After playing Fox Run on Monday, I was back in Yankton on Wednesday to play the other course in town – Hillcrest Golf & Country Club. I thought about playing here on Monday, but today’s forecast was much better. About 65 degrees and light winds.

Hillcrest turned out to be an interesting experience. The course has a premium green fee ($93), but it is located in a small farming town, about a half hour from I-29. This area isn’t a golf destination and I’d think most of the locals would end up playing at Fox Run because of the difference in price. Hillcrest struck me as an older style country club that is priced in a way to discourage public play. Hopefully the membership costs for the locals are reasonable.

Anyway, besides the pricey green fee I thought Hillcrest had plenty of charm. The course appears to have opened in the 1950’s and had some holes modernization over the years. Or possibly, it was nine holes originally turned into eighteen later on. It has a mix of many classic tree-lined looking golf holes with some modern holes scattered around the perimeter. Homer Fieldhouse designed the course.

Hillcrest is a parkland style layout with many parallel holes. Most holes have narrow driving areas and small, raised greens that slope off around the edges. Tee shots need to be precise and an element of luck is needed to end up with a birdie putt, even after a solidly struck approach shot. It helps to work the ball both ways as someone will need to try to figure out how to get the ball curving around the trees or doglegs. In my opinion, trees need to be thinned out to enhance the playability.

I played the white tees which are 71.4/128/6515. Hillcrest is a par-72 with three par-3’s, four par-4’s, and three par-5’s. The biggest challenge for me was trying to find a fairway. I normally start the ball left and let it come back right, but as you’ll see from the pictures that doesn’t work very well. There isn’t a lot of lost ball trouble, but if missing the fairways then a pitch out is probably the best play. Probably not a course where you’ll hit a lot of drivers, unless you are good off the tee.

Overall, I thought the yardages varied nicely here. The 1st hole is a 434 yard par-5 while the 17th is 562 yards. The 8th is a 430 yard par-4 while the 18th is 284 yards. The 11th is a 156 yard par-3 while the 6th is 190 yards. I used a lot of different clubs in the bag, which is what I enjoyed the most about playing at Hillcrest.

The conditions were nice. The ground was firmer than I expected, so I had a couple tee shots land in the fairway and kick into the rough. The fairways were full with many tight lies. The greens were fast and rolled well. The rough was thick and grabby. I was in one bunker and the sand had a good consistency.

After reading all that, you are probably wondering if Hillcrest is worth the $93 green fee. Truthfully, I don’t think that Hillcrest is twice the course compared to Fox Run, The Bluffs, or most other 18-hole courses within an hour of Sioux Falls. If you are looking to pay $100 for a round of golf somewhat close by, I’d steer you towards Tatanka. But, it won’t hurt to try a round here and make up your own mind.

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