The third course I played this week was Edgebrook Golf Course. Like the other courses I picked, Edgebrook was also about an hour from Sioux Falls. The course is in Brookings, which has a population of about 24,000. I believe there is one other 18-hole course in town that allows some public play. 

My tee time was for 10:30 AM. I got there early hoping to stretch and get out a bit early. Ultimately, I teed off about 10:45 AM after a short frost delay. Chilly. I played quickly, walking in less than 3 hours. Nice!

Edgebrook is only 6,336 yards (par-70) from the blue tees with a rating of 70.7 and slope of 117. It is mostly straightforward, without many tricks – probably the main reason for my quick round. It also seems that fall golf in South Dakota isn’t too popular.

I suppose I’ll call Edgebrook a parkland style course. But, as you’ll see in the pictures, most holes have only a few trees lining the fairways. So maybe it is more of a prairie style course. Anyway, the driving areas are wide and there should be plenty of opportunities to recover after a bad drive. I found the greens tricky to read. Aesthetically, the course could use a little spice. Maybe some tall grass between the holes. Something.

Edgebrook is a par-70 with five par-3’s, ten par-4’s, and three par-5’s. The yardages vary quite a bit. There are two short par-3’s – the 2nd and the 11th. The 11th, 136 yards, has an intimidating look as it is all carry over water. It was my favorite hole. The 5th is a long, tough par-3 that plays 220 yards. The 17th is 210 yards.

The 15th is a driveable par-4. It doglegs left around a hazard and there is out of bounds to the right. There are a number of options from the tee. There are also a handful of par-4’s around 400 yards. The 18th is 400 yards and has the narrowest landing area at Edgebrook.

The walking rate was $36, so Edgebrook was a good deal. The turf was full and had a nice shine. The greens were the highlight of the maintenance. They were smooth and a medium pace. The rough was cut down and playable.

I enjoyed my time at Edgebrook. The course is a solid value, isn’t overly difficult, and was a nice walk. I think the only negative is the noise from three roads – including I-29 – that almost surround the course. If I lived in Sioux Falls, I’d probably make the drive to play Edgebrook a couple times each year.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):