Ohiya Casino Resort now adds award-winning golf created by Architect Paul Albanese
Niobrara, NE – Tatanka Golf Club, the new Paul Albanese designed golf course at Ohiya Casino Resort located in northeast Nebraska, has earned GOLF Magazine’s “Best New U.S. Resort Course” for 2015.
The “Best New Course” honors were announced in the December 2015 issue. Tatanka joins other highly acclaimed designs that were recognized like Cabot Cliffs in Canada, Vineyard Golf Club on Martha’s Vineyard, Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in New York City, and Trump National Golf Club in Virginia.
“This is very exciting and an honor for Tatanka Golf Club to be recognized alongside some of the top courses in North America,” said Brian Bursheim, general manager and director of golf. “We recognized pretty quickly during construction that this was a special piece of property and a layout that was unique from other courses.”
Tatanka, a Lakota word that translates to buffalo, opened this past fall 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 fits naturally on the land and integrates with the environment. He is very excited for the tribe.
“Winning this award from GOLF Magazine is a great honor, especially because we have worked with the Santee Sioux tribe for over ten years in making this project an award winning reality, something I always knew was possible,” said Albanese. “This recognition would not have been possible without the dedication of the Santee Sioux Nation, allowing us to fulfill a unique and inspiring vision on a beautiful piece of land that reflects their heritage, history and principles.”
Albanese compared the design and creation of the golf course to writing a book and said every hole was a chapter, with each one being an integral and unique part of the story.
“We took the history and the culture of the area and the Santee Sioux Nation and used it as a design inspiration in a subtle and respectful way,” he said. “We looked at the land forms and designed something that might reflect local stories. For instance, how a certain mountain looked and got its name was used. We used a story about a medicine woman as inspiration, too.”
Many of the stories include the great buffalo of the region, and in that regard Albanese took great care to make sure there was literal interpretation. In fenced in spaces very close to the golf course great buffalo roam.
“Depending on where the buffalo graze on a given day the golfer on a tee can be 10 yards from buffalo,” he said. “We routed the golf course close to them, especially Nos. 11, 12 and 13 and they will be part of the experience of playing Tatanka.”
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.
