Dormie Network selects turf leader for its first new project

Michael Sheely named director of agronomy for GrayBull in the Nebraska Sandhills.

Courtesy of Dormie Network

Courtesy of Dormie Network

Officials at Dormie Network named Michael Sheely as director of agronomy at GrayBull, a David McClay Kidd design set to open in the Nebraska Sandhills in 2024. GrayBull will be Dormie Network’s seventh course and first facility built from the ground up.

GrayBull’s layout and hole designs have been worked into the property. In March 2023, course work will resume with a goal to have the entire course seeded by fall 2023. Sheely will be onsite full-time at GrayBull starting this spring, and will be joined by the recently hired team of superintendent Kit Lofgreen, assistant superintendent Katie Kramer and equipment manager Tyson Kramer. Before joining Dormie Network, Sheely served as the director of agronomy at Arborlinks since 2016 where he oversaw the reimagination of their short-game facility, greenside bunker renovation, driving range enlargement/renovation and a new 5,000-square-foot maintenance facility.

“Dormie Network is well-known throughout the industry for incredible course conditions, challenging, interesting and entertainingly playable course designs the meld with impeccable amenities which all come together to create an experience for members and guests that goes well beyond just birdies and bogeys,” Sheely said. “With David McClay Kidd at the helm, GrayBull will instantly become a bucket-list venue and I am thrilled to play a role in helping the Dormie Network’s vision for this facility come to life and prosper.”

GrayBull will be a links-style course: wide open dunes with no extraneous trees, built on a firm sandy soil structure that will allow shots to carry and roll. The terrain of western Nebraska includes less natural precipitation, lower humidity and more wind than Sheely’s past positions.

"As agronomists, we love the challenge of balancing firmness and playability," Sheely said. “With state-of-the-art irrigation systems, we’ll install bentgrass putting surfaces and fine fescue low-mow bluegrass mixture on the approach areas, fairways and tees that will all be close-shaven, helping the course melt into the landscape. I’m sure we’ll see some windy moments that will cause sand erosion, particularly for the bunkers. But those sands are part of what makes this area of the world such a great location for golf."

Bandon Dunes, Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley, Nanea Golf Club, Gamble Sands and The Castle Course at St. Andrews Links are among McLay Kidd’s designs.

“This location in the Nebraska Sandhills brings with it the challenge of supporting the turf through intense temperatures, from extreme arid cold in winter to extreme arid hot in summer,” Dormie Network chief agronomy officer Clint Tolbert said. “Michael’s nearly 20 years’ experience with Nebraska agronomy will serve him well here. His leadership and vision for sustainability paves the way for ensuring David McLay Kidd’s course design stands the test of time.”

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