Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s Golf Course is First Designed by an American Indian on Indian Land

Notah Begay III, Bill Self and Roy Williams play in skins game Sunday

by Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Currents. Discussion »

MAYETTA, KANSAS - When sports celebrities Notah Begay III, Bill Self and Roy Williams play in a celebrity skins game this Sunday, May 15th, they will kick off a new first. The pros will play the first tournament at the first golf course designed by an American Indian on American Indian land. The new Firekeeper Golf Course is owned and operated by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

Firekeeper Golf Course is Owned and Operated by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation

The skins game will start immediately after the dedication ceremony on the Firekeeper’s back-nine.

The skins game is part of grand opening that will kick off at 9:30 am with a dedication ceremony featuring Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation We-Ta-Se (Wah-Ta-Say) American Legion Post #410 color guard, the Little Soldier Singers drum group and speeches from members of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Tribal Council.

Mayetta, Kansas

The Firekeeper Golf Course was designed by Begay’s company, NB3 Consulting in conjunction with Jeff Brauer, an award-winning golf course architect of GolfScapes, Inc., and Landscapes Unlimited, who constructed the course. It is an 18-hole traditional-style course that is 7,400 yards of Bent Grass (greens/fairways) and Turf Type Tall Fescue (roughs), and has a few creeks (water challenges) with five sets of tees. The course was built by the partners to respect the land and tribal traditions of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

Firekeeper Golf Course is immediately across the street from the Prairie Band Casino & Resort. It sits on 204-acres owned by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

Skins Game Players

Notah Begay III is a four-time PGA Tour winner and only full-blooded Native American on the PGA Tour. Begay is also well known as an analyst for the Golf Channel. Firekeeper was designed by Begay’s company NB3 Consulting.

Bill Self is Head Basketball Coach at the University of Kansas and was recently voted Big 12 Coach of the Year for the fourth time. In 2008 he led the Jayhawks to the 2008 NCAA national championship and he has received the National Coach of the Year award from Sporting News and the Associated Press as well as several other coaching awards.

Roy Williams is Head Basketball Coach at the University of North Carolina and former head basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Williams boasts a 643-163 winning record and won national championships in 2005 and 2009 at North Carolina. He has also taken his teams to seven NCAA Final Fours at Kansas and North Carolina.

Randy Towner is the General Manager and Head Professional at Firekeeper and was voted Golf Professional of the Year by the Midwest Section of the PGA in 2010. He was the head professional at Alvamar Golf Course in Lawrence, Kan. for 22 years before coming to Firekeeper.