The Flatwater Four-Ball

The Entourage is hitting the road this June for the first playing of a new annual tradition: The Flatwater Four-Ball, a two-day cross-country golf tournament played across five of the wildest golf courses in Nebraska.

During the tournament, five teams will follow a path through the backroads and small towns of north central Nebraska, playing a variety of formats. After the two days, the team with the lowest combined total over the two days will be crowned champions for the year.

The tournament will begin on Saturday, June 28th at 8:00 am and end on Sunday, June 29th at 7:00pm.

• The Welcome Party will take place on Friday, June 27th at the AirBnB we are staying at. The Ceremony will begin once the last player arrives.

• The Trophy Ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 29th after the final round.

Throughout the weekend, the group will visit five golf courses carved from the same prehistoric dunes as Nebraska’s legendary private clubs. While we won’t visit the blue-blood clubs that top the best-of lists, we’ll have our pick of the many local gems that keep us within a rope’s length of the local flavor… and our coolers.

Those golf courses include:

Mullen Golf Course ($15) Town course just outside of the county seat of Nebraska’s least populated county. The course uses flags from Sand Hills G.C., and is maintained with the same level of attention as the more famous private club. The 7th hole is world-class, with a panoramic view of the Sand Hills along its 400 yards of rumpled fairways.

Thedford Golf Course ($10) - If you had one golf course to play for the rest of your life, Thedford is it. Probably the best routing of any of the Sand Hills 9-holers, Thedford starts on the edge of town, with a par 3 tucked into a grove of cottonwoods. For the next few holes, you go out to the prairie and back to the trees like a meadowlark learning to fly, before bounding over huge ridges of fairway and fescue that make the middle of the round as memorable as any stretch of holes we will play.

Pelican Beach Golf Course (Hyannis, $10) - This is the closest you can get to links golf in the state of Nebraska. If we are lucky enough to get this course during a dry spell, the small greens will be hard to hold, as they are perched on shelves cut from the sand hills valley along NE-2. The two par - 3s here, #2 and #8, are among the prettiest in the state.

Augusta Winds Golf Course (Stapleton, $10) - Prairie style; natural wind and grassland golf — old-school Americana.

Wild Horse Golf Club (Gothenburg, $80) - Nationally recognized. Big dunes, strategic design. A must-play masterpiece of public golf.

In order to create a schedule for the golf event and a better idea of food and beer needs, please reply to the questionnaire below.

Once all of the answers are collected, we will follow up with an itinerary that everyone can follow, as well as a budget that can be expected.

What to bring with you:

Sunscreen - Many of the golf courses we will be playing do not have trees for shade and the temperatures will be in the 90s. Make sure you plan accordingly

• Also, consider wearing long sleeves or a sun-hat. And carrying a jug of water.

Golf Balls - These golf courses are in the sand hills. There will be wind, and a lot of tall grass. Bring a few extra sleeves of golf balls with you, because you will lose at least a few.

Carry Bag, Stand Bag, or Push Cart- There will not be carts at most of the golf courses we visit. So, I recommend bringing a smaller golf bag that is easier to carry.

• Consider removing 3 to 5 clubs from your bag to save room and weight. For example, pick one of your woods instead of bringing two or three.

Walking or Running Shoes - Again, there are no carts and these courses are not always well maintained when you venture off the short grass.

• Consider wearing more comfortable shoes to make the walk as enjoyable as possible.

Matching Polo - You and your partner will need to coordinate your shirts. Plan to wear the same color as your partner on both days.