Dismal River Red was my second project working for Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design company but my first to be officially named as an intern. We worked alongside longtime shapers Brian Slawnik, Eric Iverson, and Brian Schneider to complete a challenging construction. The routing was perfect, but the labor was back breaking, as we worked long hours through extreme conditions which are prevalent across the Sand Hills region of Nebraska.

I experienced some of the best training that golf architecture has to offer, while working alongside Tom Doak during the routing process. He allowed us to create the mowing lines for several golf holes by actually getting on a tractor and setting the route over the corridor he had plotted on the topo map. I also witnessed first hand how a great routing can set the tone for the entire golf course, with the correct selection of green sites. Tom’s routing was flawless and allowed us to create the greens with very little earth moving.