The fourth stop on the 2019 Early Break Golf Tour takes us out to Heritage Hills in McCook! I had the pleasure of playing with one of the board members and the manager of the pro shop (Kelvin), and he was an absolute treat, and a fantastic host. McCook is 3.5 hours away from Lincoln, but it was well worth the drive to play this links-style course.
There was a big pro-am in the weekend following the day I went out there, so the course was in excellent condition. When you drive up to Heritage Hills, you notice extreme elevation on many of the teeboxes to the fairways/greens. There’s also lots of fescue, a typical sign of a good links course. The fescue comes into play on a majority of the holes in some fashion–especially on the back 9. Hitting a ball into that stuff can turn a great round into a disappointing round quickly—I know because it happened to me.
The front 9 is the scoring 9 holes at Heritage Hills. Both sides are par 36, but from the tips (blue tees), the front 9 plays 3,379 yards, and the back 9 plays 3,752 yards. That’s quite a difference for both sides to have the same par, so you’ll need to take advantage of the front to give some padding for surely a higher score on the back. Hole 1 is an elevated tee shot into a valley, as your second shot goes back up to the green. Many holes at Heritage Hills are ‘target golf’—you can’t really see the green, you’re just aiming to a part of the green or to the top of the flag if you can see it. Kelvin drove up to the green often from where my ball was so I could get a good idea of where I needed to hit my approaches.
Hole 6 is a redesigned par 4. The course was built in 1981, but there was some renovation in 2013, and hole 6 went from being a dogleg left par 4 to a straightaway, slightly downhill par 4 that is drivable if you’re risky, but that can get you in trouble in fescue left if you don’t hit it straight. Hole 7 is a nice short par 3 that gives up many birdies, but it’s followed by two straight difficult holes; hole 8 is a long, uphill par 5, and hole 9 is a tough, uphill par 4.
Hole 10 is an uphill, dogleg left, followed by hole 11, which many view as a signature hole on the course, with fairway bunkers in the landing area on another dogleg left. I hit a big drive on hole 13, but pulled it left and lost it in the fescue; one of many times that happened on the back 9. 13 is another hole with an elevated teebox going to a valley, but with a second shot that goes way back uphill. Hole 14 is a monster par 5, playing 616 yards from the tips, and it ends uphill. Hole 15 is another challenging hole, another dogleg left with fairway bunkers and playing 454 yards from the tips. The course finishes up with a fair but challenging par 5 17th hole, and hole 18 is an uphill dogleg left that certainly brings birdie into play to close.
I enjoyed my time at Heritage Hills, despite struggling on the back 9. The views are great, the people are helpful and inviting, and the greens were rolling perfectly. There are many different ways to get good deals there: Get a discounted rate with the Nebraska Golf Passport; check out the Play the West Tour; or visit their website for more info. On Thursdays, you can play 18 holes with a cart for only $30! And it’s well worth it. Also, you can play 18 holes with a cart and get a hotel room for only $90 total—call the clubhouse for more info. Get out west today to Heritage Hills in McCook!
Contact Info:
6000 Clubhouse Dr.
McCook, NE 69001
(308) 345-5032
www.heritagehillsmccook.com
Head Pro: Bobby Gaulke
