Michael Sheely has battled nearly a full slate of nature’s extremes in the Nebraska Sandhills this past year. The Director of Agronomy at GrayBull, a David McLay Kidd design and the newest Dormie Network property set to open in Maxwell, Neb. in August 2024, has seen it all, from heavy rains to high winds to even a sudden, dangerous wildfire.
Through it all, he’s kept the focus on getting the course ready to play in 2024.
As the property began to take shape in the summer of 2023, the area received more than 40 inches of rain from May-June alone, including numerous heavy downpours where rain was falling at an inch per hour. This coincided with the onset of turf growing at GrayBull, which resulted in the need for continual wash out repairs. The installation of additional drainage to help displace excessive rainwater and utilization of sod from the club’s two-acre nursery have been instrumental in repairing the damage.
Fast forwarding to the winter months, the Nebraska Sandhills have experienced an unusually warm and dry period. These conditions played a major role in the spread of a late-February wildfire that, aided by strong winds, quickly raced through the dunes and prairie grasses east of Maxwell and set its sights on GrayBull.
On the morning of February 26, Sheely could see the flames off in the distance and made a snap decision in an attempt to save the property. He opted to turn on all the irrigation to soak the property in advance of the approaching blaze. GrayBull’s underground decoder irrigation system was installed with the threat of wildfires in mind, and an above-ground system likely would have been compromised by the flames.
Sheely and other members of his team also used tractors to create fire breaks in the native grasses around GrayBull and spot watered parts of the property that were being threatened by fire with the help of a water truck. Amazingly, there was minimal damage to infrastructure elements at GrayBull, and the golf course itself was completely untouched.
The harrowing experience has impacted the Dormie Network team, and in an effort to fight future wildfires in the area, the Dormie Network Foundation has launched a fundraising campaign to purchase another fire engine for the Maxwell Volunteer Fire Department, with Dormie Network matching up to $100,000 in donations.
Realted: David McLay Kidd is architect for the new course, GrayBull
As the weather starts to warm, Sheely is anticipating more of a normal weather pattern, keeping GrayBull on track for an August 2024 opening. GrayBull will be Dormie Network’s seventh course and first facility built from the ground up, joining its other clubs as the standard for a high-end golfing experience through first-class facilities, unrivaled service and pristine course conditions to create true stay-and-play destinations.
With 20 years of industry experience accumulated at a number of Nebraska golf courses, including serving as Director of Agronomy at ArborLinks, another Dormie Network property, Sheely’s agronomic expertise has been of great benefit throughout the GrayBull construction process. GrayBull will be a links-style course with no trees on the property, numerous dunes and wispy natural grasses off the fairways, and a firm sandy soil structure that will allow shots to carry and roll. Views of the dunes and vast prairie land combined with the remote location of GrayBull will provide a scenic, peaceful experience.
The GrayBull course was carved out of a portion of the 1,700 acres of land on the property, and the routing will have players facing a variety of wind conditions over the course of 18 holes. While the fairways are forgiving, precise and well-thought-out approach shots and tidy short game play will be critical to scoring at GrayBull. The course largely utilizes the natural contours of the topography that was in place, giving players options and the ability to get creative. However, miscalculated or poorly struck shots run the risk of funneling into bunkers, hazards, or other positions that will make recovery efforts challenging.
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