Prairie Dunes is an American original and one of the most scenic courses anywhere. You could never mistake pictures of it for any other American course, although it is easily confused with some of the best of the British Isles. Hutchinson, Kan., the center of the United States, is the last place anyone would expect to find a links style course with rolling hills reminiscent of the seaside courses in Scotland. Emerson Carey, founder of Carey Salt Company, was an avid golfer and had traveled the world with his family, playing top ranked courses in the early 1900s including Scotland in the 1920s. Carey and his four sons became a staple in the Hutchinson golf community, contributing to the development of several courses in the area. In 1935 the Carey family commissioned architectural genius Perry Maxwell (Southern Hills, Colonial Country Club, redesign of Pine Valley and Augusta National) to design a masterpiece. Thus, the idea of Prairie Dunes was born' The course was molded from the Kansas land using 18 horses and mules, Fresno scrapers and wheelbarrows. The only mechanized equipment used were Model T and Model A Fords used to bring the workers to the site. Greens and fairways came to life by teams dragging plows and scoops, while roots of native grass and weeds were removed by hand-one wheelbarrowful at a time. In true Kansas fashion, a tornado swept across the site, forcing men into a bunker for protection. Trans-Miss Men's Amateur 1958, 1973, 1987, 1996 U.S. Women's Amateur 1964, 1980, 1991 Curtis Cup Match 1986 U.S. Mid-Amateur 1988 U.S. Men's Senior Amateur 1995 U.S. Women's Open 2002 Trans-Miss Men's Amateur 2005 U.S. Senior Open 2006 Other honors include: Golf Week 2004 - #13 of America�s Best Classical Golf Courses Golf Digest 2003 - #25 of America�s Greatest Golf Courses Golf Magazine 2001 - #13 in the United States & #21 in the World Golf Digest 2001 - #2, #8 & #10 among the Best 99 Holes in the U.S.
