Firekeeper Golf Course

Detailed description of Firekeeper Golf Course

Firekeeper Golf Course is a public 18-hole golf course in Mayetta, Kansas.

Firekeeper Golf Course opened in 2010. The course was designed by Notah Begay III in consultation with Jeff Brauer. Notah Begay is a four-time PGA Tour winner and only full-blooded Native American on the PGA Tour. Begay is also well known as an analyst for the Golf Channel.

Firekeeper is an 18-hole traditional-style course that is 7,445 yards of Bent Grass (greens/fairways) and Turf Type Tall Fescue (roughs), and has a few creeks (water challenges) with five sets of tees. The course was built by the partners to respect the land and tribal traditions of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. While the course tips out at 7,445 yards, the front tees are just 4,705 yards and typically don't require carries over hazards.

Firekeeper Golf Course is immediately across the street from the Prairie Band Casino & Resort. It sits on 204-acres owned by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

The tribe wanted the course to "lay with the land. That was an important part of our Native American culture. Firekeeper's first six holes play out along the wide-open prairie, with generous fairways to accommodate the site's exposure to wind. Most memorable is the par-5 fourth, with a blind tee shot, followed by an approach made interesting by a 35-yard-long coffin bunker that extends all the way to the green. On the par-3 seventh, the layout changes character as it moves through woodlands of varying density for the remaining 12 holes.

The course has four par fives, four par threes and ten par fours. The course features bent grass tees, fairways, and greens with fescue rough. Holes number one and six share the same huge green and although unique to a Kansas course this blends perfectly with the natural design. The only real hazards that come into play are the tall native prairie grass that helps define the holes but is positioned well off the fairways and an occasional creek that meanders through the heavenly back nine.

Another appeal of the Firekeeper is that unlike golf courses that are designed for the purpose of building houses, it is and will remain free of residential bustle. Tees are close to the last green and the routing is easy to follow. At Firekeeper you hear and see all that nature has to offer. Firekeeper opens with seven holes in the prairie and finishes with eleven holes of natural Kansas creeks, rolling hills, and trees. Firekeeper has no weak holes and you can comfortably hit a driver off most every tee. Potential signature holes include the long five par fourth hole which measures six hundred and twenty five yards and has a huge fairway bunker you must avoid off the tee and a massive mounded green bordered by sand. Hole number nine is a long par four which resembles the eighteenth at Augusta National and will play uphill into a south breeze. The eighteenth boasts a double fairway and offers a shortcut for the gambler on a fabulous finishing par four.