Stone Creek a neat spot to
learn about trusting your game

Who says you need tall trees to have a challenging golf course? Stone Creek Golf Course in northwest Omaha does just fine in challenging golfers without the maturity of competing courses.

And the challenges that await may be more surprising once you hit tee boxes and can see much more than the fairway ahead of you.

So why play such a young course? First of all, it's in fine shape. Second, because the par fives on the Greystone and Blackstone courses can leave you pondering why you stressed the first two shots so hard.

And if you’re good, you’ll wonder how you managed the water hazards at this 27-hole course. Seven ponds and a few waterways give you plenty of motivation to find the fairway.

But for every green you can see from the tee box, there are those you won’t see until after your approach shot.

That, and the huge driving range with the putting and chipping green nearby, make this a great course to learn how to play golf, and at a price you can both benefit from and enjoy.

At Stone Creek, you’ll learn to trust your swing. You have to. That means forgetting about the water, the hidden greens and the lurking sand traps.

Trust yourself at Stone Creek and you’ll learn a lot about your golf game.

A closer look
The Stone Creek par fives don’t get carried away with length, which opens up some scoring opportunities.

You’ll see quickly what that means at Greystone No. 2, a 518-yard par five featuring one of the larger water hazards the 27-hole course offers. And all of it comes into play. The good thing is the hole allows for a couple of easy swings to eliminate going directly over water.

No. 6 on Greystone shows you the promise land and the devil’s corner from the tee. Don’t take enough off the tee shot and you could be wet. Hit the tee shot shorter than desired, then you'll fret over the second shot that must carry the same water and stick on a sharp, two-tier green.

No. 7 is another par five that requires more foresight than distance. The landing area sits above the tee box, and the green above the fairway. It’s definitely a blind tee shot, and if you do decide to go for it, aim right of wherever you think the green lies. It’s not unfair. The second shot on a par five should never be easy.

I preferred the Blackstone Course to Greystone (haven’t had a chance to play Sandstone yet.) The second shot at No. 1 isn’t blind at all. In fact, it shows you everything: out of bounds, water and a sand trap all to the right of the green.

No. 3 is fun because, once again, you can see the hole before you. The lack of tall trees means this hole is wide open into the green. No. 4 poses two water threats and a quick-turning dogleg.

But No. 6 really sticks out in my mind. The reason: the second shot on this par five leads you to an obvious lay-up approach. Water sits in front of the green, and the two trees near the water form a unique window of opportunity on the second or third shot.

No. 9 is another par five where the finish is above your feet. It can be tough to pick out the flag and maybe harder to pull the right club. Yet, as is necessary for a lot of the holes at Stone Creek, trust your swing.