Ohiya Casino Resort golf course garners honors from Golf Digest and Golf Vacation Insiders
Niobrara, NE – Tatanka Golf Club, the new Paul Albanese designed golf course at Ohiya Casino Resort located in northeast Nebraska, continues its trend of national recognition by industry leading media outlets.
On the heels of earning GOLF Magazine’s “Best New U.S. Resort Course” for 2015, Golf Digest awarded it the runner-up finish among the “Best New Public Courses” in the recent January 2017 issue. Tatanka Golf Club joined the top course in the public category, The Loop at Forest Dunes, and Lebovia G.C. in Canada, which finished third.
The courses that were recognized this year all had something in common according to Ron Whitten, Golf Digest’s Architecture Editor: “Fun and playability” and “they represent the trend that many architects are embracing: build for the masses, not the elite players.”
Whitten also added, “Albanese not only did a terrific lay-of-the-land routing on rugged hills and valleys, he incorporated a Sioux legend as a theme for each hole. They’re outlined in the course’s yardage book and make for interesting reading.”
In addition to Golf Digest, Tatanka was also recognized by Golf Vacation Insider as one of its “Top Golf and Casino Resorts,” which highlights the best golf casino resorts based on lodging, dining, golf, and gaming.
“For Tatanka Golf Club to be mentioned alongside these top new courses and to continue being recognized nationally is very exciting,” said Tatanka general manager, Justin Kitto. “This recognition is also a testament to the fun design that Paul Albanese gave us and the vision of the Santee Sioux Nation that allowed us to create this special golf experience.”
Tatanka, a Dakota word that translates to buffalo, opened in the fall of 2014 creating a new golf destination in Nebraska for visitors to the Ohiya Casino Resort of the Santee Sioux Nation.
Golf course designer Paul Albanese, inspired by his research and the culture of the Santee Sioux Nation, created a modern-day gem that takes full advantage of the land and the environment.
Albanese brilliantly routed the course through valley’s, around wetland areas, and along ridges with one of the highlights coming along the par 4 fourth hole and par 3 5th hole, which both run along a ridgeline that offers 30-40 mile views of the Nebraska countryside.
The other highlight is how he carefully routed golf holes around the great buffalo that roam the region. Depending on where the buffalo graze on a given day, golfers can be as close as 10-yards from them. Holes 11, 12, and 13 run along the buffalo area where it has become part of the golfing experience at Tatanka.
“It has been an honor to receive such high accolades from the most respected golf publications in the industry,” said Albanese. “I knew this was a special project from the outset because we were given the approval by the Santee Tribe to sensitively and subtlety incorporate their history and culture into the design, and as a bonus were able to have golfers experience this spectacular landscape alongside the Santee tribes’ revered animal – the Tatanka (Native word for Buffalo).”
Ohiya Casino Resort was the first casino in Nebraska, and was developed 17 years ago. It continues to be an ideal entertainment destination for those seeking excitement, particularly in northeast Nebraska, southwest Minnesota, southeast South Dakota and northwest Iowa.
It is located just a few minutes east of Niobrara, NE, and it offers a modern casino with high payouts, bingo, multiple dining options, comfortable hotel rooms, events and entertainment, and now award winning world-class golf.
Visit www.tatankagolfclub.com or www.ohiyacasino.com.
For high-resolution images of Tatanka Golf Club for future stories, click on the link below:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jw0tsq8fkk8ucuj/AABLm_k7mORbOYdgAU42fQ0Va?dl=0
Contact:
Tatanka Golf Club – Ohiyo Casino Resort
Justin Kitto – General Manager
(402) 857-3504
justin_kitto22@hotmail.com
Fusion Media Strategies
Kevin Frisch
(989) 614-0241
kevin@fusionmediastrategies.com
