I figured if I played early on Saturday I’d have no trouble making it to a family wedding. Prairie Green was 10 minutes from where we were staying and the proshop said they’d be able to get me out around sunrise, no problem. That’s all I needed to hear and I got there just after 6am. Yep, that’s the earliest round that I can recall in years! I saw a single a couple holes ahead, but no one else until I returned to the clubhouse. I played in 2.5 hours and certainly can see the desire to golf so early.

The forecast called for showers and sure enough, on the 5th hole it started to spit rain. It was never really heavy, but just enough to get everything wet, cause me to put on the rain gear, and be an annoyance! The rain never fully let up until mid morning, after my round. But much better for it to rain during my round than during the outdoor wedding that evening.

Although my main reason for playing Prairie Green was that they opened for play at 6am, an added benefit was that I got to play one of the top public golf courses in South Dakota. Prairie Green is currently ranked among the top five public courses in the state by a major golf magazine. I don’t think many would argue when I say that most of the best golf in South Dakota is located in the western part of the state, near the Black Hills. I played the Golf Club at Red Rock years ago and can confirm that it is in a scenic area.

So, South Dakota may not be a golf destination, but I wouldn’t mind coming back one day to play out here again. There is just something about how well the grass grows! I don’t know if the ground being snow covered during the winter helps, or if the bent/fescue (whatever) grass thrives at these temperatures but the conditions at all the courses I played on this trip were very good.

Prairie Green was no exception! The greens here had ball marks, but other than that they were full and cut short. Some greens rolled quicker than others, but had I played a couple hours later they would have been fairly speedy. The fairways weren’t quite as lush here compared to the other two courses that I played in the area. However, the rough was still thick and a nasty challenge! For the $35 early bird rate, Prairie Green offered a great value.

Unfortunately, the design didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. Prairie Green is routed through a community and around some wetlands, on mostly flat terrain. It isn’t exactly the best property in Sioux Falls for a course, at least compared to my prior two course experiences. All the holes, except for a stretch to start the back nine seemed the same to me. My miss is typically right and I swear there is so much trouble off to the right here. Basically, it seemed that there was out of bounds and houses to the left and then hazards to the right, on each hole. I’m exaggerating some, however everything felt very repetitive.

A couple highlights here are the green complexes and the par-3’s. The green complexes have just enough mounding around them to make you dream up the shot you want to hit while not being excessive. Slopes feed to certain pins and there were different ways to play shots depending on the pin locations. Overall, the mounding is well done at Prairie Green. There are chipping areas and grass bunkers around the greens too. For reference I played the championship tees which are 73.1/125/6667.

While all the par-3’s play between 149 and 169 yards, I thought three of the four par-3’s were very good! I liked the 2nd, the 11th, and the 16th. The 2nd green is shallower on the right side and deeper on the left, but those parts are separated by a large ridge. Unknowing, I missed it on the wrong side of the ridge and was thrilled to two putt.

The 11th is 157 yards and plays about half a club downhill over water. The water will grab shots short and right, but missing left leaves an awkward, downhill chip from the mounds. The 11th was my favorite hole on the course. And for whatever reason, the 16th just looked good to me as it plays over some wetlands that don’t really come into play.

Out of the three courses that I played while in Sioux Falls I’d put The Falls at the top, Willow Run in the middle, and Prairie Green at the bottom. Prairie Green has plenty of playable features including large fairways, but I never got comfortable and struggled. However, make sure to check it out and make up your own mind!

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