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From our Directory of the most recommended golf courses
Bully Pulpit Golf Course
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Oh my, where do I start. The course is located on the far western side of N. Dakota, and near the Montana border just off I-94 in the town of Medora, where the Little Colorado River meets the start of the Dakota Badlands and the Grassland National Park. It is a restored western town, and a big tourist trap, with a history that includes Teddy Roosevelt, General Custer, and Indians. The course is definitely a hidden gem, built using the existing land by Michael Hurdzan on 900 acres!! It's one mile or more of Little Missouri riverside, and the Badlands, which is a small Grand Canyon. The Badland's are described as "hell with the fires gone out," and has plenty of wild bison, wild horses, bighorn sheep, antelope, mountain cats, coyotes, turkeys, prairie dogs, and snakes so keep you ball in the fairway. Some holes were designed out on the open prairie lands, some along river, others into the cottonwoods forest, and still others up in the badlands for the finishing holes. Not to be missed, reasonably priced, good conditioning, and an amazing find out here in the middle of nowhere.
Published by: edb
Posted by: al_the_x
Jul 5th, 2010
The course was very well kept, with carpet-like fairways and soft, challenging greens and a tee location or golfers of any ability. Holes 14-16 are set back into the badlands and all have elevated tees that look out into the barren badlands with beautiful green fairways and greens set in stark contrast. The electric carts were beefy enough to pull all three of us up some very steep inclines; the only downside being that the carts don't have GPS. The price was $65, late afternoon time, which seemed like a fair rate, and the best time to play to see the colors over the course with the sun setting.
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Posted by: Jim Mullins
Apr 2nd, 2010
Nice golf course review by Jay Flemma cybergolf.com/golf_news/north_dakota_golf_trail_sets_the_state_apart That tee box looks like a Bully Pulpit," exclaimed one golf writer, referring to a small ledge perched precariously on a precipice overlooking the 14th fairway at Bully Pulpit Golf Club. "And with that," said course designer Dr. Michael Hurdzan, "I knew we had the name for our as-yet untitled golf course." Now the whole state knows the name and celebrates Bully Pulpit as their favorite and best. Bold and beautiful, the course is a reflection of the Old West flavor of the region. The citizens are rightly proud of Bully Pulpit and their enthusiasm and loyalty is infectious. "Everybody in the state knows Bully Pulpit. It took the region by storm on the day it opened, and it's earned every accolade," gushed Alan Patterson, a local golfer. "We'd never seen anything like it." Bully Pulpit is the most diverse course on this North Dakota triad. Like both Hawktree and Links of North Dakota, it has both strategy and a great natural setting. But it also features two distinct and different terrains for golf. The front nine plays through serene meadows, while the back climbs through, around and over rugged Badlands canyons. Hurdzan is a minimalist designer, which means he moves almost no earth at all to build or shape a course. The front especially feels like you are just walking in a beautiful vale with your clubs. The back transports you to a completely different golfscape, that can't possibly feel "natural," but is adventurous to the nth degree. It's a minor miracle getting a golf course between these cliffs, but it's exhilarating traversing them. Because of the tradeoffs Hurdzan had to work hard to stay loyal to his minimalist roots; there are a few bland holes that cause Bully Pulpit to fall just short of the start-to-finish perfection of similar canyonlands courses like Black Mesa in New Mexico, but it's still one of the best golf values in the country and a terrific place for a week's vacation. Though the minimalism is to be commended, the greatest asset is Hurdzan's creation of many lines of charm. Bunkers frequently bisect fairways perpendicularly (most notably at Nos. 6, 13 and 17) and meadows filled with native grasses tempt players to try to carry them to gain an advantage for the next shot. The greens have more interesting contours than most other public courses, yet do not have the cloak-and-dagger terror of a Black Mesa or Pinehurst No. 2. With solid design features and several different types of topography, the 7,166-yard course is particularly well-rounded. Medora is a two-hour drive west of Bismarck and begins your adventure back in time; the town looks like Central Casting's idea of an Old West outpost. Watch out for bison walking through the streets and across highways. They are gentle creatures by nature, but the horns mean business and their sheer size makes them dangerous. The tourist season starts in May, so come a week earlier and you'll have the course to yourself and few ardent locals. For more information about Bully Pulpit, visit www.medora.org/attractions/golf. Design - Five and ½ stars Natural Setting - Six stars Conditioning - Five and ½ stars Cost - $50 peak, $35 reduced Value - Six and ½ stars Overall - Five and ½ stars
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Posted by: JulianB
Mar 24th, 2010
Beautiful setting, especially in the spring. The course was in fairly good shape after coming out of a decent winter. The course starts out along the Little Missouri River, then moves up through the meadows and prairie.through the badlands surrounding the course. It really toughens up on the back nine, with 13 a drivable par four with plenty of trouble if you don't. Spectacular setting, playing through the canyons and badlands, mostly flat and walkable, save a couple of holes. Great value as well.
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Posted by: dyland
Mar 13th, 2010
Bully Pulpit, the golf course, was in the midst of the park and the front nine had remarkable backdrops on nearly every hole.As nice as the front nine was, though, the back nine was even more spectacular. Holes 11-13 brought us into the shadow of the steep beige slopes omnipresent in the area’s scenery, close enough that the temperature rose noticeably by the thirteenth green. From there, though, we climbed into the hills. The fourteenth tee was elevated and separated from the fairway by a gorge. The fairway itself appeared small and distant, surrounded by a mass of rock and scrub on each side and protected by a daunting headwind. Somehow, we rose even further to the next teebox. The par-3 15th was the course’s signature hole. It measured only 161 yards and played even shorter because of a serious vertical drop, but this was among the most intimidating tee shots I’ve ever hit. The green looked like a tiny island in a sea of dully-colored buttes and spires. Because we were at the height of land, we were entirely exposed to the full wrath of the wind. I hit a pitching wedge prayer that started left of the green but was carried 40 yards to the right before being unceremoniously dropped into the graveyard of golf balls to the right of the green.
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