Golf Courses Near Kearney, NE

Kearney, Nebraska, home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney, is a city in south-central Nebraska on I-80 and historic US Route 30 (Lincoln Highway). It’s one of the best places in the Cornhusker State for tee times, in no small part because of Awarii Dunes Golf Club, a course that conjures visions of Irish links as it spreads out on the area’s natural sandhills. Awarii Dunes annually vies for top public course honors in Nebraska and in 2021 it was Golf Advisor’s #3 ranked top value course in the U.S. Meadowlark Hills Golf Course, a highly regarded muni, extends along the bluffs of the Platte River Valley and challenges all levels of players with water hazards and bunkers. Two 9-hole layouts to consider are Buffalo Ridge Golf Course, a tree-lined family-run facility that dates back to 1964, and Elks Country Golf Course, an executive par-29 layout. Keep in mind Kearney is just 70 miles from Wild Horse Golf Course in Gothenburg, a very tough, bunker- and tall grass-laden, top-100-caliber public golf course that has been called “the poor man’s Sand Hills.”

Kearney, which originated as a stopping point on the Oregon, California and Mormon overland trails of the 1800s, boasts a number of fascinating attractions. On the University of Nebraska campus, the G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture tells the history of Kearney and of the plains region. Fort Kearney Historical Park replicates the fort that protected overland trail users. The Archway museum, which crosses I-80, features exhibits on the overland trails and the historic role of the Lincoln Highway. The Classic Car Collection, a museum located on the highway, showcases over 200 vintage automobiles. Kearney is also a great spot for birdwatching during the sandhill crane migration each spring. Kearney’s downtown core, known as “The Bricks,” is a lively place thanks to the party spirit of the UNK students, numerous concerts and street fests, and an interesting assortment of shops, restaurants and pubs.