Cross Creek Golf Links

Backroad Leads to Great Nebraska Golf

By Brian Weis

The interstate highway system is a great way to get somewhere fast. But sometimes it's worth taking a road less traveled to experience something new and unexpected. U.S. Highways 6 and 34 share a stretch of road well south of Interstate 80 in southwest Nebraska where you'll find two small-town golf courses waiting to be discovered.

Heritage Hills - McCook, Nebraska

The rugged terrain in McCook provides a scenic setting for a course that Nebraskans know well. Heritage Hills takes golfers on a rollercoaster ride of elevation changes, blind shots and dry, desolate ball-eating brush. It's a challenging course, but it's a challenge that's fun to take on.

The landscape might remind some of the desert southwest, and the course has some beautiful holes. It's best to take a cart, especially if you're playing Heritage Hills for the first time. Drive ahead to figure out your line on blind shots. It's a risk-reward type of course that offers golfers an opportunity for a good score if they can hit their targets.

The course is well cared for and boasts lush fairways and fast, undulating greens. Native grasses, brush and bunkers pose problems for shots that venture off course. Heritage Hills is a unique golf experience for Nebraska, and at $35 plus cart for 18 holes, it's affordable as well.

More Information:
HeritageHillsMcCook.com

Cross Creek Golf Links - Cambridge, Nebraska

Just a short drive east of McCook is the village of Cambridge, home to Cross Creek Golf Links. Cross Creek combines a traditional parkland course with links-style holes, giving golfers a diverse golf experience.

Measuring more than 7,200 yards from the back tees, Cross Creek is Nebraska's second-longest course. But you don't have to be a long hitter to enjoy the layout. Five sets of tees make Cross Creek manageable for players of all abilities.

The front nine starts with a traditional tree-lined par 4 before moving across the creek for links golf. One unique feature is back-to-back par-5 holes. Wide fairways and big greens give golfers an opportunity to score well, but native grasses and bunkers must be avoided.

The back nine features a tough stretch of holes as you're heading home. No. 15 is a sharp dogleg right that's tempting for big hitters. A well-placed drive from the elevated tee could get you close to the green, but anything short of the fairway will be tough to find in the native grass.

No. 17 is a risk-reward par 5 with a split fairway. Gutsy golfers choose the left side, with a direct but narrow path to the green that's reachable in two. The right side has more room, but it's a dogleg left and you'll need to lay up with your second shot because of bunkers guarding the green.

Cross Creek is a fun course to play and very affordable at $35 plus cart for 18 holes.

More Information:
CrossCreekGolfLinks.com

Together, Heritage Hills and Cross Creek make a great one-two punch for golfers looking for something a little different. Both courses participate in the Play the West and Southwest Nebraska Swing promotions. You can learn more about Nebraska golfing opportunities at VisitNebraska.gov/golf.

Revised: 07/18/2012 - Article Viewed 34,551 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.