Dormie Network thrives by providing distinctive golf experiences for its members

Since acquiring its first golf club a decade ago, Dormie Network has become one of golf’s premier boutique club operators.

The Nebraska-based company is built on a commitment to quality over quantity – a vision led by Zach Peed, who carries forward the legacy once shared with his father, publishing magnate Tom Peed. Dormie Network has grown steadily, to seven golf clubs, with the recent opening of GrayBull Club, the first new course built by Dormie, in the Nebraska Sandhills.

Whether acquiring a course or building from the ground up, Dormie Network’s formula remains the same: provide pristine course conditions; build functional, upscale lodging, typically with 60 beds per property; serve region-specific cuisine; and hire staffers oozing in bonhomie. The company also avoids residential settings, preferring instead to provide members with core golf experiences.

Dormie Network is all about golf; Mark Ruhga, the COO, said the company has no interest in properties that have “traditional country club amenities, such as pools, tennis courts or large banquet facilities.”

“Dormie Network exists to provide our members with perfectly manicured golf courses, comfortable accommodations, outstanding dining, and highly personalized hospitality to create memorable experiences and genuine camaraderie,” Ruhga told Golfweek.

Those characteristics are embodied at the eponymous Dormie Club, a 2010 Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw design that is a staple on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list. The club, acquired by Dormie Network in 2017, always stood out among the great courses of the North Carolina Sandhills and perfectly represents the company’s vision of a members’ club.

“The area is very rural. There are no houses whatsoever,” said Tony Foreman, a Golfweek course rater who played there earlier this year. “It’s my kind of course. I like an aesthetically beautiful course, which it is, and I just enjoyed the fact that there were no houses around it and it wasn’t part of a development. It was very peaceful, very relaxing, and just a pleasure to be out there.”

Fellow raters described similar experiences after visits earlier this year to Victoria National, Golfweek’s top-ranked private course in Indiana and the former host of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship from 2019 to 2023.

“I personally think Victoria National is the best Dormie Network property I have visited, although all of the properties that I have been to are excellent,” said Golfweek course rater Mac Frye, who has been to every Dormie club except GrayBull.

This speaks to what makes Dormie Network unique – not just one great course, but a full portfolio of top golf destinations across the country, all accessible through a single membership. From New Jersey to Nebraska, members can travel and experience pure golf and genuine hospitality.

Another Golfweek rater, Chad Peterson, played Victoria National before Dormie Network bought it in 2018 and returned recently as part of a new corporate membership. He noted that much has changed, including the addition of more than a dozen member cottages, making it “a great place to entertain.”

Victoria National, a Tom Fazio design, was cut through an old strip mine, and that design feature fosters the quintessential Dormie Network golf experience.

“It creates these natural barriers between holes, so you don’t see other holes or other golfers,” Foreman said. “It has an intimate feel to it. You feel like you’re the only group out there.”

Golfweek course rater Doug Kalmey recently visited Victoria National as part of a 16-person group, which included three of Kalmey’s business partners and 12 of their clients. They were there to discuss business, play two rounds of golf and build relationships.

“It was perfect because the facilities are great at Victoria National,” Kalmey said. “The place is great because the lodging and service are over the top. Every cottage has a gathering room, but each guest has a private bedroom and bath. For a client event, when you’re bringing people together, the set-up of their lodging is perfect. You’re together, but you have your own facilities.”

Victoria National might be Dormie Network’s most difficult test of golf, as one might expect from a course that ends with a five-hole stretch dubbed “The Gauntlet.” The layout places a premium on tee shots because there is water on virtually every hole.

Before playing Victoria National, Falmey gave each member of his group a sleeve of golf balls and said he would give a dozen balls to anyone who walked off 18 with the original sleeve intact. “I did not have to pay off that bet,” Falmey said with a laugh. But that didn’t diminish the fun.

“We had some low single-digits – 1- or 2-handicaps – and then we had guys who were 18- to 20-handicaps, and everyone enjoyed the course and had fun,” Falmey said. “I think we all went into it with the mindset that this is a challenging place, but beautiful and ranks high, so let’s go and enjoy ourselves.”

Dormie Network is focused on providing more of these types of golf experiences. The Network has plans to grow to 10 to 12 golf clubs, whether through acquisitions or new construction.

“The success of GrayBull makes new construction an appealing option,” Ruhga said. “Discussions about adding a second course at any of our existing clubs have been limited. Our priority remains to preserve the intimate atmosphere that comes from hosting a select number of groups at each property each day.”

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Dormie Network thriving with distinctive golf experiences for members