Firekeeper Golf Course

Overview: Firekeeper Golf Course is a prairie-and-woodland layout in Mayetta, created by Notah Begay III and Jeff Brauer with minimal disturbance to the existing land. The course uses rolling Kansas ground, native grasses and open views to produce a links-style championship test, while wooded sections and natural contours add variety. Its current profile records 7,560 yards and par 72. Begay and Brauer's design gives the course a strong sense of place: the fairways move through land associated with the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and the broad landscape keeps wind and ground movement in the strategy.

History: Firekeeper was developed as an economic project of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and became the first signature course of four-time PGA Tour winner Notah Begay III. Begay designed the course with Jeffrey D. Brauer, and the official chronology separates construction completion in 2010 from public play beginning in spring 2011; this profile uses 2011 as the course opening year. The routing was built with minimal disturbance to the land and soon became a major Kansas tournament venue, hosting professional and elite amateur events. Its modern history is therefore inseparable from both Begay's first signature design and the Nation's decision to create a golf destination that reflects the surrounding prairie and rolling woodlands.

Did You Know? Firekeeper was Notah Begay III's first signature course. He is also identified by the course as the only full-blooded Native American to play on the PGA Tour, giving the design an unusually direct link to its architect's own playing history.