{"id":130940,"date":"2025-09-09T10:13:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T10:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/130940\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T10:13:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T10:13:10","slug":"icts-guide-to-native-owned-golf-courses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/130940\/","title":{"rendered":"ICT\u2019s Guide to Native-owned Golf Courses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark Wagner
Special to ICT<\/a><\/p>\n

Native-owned golf courses have spread throughout the United States, from Hawai\u2019i to the East Coast, expanding Native economies and providing a new offering for tourists to join the casinos, spas and other enterprises.<\/p>\n

As early as 1912, Oneida leader Laura Cornelius Kellogg called for Native-owned economy on Native land. Golf is just one of many ways to achieve this.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a regional summary of more than 60 tribally owned golf courses identified by ICT.\u00a0<\/p>\n

THE NORTHEAST\u00a0<\/p>\n

If my math is correct, and I believe it is, the Jones brothers \u2014 Robert Trent Jones II and Rees Jones \u2014 account for more than 10 percent of the designs of Native golf courses. While they work apart, in their own design firms, each of their artistry work is on display in the Northeast.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything I can do to help the tribes, I\u2019m willing to do,\u201d Rees Jones told ICT, noting that Dacotah Ridge and Lake of Isles courses are two of his designs at the heart of economic endeavors by tribes.<\/p>\n

Robert Trent Jones ll also celebrates the historical nature of his work, and recalls when he designed and built Cochiti Golf Club in New Mexico in 1981.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work wasn\u2019t pro bono, but it was modest,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd literally, they had a ceremony, and the elders surrounded me and had some aspen-covered drums, and some flutes, and played some Indian chants. The tribe held a ritual, asking the great spirit if my spirit was right to design and build a golf course there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones would agree that we cannot tell the story of America \u2014 or golf \u2014 without our First People. \u201cIt\u2019s a revolutionary spirit returning the land to original usage,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, having an economy separate from the White settlers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are tribally owned golf courses in the Northeastern United States.<\/p>\n

Connecticut
*Lake of Isles<\/a>
Mashantucket Pequot Nation
North Stonington, Connecticut<\/p>\n

*Mohegan Sun Golf Club<\/a>
Mohegan Tribe
Baltic, Connecticut\u00a0<\/p>\n

New York
*Turning Stone Golf Courses<\/a>
Oneida Indian Nation
Verona, New York\u00a0
The courses include Atunyote, Kaluhyat, Shenandoah, Sandstone Hollow and Pleasant Knolls. Atunyote, the Oneida word for \u201ceagle,\u201d is an 18-hole layout designed by Tom Fazio that opened in 2004. Atunyote also is the site of the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge. Kaluhyat, which opened in 2003, is an 18-hole course designed by Robert Trent Jones II. Kaluhyat is the Oneida word for \u201cother side of the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course<\/a>
Seneca Nation
Lewiston, New York<\/p>\n

THE SOUTHEAST<\/p>\n

Sequoyah National Golf Club, owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee, occupies a hinge of land where history lives and where most of the routes of the Trail of Tears converged, if only briefly. Here, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee \u2014 one of three Cherokee tribes \u2014 selected some of the finest places on earth to build their golf course. Oak- and fir-filled, flowered valleys in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains make up home, and to this they added a Robert Trent Jones II design.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat golf courses are collaborative: the land, the golfer\u2019s eye, the designer \u2026 like an orchestra that is playing the land.\u201d Jones told ICT. \u201cI walk the land, feel it through the soles of my feet. The land itself is teaching me as I walk it. I feel the land through a golfer\u2019s prism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sequoyah hosts a Native golf pro, Carr Crowe. Along with General Manager Brad Adams, the team has put together a thriving culture of golfers. Adams notes that Cherokee members have been playing golf for decades, maybe half a century, decades before the Sequoyah course opened in 2009.<\/p>\n

Here are tribally owned golf courses in the Southeastern United States.<\/p>\n

Florida
*Miccosukee Golf & Country Club<\/a>
Miccosukee Tribe
Miami, Florida<\/p>\n

