Stop number two was at Red Rock and on 09/01/12 and I played from the Championship tees at 73.0/142/7114. The course is rated as the top public play in South Dakota and I was looking forward to playing here based on the website. Looking at the course from the putting green I figured that nothing would be flat, and indeed that was the case. Basically every hole featured a club or two of elevation change. Normally I like some elevation change, but it turned out to be too much for me to enjoy as I was always thinking about which club to pick. In addition there were some hidden hazards and almost completely blind shots. I do not mind some work playing a new course, but it got the point where my friend and I would drive up and see where we needed to hit it. I could not figure out if the 2^nd hole went left or right off the tee and then the layup needed to be played in the left rough using the slope to end up in the fairway. The 3^rd hole looked open, but sloped off into trouble and the 4^th hole dropped off the planet. This kind of stuff continued throughout the round with a blind approach on #9 and #15 is a downhill par 3 where I landed short of the green and still ended up in the woods behind the green. The greens had a too much slope considering the severity of the rest of the course in my opinion. A couple times I played 10+ feet of break on longer putts and chips could be played off banks behind the flag resulting in a decent shot. In addition, I was disappointed as most holes were lined with homes and that detracted from the experience. The condition was average with the greens being the best conditioned part of the course. The greens were quick and rolled true while the fairways and rough had some bare spots that affected play. The value was not so good either considering the other courses that I played recently as I paid $71 to ride on a weekend. On the plus side, I liked the elevated par 3’s and the chance to get to get on a couple of the par 5’s in two shots. The last 4 closing holes could compete with any and were fun to play. Plus the setting was perfect for golf (minus the homes) as the course wound its way through the pine trees on the back. It was not my favorite course as it was pricey and did not seem to reward good shots, only perfect shots. However, it is probably worth a play if passing through the area.

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