Think of the hazards of golf, and you're likely to think of sand traps, water, trees and weeds -- and that's just for the players.

Add drought, turf diseases and wear and tear, and you've touched on the hazards most course superintendents think of first.

But a different type of hazard threatened everyone at Cross Creek Golf Links earlier this summer -- players and maintenance personnel as well.

"They're those little black flies," Dave Houghtelling told Ted Bethell of McCook, who works for Van Diest Supply Co. Houghtelling takes care of Cross Creek Golf Links as part of his duties with the city of Cambridge.

The problem was, those "little black flies" liked to bite.

It was so bad, by some reports, that golfers were driven off the course and back into their cars after only a hole or two.

But suppliers can't just treat for "little black flies," so Bethell brought in state entomologist Dr. Wayne Kramer. Kramer, in turn, called retired University of Nebraska-Lincoln entomologist Dr. Ken Pruess to help out.

Sandhill black flies was the verdict.

Just to prove their heritage, the flies, which reproduce only in running water, are known for driving canoeists crazy on the Niobrara River.

That knowledge in hand, Bethell was able to provide a safe, effective treatment which Houghtelling and staff used to treat Medicine Creek all the way from the dam at Harry Strunk Lake, through Cambridge.

The biological chemical kills only black fly and mosquito larvae, which could help stave off the threat of West Nile virus.

It doesn't bother beneficial insects, Houghtelling said.

Even after treatment, "Medicine Creek has a lot of Mayflies, which is the sign of a good, healthy stream," said Houghtelling, who has learned a lot about black flies in hours of research on the Internet.

Now that the uninvited guests have been eliminated, Cross Creek is more pleasant for paying golfers.

The course is popular as part of the "Play the West" package, with bus loads of golfers arriving to play the newly-expanded course.

And, participants in the Ladies Golf Retreat Sept. 5-7, and the 10th Annual Pro-Am and Million Dollar Shootout, Sept. 15-16, shouldn't have anything in common with those canoeists at Valentine.

-- Bruce Crosby says he may have a boating story next week.