A Resolution congratulating and commending the Prairie Dunes Golf Course.
WHEREAS, The golf course of the Prairie Dunes Country Club, Hutchinson, has been
selected to repeat as the top golf course in Kansas by the May 1997 issue of Golf Digest.
It was also ranked 17th nationally by the magazine; and
WHEREAS, The six factors considered by the magazine to rank golf courses are shot
values, resistance to scoring, design balance, memorability, esthetics and conditioning. Ad-
ditional points are assigned for tradition and allowing walking; and
WHEREAS, The course superintendent is Stan George and the club professional is
Charles Craig. Prairie Dunes has regularly hosted national amateur tournaments, most
recently the 1996 Trans-Mississippi Championship. The club has hosted six additional na-
tional championships, two other men's Trans-Mississippi Championships, three U.S.
Women's Amateur Championships and the 1988 U.S. Mid-Amateur, as well as the 1986
Curtis Cup Match. It hosted the first Big 12 Golf Tournament in 1997 and is scheduled
to be the site of the 1998 Big 12 Tournament. The club's eighth hole was once ranked as
the toughest No. 8 in the country by Sports Illustrated; the eighth hole is a 422 yard par
4; and
WHEREAS, Prairie Dunes has been described as an American original. Emerson Carey,
of Hutchinson, and his sons, Emerson, Jr., and William, after a golfing holiday in Scotland
in the 1920's, became convinced that the area around Hutchinson possessed the necessary
natural resources for a Scotch linksland golf course. Emerson Carey bought 480 acres east
of town and hired Perry Duke Maxwell to design the course. Maxwell designed the first
nine holes and his son, Press, the second nine. Perry Maxwell used his natural approach
to design 70 golf courses, including Southern Hills in Tulsa, and redesigned 50 others,
including Augusta National and Pine Valley; and
WHEREAS, Prairie Dunes was created using a variety of natural ingredients such as
wild plum thicket, bluestem grasses, Virginia creeper, grove vine, wild dogwood, sedges
and, in abundance, the majestic yucca. The rough has been described as a jungly mess
causing the question ``How many?'' to mean how many balls were lost during the round.
Additionally, the wind is ever present, constantly talking to the golfer so that one is never
alone; and
WHEREAS, Golf legend, Jack Nicklaus has played the course at least seven times and
never shot par. Tom Watson, a professional golfer who lives in Mission Hills, said that:
``Prairie Dunes is a bit of Scotland in the Land of Oz. Sunflowers instead of heather; oceans
of grain instead of the sea. But, like Scotland, be prepared; the wind always blows.'': Now,
therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Kansas: That we congratulate and commend
the Prairie Dunes Golf Course upon its selection as the top golf course in Kansas; and
Be it further resolved: That the Secretary of the Senate be directed to provide enrolled
copies of this resolution to Stan George, Golf Course Superintendent, Charles Craig, Club
Professional and Bob Philbrick, General Manager, Prairie Dunes Country Club, Hutch-
inson, Kansas 67501-2834.
Senate Resolution No. 1843 was sponsored by Senator Dave Kerr.
I hereby certify that the above Resolution originated in the Senate, and was adopted
by that body