corn-fed hole after another, building to a finishing stretch that has to be experienced to believe.

A player in my group provided a classic rock soundtrack for our round. Somewhere on the inward nine we began trying to surmise what band Landmand would be. I had no difficulty making up my mind and wasted no time in declaring that it would be Zeppelin. The closing stretch, starting with the Redan 14th, shreds. Prepare for Page to melt your face with the brute that is the par-5 15th with a green that is Biarritz-adjacent. The pin today on that hole… goodness gracious. The 17th is a driveable par 4 that houses a green that measures three-quarters of an acre. And the closer is a shortish par 5 with a hellacious bunker guarding the front left of the green. No quarter indeed.

King-Collins built their reputation on the Cinderella story that is Sweetens Cove. Truthfully, Sweetens is a terrible site, yet the duo had some incredible ideas of how to get the most out of it. Landmand is set to become legendary alongside Nebraska’s greatest Sandhills hits. This is a dream site that allowed them to demonstrate even more of their ideology. A host of other architects would have built excellent golf courses in the Loess Hills. But K-C came up with what they term “a love letter to golf of a bygone era.”

They have rendered some of the most unique greens complexes I’ve ever encountered. So much so that small misses can lead to big problems. The 25+ mph winds dictate wide fairways and accommodating lines of charm. But it is a second shot golf course, and the greens are riddled with backstops, false fronts, knobs and clefts that will steer balls maddeningly away from pins.

The sheer vastness of the scale allows the course to play tricks with your depth perception. A yardage guide is with the $25 Up Top.

Landmand is easily the boldest golf course I've ever played. Every hole is massive in scale with bold design features that create a roller coaster round of golf!

The first thing you'll notice as you drive up to Landmand is everything, except the clubhouse, is turned up to 11. From the oversized flag at the top of the hill that you can see from miles away, to the massive, putting green that is shared with the 18th green, it's golf in overdrive!

The golf course itself is very playable, yet still challenging. The fairways and greens are fairly easy to hit in regulation, but that doesn't mean pars and birdies are plentiful. The sheer size of the greens, along with the undulation, brings 3 and 4 putts into play. You have to be in control of your ball to get in the right spots to score.

Landmand is already really good, and it'll be outstanding in a year or two as it grows in. With the course being so new there are still bare spots and thin spots. Additionally the greens have some maturing to do.

Landmand only elevates the already fantastic Nebraska golf scene. Must play if you can make the trek to Homer NE.

A windy day was still astounding at this top-of-the-world all-time Top Ten layout. There is a reason the flag sticks are topped with Windsocks! Beautiful. Challenging. Like opening a present at each tee box. Tip: Buy the course guide - many holes play with different strategies than meet the eye of the range finder. Landmand is stunning. And a Blast!

I was fortunate to take part in Landmand's opening weekend of play. It puts the newest pin in the American map for adventurous traveling golfers to pursue as they explore the country in search of interesting courses.

Calling Landmand merely "interesting" undersells it to a huge degree. It enjoys a spectacular hilltop property that grants dozen-mile views of the surrounding countryside, and draws golfers' attention back to its features relentlessly, thanks to one the wildest sets of greens in world golf. Slopes and contours the likes of which most golfers have never seen - in addition to capricious winds, firm turf and wide playing corridors - mean tremendous variety in how each hole might play one day to the next. Luckily, there are onsite cabins for golfers who want to play multiple rounds across multiple days.

In keeping with the golf course, the overall feel at Landmand is relaxed and fun. Embrace the golf course's eccentricity and you will have a wonderful time, as I did.