The Meaning of the word Breathtaking

Bayside Golf Club could best be described as a traditional, links-style golf course without some of the traditions. It’s an incredibly fantastic, eccentric, alter-ego of itself which will leave you breathless and speechless and only wanting more of it!

The front nine at Bayside follows a fairly traditional links format. It is not particularly long (3,010-yards from the tips) and a good shot in the fairway is generally well rewarded with a short iron into the green. Length is not a necessity on the front, but accuracy is, so feel free to hit irons off the tees and sacrifice distance for placement because missing fairways and greens anywhere on this course can have you in your pocket right away.

Both the par fives on the front half are reachable by even the shortest hitters, so place a premium on course management and placement, because after the first half, the scoring opportunities begin to disappear. The two best scoring opportunities on the front are the 501-yard, par five first and the short, 468-yard, par five fourth where two average length shots can get you home in two.

Don’t be lulled into a sense of false security by the seeming benevolence of the front nine. There are plenty of blind shots and very rustic bunkers to catch you unaware. And most greens and fairways slope severely away if you miss only by a few yards.

Remember that juicy-short par five fourth hole? Miss that green long and right, and you’re looking at a 60-foot drop into an unforgiving collection area where a miss-hit may offer you a second chance to play the same shot as your ball rolls right back to you.

Even a good shot gone slightly awry here will cost you a stroke or two. That’s not to mention the roller coaster, shelved and tiered green and the awkward bunkers that guard the front from short approaches. There’s just nowhere to miss here and it’s the same throughout the entire track.

One mental slip-up, one lapse in concentration can cost you several strokes. But I digress. Following ten, you’re faced with arguably the most difficult par five in all of Nebraska! The 652-yard eleventh is aptly named, Forever! There simply are no options on eleven. You must hit your tee shot at least 200 yards, or you’ll be searching the arroyo again. Miss left or right and you’ve taken yourself out of the hole and into salvage mode as you tumble into the ravines that border both sides of the fairway.

Really, the only shot you can err on even a little is the approach and the only place you can miss there is short. However, the tiny green slopes severely from front to back applying serious pressure to the short game.

If you’re looking for a reprieve, it won’t come until you’ve headed to the clubhouse. Thirteen, another candidate for signature hole at Bayside is an incredible, 205 yard par three named. Humility. Take dead aim at the front of this green, but avoid the bunker short, in fact, avoid everything short. There’s nothing but trouble there. Long and left is a goner. A mammoth bunker protects the right and dead long is just that—dead!

Really, there is one chance to miss and that’s with a lot of luck off the “kick hill” right. You can kick it on to the green from there, but it’s a long shot. Front of the green which looks like a postage stamp from the elevated tee, is the place to be—nowhere else is safe.

And that’s the way it goes as you work your way around Bayside. There is no real scoring stretch in this layout, but birdies can be had. The course plays to a 70.4 rating, so it can be had. It comes down to getting to know the nuances and embracing both the challenge and beauty and night and day of Bayside, so it stands to reason that you cannot play it just once, but must experience all its moods over several days.

Suggestion: the first time you play Bayside, take in the sheer beauty of the layout. Pay close attention to the fantastic par threes—even the shortest (17 and 5) offer both beauty and danger. If you can tear your focus away from the task at hand, take a moment to relish the view of Lake McConaughy from 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 18 tee boxes.

Get to know the course. Enjoy its raw, rugged nature. Stay alert through the front nine with an eye to the perils of the inward nine, but do not let your mind wander. You have to “stay with it mentally, or even the shortest holes out here can cost you a triple bogey.”

So as we say at Bayside, "Believe you can fly?"  Yes you can. We guarantee that Bayside Golf will be on your list of "most phenomenal" courses you have ever played.