I got done quickly at Rocky Run and was hoping to add another new course to my list. My first choice was to try Bakker Crossing Golf Course. But, that meant rolling the dice again at a place that doesn’t take tee times for singles. Thankfully the proshop was able to add me to the tee sheet at a time that worked for me. Nice!

This is my fifth or sixth visit to Sioux Falls and Bakker Crossing has eluded me until now. I think after my round here I’ve played most of the public courses within an hour of Sioux Falls. If anyone has a connection at the two private courses in town and wants someone (me) to tag along, I’d be thrilled to join.

Anyway, Bakker Crossing turned out to be a good find – I’m not sure why I waited so long to play here. The course seems popular with the locals and I can see why. It is convenient, playable and has an interesting design feature – the bunkers. I won’t say it is a must play, but for the $43 walking rate the course exceeded my expectations.

Kevin Norby gets credit with the design of Bakker Crossing and compared to nearby Elmwood – which he also designed – Bakker Crossing has a completely different feel. While Elmwood is wooded and has a traditional look to it, Bakker Crossing is an open, prairie-style course with only a couple trees in play. Lots of room to play out here.

I played the silver tees which are 71.6/125/6462. The course is a par-71 with five par-3’s, nine par-4’s and four par-5’s. The big hitters can try the black tees which are 6,901 yards. That could be a lot on a windy day! As you can see from the pictures, there isn’t a lot of lost ball trouble at Bakker Crossing. The fairways are probably average size, but they look wider because of all the rough on each side. A couple holes have water. The greens were trickier than they appear in the pictures.

I thought Bakker Crossing’s best feature was it’s sundial bunkers. I’ve seen this a few other times and think it is really neat. The course has fewer bunkers than most courses, but the bunkers here all have wooden slats that serve as the lip of the bunker. It looks great and these are gently sloped, so even a poor shot can escape. Good for an average golfer.

I wouldn’t say that the course has a signature hole, although I did find the par-3’s to be above average. The par-3 5th is 181 yards and has a large, deep green that sits slightly below the level of the surrounding turf. That made it tough to judge where I wanted to land the ball. The 11th and 13th both play over water and were my favorite holes.

The conditions were good – a few ground under repair spots, but acceptable for the price. The fairways were full. The greens were mostly smooth and a medium pace. The rough and tallgrass were cut down. If those areas were longer then that could toughen up the course dramatically.

Overall, I enjoyed Bakker Crossing and would play here regularly if I lived in the area. Some might say the design is a bit bland and I can understand that perspective. I’d put Bakker Crossing firmly in the middle of the courses that I’ve played around Sioux Falls and look forward to a return visit.

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