Louisiana
*Koasati Pines at Coushatta<\/a>
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
Kinder, Louisiana<\/p>\n

*Tamahka Trails Golf Club<\/a>
The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe
Marksville, Louisiana<\/p>\n

Mississippi
*Dancing Rabbit Golf Club<\/a>
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
Philadelphia, Mississippi<\/p>\n

North Carolina
*Sequoyah National Golf Club<\/a>
Eastern Band of Cherokee
Whittier, North Carolina<\/p>\n

THE MIDWEST<\/p>\n

The Firekeeper Golf Course was designed by Jeff Brauer, along with Notah Begay III, and sits an hour west of Kansas City and 20 minutes north of Topeka. Brauer considers Firekeeper his best work, noting the course traverses three distinct environments while creating minimal disturbance to the existing land.<\/p>\n

The course, which opened in 2012, is an endeavor of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, while preserving the character of the land.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tribe\u2019s main goal was to build a course that stands with the best in Kansas, which it seems most people think we also did, making it a very successful project for my firm,\u201d Brauer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Michael Powell, the golf professional, speaks enthusiastically about a planned short course that is being designed by Canadian architect Christine Fraser.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m optimistic that golf will change for its own sustainability in terms of participation and interest,\u201d she said. \u201cHow can we make golf smaller? How can we bring the rules, footprint, land, usage of fertilizer, maintenance and budget all back to size while keeping the architecture, vistas and challenge of the game? This will allow social relevance going forward\u2026 Equity is always the pursuit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are tribally owned golf courses in the Midwestern United States.<\/p>\n

Kansas
*Firekeeper Golf Course<\/a>
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
Mayetta, Kansas<\/p>\n

Michigan
*Lac Vieux Desert Golf Course<\/a>
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Indians
Watersmeet, Michigan<\/p>\n

*Sweetgrass Golf Club<\/a>
Sage Run Golf Club<\/a>
Hannahville Indian Community
Harris, Michigan<\/p>\n

*Wild Bluff Golf Course<\/a>
Bay Mills Indian Community
Brimley, Michigan<\/p>\n

*Grand National Golf Club<\/a>
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Hinckley, Minnesota<\/p>\n

*The Meadows at Mystic Lake<\/a>
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
Prior Lake, Minnesota<\/p>\n

*Mount Frontenac Golf Course<\/a>
Prairie Island Indian Community
Frontenac, Minnesota<\/p>\n

*The Wilderness at Fortune Bay<\/a>
Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
Tower, Minnesota<\/p>\n

Missouri
*Eagle Creek Golf Club<\/a>
Quapaw Nation
Joplin, Missouri<\/p>\n

Nebraska
*Tatanka Golf Club<\/a>
Santee Sioux
Niobrara, Nebraska<\/p>\n

North Dakota
*Dakota Winds Golf Course<\/a>
Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Band
Hankinson, North Dakota<\/p>\n

Oklahoma\u00a0
*Cherokee Hills Golf Course<\/a>
Hard Rock Casino & Hotel Tulsa
Cherokee Nation
Tulsa, Oklahoma<\/p>\n

*Cherokee Springs Golf Club<\/a>
Cherokee Trails Golf Club<\/a>
Cherokee Nation
Tahlequah, Oklahoma<\/p>\n

*FireLake Golf Course<\/a>
Shawnee Tribe
Shawnee, Oklahoma<\/p>\n

*WinStar Golf Courses<\/a>
Chickasaw Nation
Thackerville, Oklahoma<\/p>\n

South Dakota
*Spotted Tail Golf Club<\/a>
Rosebud Sioux
Rosebud, South Dakota<\/p>\n

*Thornberry Creek at Oneida<\/a>
Oneida Nation
Hobart, Wisconsin<\/p>\n

Wisconsin
*Pine Hills Golf Course<\/a>
Stockbridge Munsee Community Mohican Nation
Greshman, Wisconsin<\/p>\n

