Prairie Club: Better than average

VALENTINE, NE (KELO) — Considered one of the best professional golf courses in the country, it is located right here in KELOLAND.

The Prairie Club Golf Course near Valentine, Nebraska, was founded by Paul Schock of Sioux Falls and designed by two professional golfers.

Prairie Club offers a golf experience that is far above average.

“People kind of lose their minds here because it’s so peaceful,” said Chad Hatch, co-founder of the Prairie Club.

Out here, in the middle of nowhere, in the rolling sandhills of Nebraska along the Snake River Canyon, a man from Sioux Falls had a dream.

This man was the amateur golfer and entrepreneur Paul Schock.

“Paul has been coming to the Sandhills for several years,” said Golf Director Loudan Steffes.

There, Shock liked to relax and go fly fishing.

But he recognized the potential for a golf course.

“Just beautiful, pristine sand hills, I mean, it’s perfect for golf,” Steffes said.

“I walked the grounds with Paul Schock and Tom Lehman before it was even a golf course, and it was incredible to see those guys show me where the holes would be,” Hatch said.

Hatch is a co-founder with Schock and says after realizing the area’s potential, he bought what they were selling.

“Well, I helped raise the money, so I guess I did that,” Hatch said.

So in 2008, Schock and Hatch enlisted the help of two professional golfers, Tom Lehman and Grant Marsh, to design two professional 18-hole courses.

One is located right in the sand hills they called “The Dunes” and the other is located in the hidden valleys surrounded by beautiful trees and scenery they call “The Pines”.

However, they wanted this golf club to be different from others in the region, so they made the Prairie Club a semi-private course with club memberships, but also open to the public.

“That’s what makes our property a little different from other resort-like facilities around the country. We have a large membership base, almost 500 members a day. One of the courses is members only and the other is open to the public,” Steffes said.

And it did not disappoint.

The Prairie Club has been featured in Golf Digest and the Dunes is considered one of the top 80 golf courses in the country.

They say most of the nearly 500 members come from Sioux Falls, Lincoln and Omaha.

The Prairie Club encompasses 2,500 acres and you can ask any golfer and they will tell you there is one common denominator: beauty.

“The course is fantastic, the staff is fantastic. I mean, I love this place. There are a lot of other places to go in South Dakota, but nothing compares to the Prairie Club,” said golfer Heath Kooiman.

This is due to the wide, open spaces and the tranquility.

“That’s one of the things that makes the Sandhills region special: It’s truly untouched as far as development goes,” Steffes said.

Prairie Club offers more than just golf. There is a resort with rooms, bunkhouses and cabins where golfers can stay overnight and enjoy food and refreshments at the full-service restaurant.

But they want the world to know that they are not selling this.

“So for us, it’s all about golf. We do have a resort aspect where we have accommodations, cabins, bunkhouses, guest houses and things like that, you know, food and drink, but as far as amenities go, it’s all about golf for us,” Steffes said.

The Prairie Club also has a short 10-hole course attached. For more information about the Prairie Club and what it offers, click here.