Public Nebraska course tops magazine poll
HOMER, Nebraska – The Landmand course in Nebraska, opened last August, has been named 2022’s Best New public course by Golf Digest.
Landmand, the first 18-hole course by the design team of Tad King and Rob Collins, occupies a dramatic site in the Loess Hills, a few miles outside Sioux City, and close to the Iowa border, and the Missouri River.
The Landmand property, which covers an enormous 580 acres, was acquired by the Andersen family back in the 1970s and has lain fallow basically ever since. But when King and Collins saw it, they realized it had the potential to become a stunning golf course. Since the course opened for a short first season back in August, it has been universally acclaimed.
When Landmand’s 2023 tee times became available at the end of December, over 80 percent of them were sold on the first day.
In the article covering the announcement, Golf Digest architecture editor Derek Duncan wrote: “It will be the architecture and joy of playing it that keeps Landmand aloft, especially the greens. Not only are they large but they possess slopes, sections, crowns and internal contours not seen this side of St. Andrews. The human brain must be tricked into comprehending golf holes on a site this epic, so it makes sense that it required a large team of talented people to make it right.”
Developer Will Andersen said: “Winning this award is a wonderful affirmation of what we have done. It is something I never expected: when we set out on this project, my goal was to build a fun course for the local golfers to play, and first and foremost, I am glad that goal was achieved. Anything else is just icing on the cake.”
Architect Rob Collins said: “The first time that Tad and I saw the site with Will, we knew that it was a remarkable piece of land, although it would need a lot of highly skilled work to turn it into the best course it could be.
“To see golfers enjoying our work is the best sign that we got it right, and to be acclaimed in this way by Golf Digest is more proof of the same thing. Will and his family are great people to work with and I’m hugely pleased it has worked out so well for them.”
