The last course I played while in South Dakota was Lakeview Golf Course. Lakeview is in Mitchell, a small town about an hour west of Sioux Falls. Since I’ve played most of the public courses around Sioux Falls, I’ve started to venture farther away to continue with my course collecting.

Like Edgewood yesterday, I didn’t really know what I’d find at Lakeview. I couldn’t find many reviews or pictures, so it was pretty much a blind pick. Thankfully, Lakeview turned out to be a solid course with an affordable green fee.

Lakeview is a municipal course that cost $36 to walk. Everything was well kept. Almost all of the turf was full and lush, with just a couple patchy spots in shaded areas. The greens were smooth and a medium pace. The tees and fairways were a bit long, but I assume that is late season golf in South Dakota. The ball sat down in the rough, so a good eye was needed to find it quickly.

Another nice thing about Lakeview was its playable layout. I played the blue tees which are 71.8/117/6517. For the most part, there is very little lost ball trouble. The course is a parkland style layout with many holes that run parallel to each other. Some corridors are larger than others, but besides four holes – the 1st, 15th, 16th, and 18th – there aren’t many places to lose a ball. The lack of trouble and light bunkering leads to the lower slope. Still, I played on a windy day. It wasn’t easy to start shots out over the tree line, hoping the wind would blow the ball back towards the fairways.

I think the most interesting aspect about Lakeview is probably the two different design types that are present here. The course has a mix of older and newer holes – I suspect it started out as a nine-hole course and was later expanded to the current eighteen-hole layout. The older holes have more mature trees and smaller greens that fall off on many sides. The newer holes have greens with more modern undulation and some bunkers. It was a little strange never knowing what you’ll get – but it works.

I don’t think there is a signature hole at Lakeview, but it has a good collection of holes. The course is a par-72 with five par-3’s, eight par-4’s, and five par-5’s. The front nine has back to back par-5’s (the 4th and 5th holes) and back to back par-3’s (the 7th and 8th holes) – so that is a bit unique. If someone is driving it well then good scores can be had on the par-5’s.

The yardages vary as there are shorter and longer par-3’s, par-4’s, and par-5’s. The 11th and 12th are two of the shorter par-4’s. They are quirky, sharp doglegs to the left. As a fade player, the 11th and 12th holes are my only complaint about the design. They were darn near impossible for me to play as I don’t hit a draw.

Like most of the South Dakota courses I played on this trip, Lakeview isn’t a destination course. However, it is another good course for the locals. If you are in the area with your clubs, then I’d recommend a round here. If you are looking to travel from Sioux Falls to play, then Lakeview is worth the periodic visit. Oh, and in case you are curious – the course isn’t far from Lake Mitchell, however there isn’t much of a “lakeview”.

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