\u00a0THE SOUTHWEST<\/p>\n

Bill Coore worked with acclaimed golfer Ben Crenshaw to design the Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The two have done designs for two tribal communities, though Coore is careful to point out they worked primarily with construction firms and not directly with tribes.<\/p>\n

But the idea that land is sacred came through at both sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cLand is such a part of their heritage. \u2026 It seems to be that no matter which tribe we worked with, to protect the sacredness of the land, that\u2019s not just a perspective, that was to be part of the operations of the golf course,\u201d Coore told ICT. \u201cThat\u2019s been the case in our designs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, is owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and managed by Arnold Palmer Golf. It was defined by Bill Coore and acclaimed golfer Ben Crenshaw. Credit: Courtesy Photo<\/p>\n

Roy Smith, general manager at Talking Stick, which is managed by Arnold Palmer Golf, makes a similar point, including the fact that the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian community members have their own league, with as many as 60 tribe members taking part.<\/p>\n

The club is also one of the Valley\u2019s top locations for golf instruction. The First Tee of Phoenix has a chapter there \u2014 the first of its kind on tribal land in Arizona and only the second in the U.S. The club is also home to Vision54, the golf instructional company begun by Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson, two renowned golf coaches, and sponsored by one of the game\u2019s all-time great women players \u2013 Anika Sorenstam.<\/p>\n

Here are tribally owned golf courses in the Southwestern United States.<\/p>\n

Arizona
*Talking Stick Golf Club<\/a>
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Scottsdale, Arizona<\/p>\n

*Sewailo Golf Club<\/a>
Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Tucson, Arizona<\/p>\n

*Whirlwind Golf Club<\/a>
Gila River Indian Community
Chandler, Arizona<\/p>\n

*Cocopah RV and Golf Resort<\/a>
Cocopah\/River People
Yuma, Arizona<\/p>\n

*We-Ko-Pa Golf Club<\/a>
Saguaro and Cholla courses
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
Fort McDowell, Arizona<\/p>\n

*Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club<\/a>
Ak-Chin
Maricopa, Arizona<\/p>\n

New Mexico
*Inn of the Mountain Gods Golf Course<\/a>
Mescalero Apache
Mescalero, New Mexico<\/p>\n

*Isleta Golf Club<\/a>
Pueblo of Isleta
Albuquerque, New Mexico<\/p>\n

*Sandia Golf Club<\/a>
Pueblo of Sandia
Albuquerque, New Mexico<\/p>\n

*Santa Ana Golf Club<\/a>\u00a0
Twin Warriors Golf Club<\/a>
Santa Ana Pueblo
Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico<\/p>\n

*Cochiti Golf Club<\/a>
Cochiti Pueblo
Cochiti Lake, New Mexico<\/p>\n

THE WEST<\/p>\n

Among the vaunted names in golf course architecture, Clive Clark may not be a household name, though the English golfer and onetime Walker Cup player has designed 33 golf courses in America and Europe. His most recent is Dumbarnie Links, a genuine links course on the western coast of Scotland, near St Andrews.<\/p>\n

Clark\u2019s portfolio also includes what many call a masterpiece, Eagle Falls Golf Club in Indio, California. He uses a technique found on many of the great golf courses: privacy between holes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNearly all the holes are individual holes which means that generally a golfer will not see players on other nearby fairways because of the sand dunes we created,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a climax to the final hole of the golf course, a large waterfall was constructed to the left of the 18th green which, when running at full pace, has a thunderous, dramatic roar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Eagle Falls golf course is owned by the Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians in Indio, California.
\n Credit: Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

Like Talking Stick, this is both a destination course and a course that locals play repeatedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo lift the profile of the course, we introduced wildflowers on the dunes which were largely a colorful variety known as Gazania. Occasionally, as a different kind of highlight, we introduced some patches of annual flowers, being largely Petunia,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is also very popular for many locals who are used to playing golf here in the Coachella Valley on courses surrounded by homes on every hole. At Eagle Falls they are instead able to enjoy the beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians prepared to get into the golf game, they traveled on a fact-finding trip with Clark to The Hideaway Golf Club in La Quinta. They were convinced.<\/p>\n

