Prairie Dunes CC is now a regular in the USGA championship rotation. The club began as the vision
of a prominent Hutchinson family who loved the game of golf. The clarity of this vision is
somewhat remarkable in that it was born in the depths of the great depression. The vision
progressed to reality with the retention of Perry Maxwell, one of the earliest American born
architects to rise to the level of admiration and respect accorded to Scotsman Alister MacKenzie
and Donald Ross.
Maxwell believed that the land makes the course and is quoted as saying “the golf course should
be there, not brought there.” He reportedly walked the original 480-acre site for weeks before
deciding where and how to begin the construction. After his initial exploration he is said to have
stated, “there are 118 golf holes here…and all I have to do is eliminate 100.” Prairie Dunes opened
on September 13, 1937 and is considered Maxwell’s greatest masterpiece.