Teeing It Up At NCAA Men's College World Series

Golf Around Omaha

By Brian Weis

Since baseball is America's pastime and golf is one of the country's favorite hobbies, travelers who combine these two sports by attending the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, then playing the area's stellar courses, will likely experience the perfect road trip.

Top Area Track

Quarry Oaks
Nebraska's top-rated public course is located halfway between Omaha and Lincoln off Interstate 80 (exit 426). The 40-minute drive from Omaha to this surprisingly hilly course becomes well worth the trip once golfers play along the Platte River and hit shots to the gorgeous par 3s carved out of the abandoned quarry. Since opening in 1997, the course has earned many accolades, including being ranked among Golf Digest's Top-100 Public Courses from 2003-2011. While the scenery and elevation changes are breathtaking, the greens fees will leave you speechless. Playing a Top-100 course usually costs $100 plus. Quarry Oaks' peak weekend rate with cart, however, is less than $75.

Quarry Oaks Golf Club
16600 Quarry Oaks Drive
Ashland, NE 68003
402-944-6000
www.quarryoaks.com

Other Notable Courses

Tiburon Golf Club
If time is at a premium, Tiburon is within a 20-minute drive from the stadium, just on the outskirts of Omaha, also off I80. The Lee Trevino-designed course is semi private, so the public is welcome. Tiburon, Spanish for shark, at first glance appears open and undemanding, but the 27-hole property has plenty of bite. With more than 12 acres of lakes and natural wooded areas, accented with grassy mounds and strategically placed bunkers, the course will challenge every golfer.

Tiburon Golf Club
10302 South 168th Street
Omaha, NE 68136
402-895-2688
www.tiburongolf.com

Tregaron Golf Course
Tregaron's rolling rye-grass fairways, with their well-placed mounds and pot bunkers, lend a true "links style" look to the course. Natural wetlands, winding creeks and four scenic lakes further complement this Craig Schreiner design. Water comes into play on nine of 18 holes. Tregaron is an enjoyable and challenging test of golf for players of all skill levels.

Tregaron Golf Course
13909 Glen Gary Circle
Bellevue, NE 68123
402-292-9300
www.tregarongolf.com

Food and Entertainment

No road trip is complete without soaking up some nightlife and great food. The Old Market District is the happening section of downtown Omaha. The cobblestone streets are lined with vibrant steak houses, cigar bars, jazz clubs and brew pubs.

Upstream Brewing Company
State law requires every visitor to sample Nebraska's very own Omaha Steaks. Okay, that statute is not on the books, but it should be. Yes, it's possible to sample the state's famous beef in this downtown beer pub, but this large, fun establishment is known for its barley pops. At any one time, the Upstream Brewing Company features 12 handcrafted beers, from a light lager to a seasonal dark, and everything in between. If you cannot decide which pint to get, order a row of tasters. For those craving something non-alcoholic, the house-brewed Root Beer is legendary.

Upstream Brewing Company
514 South 11th street
Omaha Nebraska 68102
www.upstreambrewing.com

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.