b'Venerating Prairie DunesGolfis the infallible test. The man who can go into a patch of rough alone, with the knowledge that only God is watching him, and play his ball where it lies, is the man who will serve you faithfully and well. P.G. Wodehouse supposedly said that.Members have much to say about what LINKS Magazine once called the ball-gobbling gunsch at Prairie Dunes, the truly rough mixture of native grasses, plum thickets, yucca plants, soap weeds and other flora. This legendary course secures her fame in the tales told in club formation in a Falcon 7X or spun around a fire. Stephen elaborates. When I drive or fly in with a group of guys, its usually to spend three days and stay two nights. Originally, wed stay in hotels in the area. National members began asking for lodging; it would create more revenue, and we would stay at the Club. Now, the lodges are so popular its hard to get one. INAUGURAL REGULAR/NATIONAL INAUGURAL REGULAR/NATIONAL He has personally recruited five or six national members whoMEMBER-MEMBER TOURNAMENT:MEMBER-MEMBER TOURNAMENT:played and stayed, then joined for the experience, measured by the Dunes concierge service, food, pro shop, a goodC ALLLLEEDDCAnights sleep and the golf. Always the golf. Its unexpected. You have to experience UNthe culture and the golf course. EveryU NFFOORRGGEETTTTAABBLLEE!!time Im there, I enjoy it. They came, they played, they dined, they stayed. Jimmy V. jumps into this part of the conversation as a posterTwo days in early May. Twenty-two teams. boy for the lodges: Forty-eight rooms now! Nothing better.Stableford quota format. Holding the slipper If youve never stayed, you must. Play all day. Eat dinner. Goat the end: Josh Russell and Bart Goodwin, outside for a drink and cigar. Sit out and enjoy the sunset.championship flight; Kyle Hawk and Mark Welker, You just cant believe the sunsets over 9 and 8 and 4. first flight; Kevin Bowen and Kelly McKeown, She has a Ruby Slipper second flight. The yellow-brick road is now paved. Our guests for this feature are intrigued by Prairie DunesPlan on clicking your heels again next May.new member-member tournament and agree it will be fun, outside the normal or expected friendly pairings, to randomly pair national members with regular members. I want the connection, Vigliaturo muses. Were all in this together and Ruby Slipper solidifies that . meeting national members, meeting regular members, hanging out together at the firepit on the backside by #18.Forever the stroke of serendipityJimmy V. rakes the conversation: Im here to be a member of one of the top 100 golf courses in the world. I was playing Portmarnock Golf Club, near Dublin in Ireland. A younger caddie asked me where I played. I said Prairie Dunes. He asked, Is that in the middle of the U.S. and looks like Scotland? I said, Yea. He said, I saw it in Golf Digest. He gave the young man his card and offered to host him.Ever the statesman, V. smooths the perimeter as he exits: No one is entitled to the majesty of Prairie Dunes Country Club. She owns you. Maxwells sand hills reward a bad shot with a good kick. A great shot might result in a stab to the heart.23'