Wild Horse Golf Club

Overall Thoughts

The theory of minimalism in golf architecture is not hard to explain. The modern understanding, best expressed by Tom Doak in his “Minimalist Manifesto,” is that the minimalist architect alters the land only as much as necessary in order to create compelling golf.

In practice, though, this definition can be confusing, as it gives designers a great deal of leeway to move earth when they deem nature insufficient. “Sometimes,” Doak explained, “the best solution for the course as a whole may require major earthmoving on a handful of holes to connect the others. That’s minimalism, too.” In these situations, the minimalist’s art becomes one of camouflage: blending built features with pre-existing ones to create a seamless illusion of naturalness.

This justifiable exception to the minimalist code can, in the wrong hands, become a loophole, an excuse to plaster the logo of minimalism on everything, including maximalism. Here is Ron Whitten in 2018 describing Congaree, an almost entirely manufactured Tom Fazio design in South Carolina: “There are hills, ridges, and lakes at Congaree that didn’t exist in 2014, before the project got started. Construction crews created them, and in the grand tradition of minimalist architecture, the hills and ridges are massive enough to look natural.” If that’s minimalism today, the concept no longer has ethical weight. It is merely an aesthetic.

Minimalism should mean something more than inducing golfers to mistake the artificial for the natural. It should represent a genuine commitment to lay-of-the-land, cost-effective construction—the kind that makes affordable golf possible.

Wild Horse Golf Club in Gothenburg, Nebraska, is minimalist in substance, not just appearance. For that reason, I consider it one of the most important modern golf courses. Its architects, Dave Axland and Dan Proctor, avoided major earthmoving not only because they preferred a natural look but also because they knew that keeping construction expenses in check would allow for future green fees and membership rates to remain low.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-002}}

Wild Horse provides a case study in how to build a golf course economically without sacrificing quality. First, the property was brilliantly chosen: close to town, sandy, and full of interesting undulation that didn’t need much tweaking to accommodate the game. Second, the routing is impeccable, alternating between large dunes in the southern half of the site and subtler landforms along the northern boundary. Third, the strategic design of each hole is distinctive and memorable, combining varied topography with well-placed bunkers and inventive greens. Fourth, the shaping is exquisite and, in keeping with a minimalist approach, focused on small-scale subtleties (bunker edges, green contours) rather than bigger features that would require a contractor’s help.

This is exactly the type of golf course Axland and Proctor founded Bunker Hill Golf to build. As Axland told Golf Club Atlas in 2003, he and Proctor “thought that there might be an opportunity for someone to work with people in smaller communities and with limited budgets, to help those communities get the most out of their properties and resources.” Given that Bunker Hill produced only four new builds in three decades, perhaps Axland and Proctor discovered that the demand for such projects was weaker than they had initially hoped.

The significance of their portfolio, however, far surpasses its size. Wild Horse in particular represents a high-water mark of minimalism in modern golf architecture—not just as a style, but as a method and an ethos. -GM

3 Eggs

Between Wild Horse’s eminently golfable land, its first-rate design, and its economical yet meticulous presentation by founding superintendent Josh Mahar, we can’t see where we’d take away an Egg.

Course Tour

No. 1, par 4, 405 yards

This low-profile, subtle opener introduces Wild Horse’s lay-of-the-land character. The green bears a distinct Perry Maxwell influence: it sits on a diagonal to the line of play, starts at grade, rises slightly into a back section, and has a central bump that differentiates great approaches from good ones.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-003}}

No. 2, par 4, 478 yards

From the back tees, the direct line to the second green runs along the wooga, bunkers, and OB boundary right of the fairway. Bailing out to the left leads to a longer approach but a good angle into the slope of the raised green.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-004}}

No. 3, par 5, 537 yards

On this ingenious par 5, the best option on the second shot is often a layup to the left, but flashed bunkers and a dip in the land conspire to hide that portion of the fairway from the tee-shot landing zone. It’s a safe play but, since it’s blind, doesn’t feel that way.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-005}}

No. 4, par 3, 171 yards

This green is an example of Axland and Proctor’s shaping expertise: the hummocks, ripples, and runoffs seem random at first, but when you examine them, you realize they open up specific ways to attack different pins—not to mention consequences for imprecision.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-006}}

