Sand Creek Station Sand Creek Station Becomes Brauer’s Third Straight Course on ‘Best-of’ List

Pronouncing Sand Creek Station Golf Course “the public equivalent of the nearby Prairie Dunes, one of the most private and celebrated courses in America,” Golf Magazine has named the Jeff Brauer creation to its list of the Top 10 New Courses You Can Play.

In its January 2007 issue, Golf says of the 7,359-yard, par-72 Newton, Kan., golf course: “The motto here is ‘Public course, private experience.’ It should read: ‘Big League course, Little League price.’ ”

Recalling Brauer’s “impressive streak of acclaimed Midwest courses,” Golf says the Arlington, Texas-based architect pulled off a difficult task at Sand Creek Station, including holes that are tributes to St. Andrews and National Golf Links, two of the great classic courses in the world. “Replicating the classics is often a futile exercise, but it succeeds because the terrain not only permitted such homage, it practically demanded it.”

The magazine then adds: “That’s just one reason to come here. The others: the superb variety in routing and greens sites, the bold bunkering, the quartet of holes (1, 2, 8 and 9) that border Sand Creek, and a price tag that will allow you to play all week.”

A municipally-owned golf course set in a new residential area, Sand Creek Station’s greens fees are $39 to $49.

In 2004 and 2005, Brauer, a regular contributor to Cybergolf (see his articles in Architects Corner and Brauer’s Book sections), accomplished the rare, back-to-back feat of designing courses that were named Best New Upscale Public Course of the Year by Golf Digest: The Quarry at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, Minn., and The Wilderness at Fortune Bay in Tower, Minn., respectively.