Here are tribally owned golf courses in the Western United States, including Hawai\u2019i.<\/p>\n

California
*Eagle Falls Golf Club<\/a>
Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians
Indio, California<\/p>\n

*The Links at Rolling Hills Casino Resort<\/a>
Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians
Corning, California<\/p>\n

*Barona Creek Golf Club<\/a>
Barona Band of Mission Indians
Lakeside, California<\/p>\n

*Eagle Springs Golf & Country Club<\/a>
Table Mountain Rancheria
Friant, California<\/p>\n

*Indian Canyons Golf Resort<\/a>
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
Palm Springs, California<\/p>\n

*Journey at Pechanga<\/a>
Pechanga Band of Luise\u00f1o Indians
Temecula, California<\/p>\n

*Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon<\/a>
Morongo Band of Mission Indians
Beaumont, California<\/p>\n

*Singing Hills Golf Resort<\/a>
Oak Glen, Willow Glen, and Pine Glen courses
Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation
El Cajon, California<\/p>\n

*Soboba Springs Golf Course<\/a>
Soboba Band of Luise\u00f1o Indians
San Jacinto, California<\/p>\n

*Teleli Golf Club<\/a>
Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians
Sonora, California<\/p>\n

*Temecula Creek Golf Club<\/a>
Pechanga Band of Luise\u00f1o Indians
Temecula, California<\/p>\n

*Whitney Oaks Golf Club<\/a>
United Auburn Indian Community
Rocklin, California\u00a0<\/p>\n

*Yocha Dehe Golf Club<\/a>
Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
Brooks, California<\/p>\n

Hawai\u2019i
*Volcano Golf Course<\/a>
Kamehameha Schools Trust
Volcano, Hawai\u2019i<\/p>\n

Idaho
*Circling Raven Golf Club<\/a>
Coeur d\u2019Alene Tribe
Worley, Idaho<\/p>\n

Nevada
*Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort<\/a>
Las Vegas Paiute Tribe
Las Vegas, Nevada<\/p>\n

*Mojave Resort Golf Club<\/a>
Fort Mojave Indian Tribe
Laughlin, Nevada<\/p>\n

Oregon
*Chinook Winds Golf Resort<\/a>
Chinook Indian Nation
Lincoln City, Oregon<\/p>\n

*Ocean Dunes Golf Links<\/a>
Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians
Florence, Oregon<\/p>\n

*Kaha-Nee-Ta Golf Course<\/a>
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Warm Springs, Oregon<\/p>\n

*Golf Course at Birch Creek<\/a>
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Pendleton, Oregon<\/p>\n

*Wildhorse Resort & Casino Golf Course<\/a>
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Pendleton, Oregon<\/p>\n

Washington
*Cedars at Dungeness<\/a>
Jamestown S\u2019Klallam Tribe
Sequim, Washington<\/p>\n

*Loomis Trail Golf Course<\/a>
Lummi Nation
Blaine, Washington<\/p>\n

*Salish Cliffs Golf Club<\/a>
Squaxin Island Tribe
Shelton, Washington<\/p>\n

*White Horse Golf Club<\/a>
Suquamish Tribe
Kingston, Washington<\/p>\n

Dr. Mark Wagner is a golf historian and regular contributor to ICT. His book, \u201cNative Links, the Surprising History of Our First People in Golf,\u201d<\/a> was published by Back Nine Press<\/a> in 2024. He can be reached at markgwagner@charter.net.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mark WagnerSpecial to ICT Native-owned golf courses have spread throughout the United States, from Hawai\u2019i to the East…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,65237,71584,71585,82,1674,71586],"class_list":{"0":"post-130940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-ict-must-read","12":"tag-native-golf-courses","13":"tag-native-tourism","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-tourism","16":"tag-travel-leisure"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}