No. 5, par 4, 367 yards

As simple as strategic design gets: challenge the bunker on the inside of the dogleg for a view of the semi-punchbowl green around the inverted bunker guarding the front-right corner.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-007}}

No. 6, par 5, 548 yards

Every bunker at Wild Horse has a visual or strategic purpose. Where Axland and Proctor saw no need for bunkers, they didn’t build them. The par-5 sixth hole, for instance, has none. The player’s attention is instead directed at the topography, which has become dramatic for the first time in the round.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-008}}

No. 7, par 4, 364 yards

On this short par 4, you can leave yourself a 115-yard approach every time and rarely get into trouble. But if you get more assertive off the tee, the center-line bunker and the wooga come quickly into play.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-009}}

No. 8, par 4, 451 yards

The massive bunker looming over the left side of the eighth fairway is one of the few at Wild Horse that rivals the size of the blowouts at Sand Hills. Its purpose is mostly visual: any drives that don’t hug the right side of the fairway will result in completely blind approaches.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-010}}

No. 9, par 3, 185 yards

The theme of visual deception continues on this modest-looking par 3. The big, craggy bunker short left of the green shouts, “Stay away!” However, if you play straight over the bunker, your ball will feed toward the middle of the green; if you aim right and come up slightly short, you’re likely to get rejected by a false front and end up in a swale.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-011}}

No. 10, par 4, 408 yards

While No. 6 and 8 offer a preview of the dunesy half of Wild Horse’s property, No. 10 is where the course enters its best land. The first five holes of the back nine occupy a tumbling dunescape that wouldn’t feel out of place in the more remote parts of the Nebraska Sandhills.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-012}}

No. 11, par 3, 126 yards

From the tee, the 11th green appears to be small and shallow, but in fact it has a large, rolling back portion. The challenge on this short par 3 is not just hitting the green but finding the pinned segment with minimal visual information.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-013}}

Favorite Hole

No. 12, par 4, 442 yards

This par 4 embodies the subtle virtues that make Wild Horse one of the greatest products of the minimalist movement. The tee shot plays over a rise that obscures the landing zone from the back tees. The second bunker on the left side of the fairway is your guidepost: left of it is the conservative line, where your ball will kick farther to the left, worsening your approach angle with each bounce; right of it is the risky route, which flirts with the wooga and a punishing bunker but could get you 30-some yards closer to the green.

The green design is simple and elegant, blending beautifully with the surrounding terrain and offering a chance of success to players on the left side of the fairway while giving a strong advantage to those on the right.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-014}}

No. 13, par 3, 208 yards

The course’s longest par 3 on the course banks off of one of the property’s largest dunes to create a Redan-like kicker.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-015}}

No. 14, par 5, 559 yards

This par 5 connects the rolling southern portion of the site with the flattish northern section. The green is striking, making up for the relative lack of surrounding topographical excitement: it’s a kind of reverse Lion’s Mouth, running away from the line of play and wrapping around a concealed back bunker.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-016}}

No. 15, par 4, 370 yards

The left edge of the 15th fairway, lined by trouble, provides the easiest access to the small green. Those who prioritize distance over accuracy off the tee may find themselves marooned on the right side, facing a near-impossible pitch over the green-side bunker to a shallow putting surface that runs away.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-017}}

No. 16, par 4, 445 yards

Wild Horse’s finishing stretch alternates between gettable and exacting holes. No. 16 is one of the latter. The two fairway bunkers give visual guidance from the tee, and the pushed-up green accepts only excellent approaches.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-018}}

No. 17, par 5, 548 yards

In contrast with the 16th green, the 17th hugs the land and offers a funnel for running shots. Rejecting contours along its left side, however, will capture less-than-perfect efforts from the safe right half of the fairway.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-019}}

No. 18, par 4, 418 yards

The most heavily bunkered hole at Wild Horse, the 18th features the site’s only two natural blowouts, which guard the right edge of the fairway. As usual, taking on the most intimidating hazards yields the most manageable approach.

{{content-block-course-profile-wild-horse-golf-club-020}}

Additional Content