Even though I was in South Dakota for two weeks I spent most of my free time working on a house project. But, just like last week, I did manage to get in a couple rounds on one of my days off. The first course I played on Thursday was Rocky Run Golf Course.

Rocky Run is in Dell Rapids, about 30 minutes north of Sioux Falls on I-29. They don’t take tee times for singles so I’ve never really wanted to risk just showing up and having to waiting around a long time to play. I looked at the course’s online tee sheet the night before and it looked pretty open. I decided to roll the dice and see what happens.

As it turns out, I got there early enough to beat the crowds and had the course mostly to myself. I walked in 3 hours 15 min, playing through a group at the turn. Overall, an enjoyable morning. The walk wasn’t bad either – two small climbs on the 9th and 18th holes and then 13th to the 15th are a little spread out.

Rocky Run is a parkland/prairie layout that should be playable for most golfers. The course is a par-71 that tops out at 6,426 yards from the black tees – where I played. The rating is 72.0 and the slope is 121. I’m not sure who designed the course, but my guess is that it started out as a nine-hole course with another nine added later. There are two distinct vibes – holes with mature trees lining the fairways and holes near the cornfields. No complaints from me though, the combination seemed to work.

I thought toughest thing about Rocky Run was picking lines on the drives and approach shots. The course isn’t penal off the tee, but there are wetlands areas and creeks to carry. That made it difficult to commit to the shot I wanted, especially my first time playing here. The second shots into a handful of greens – like the uphill 9th and 18th holes – are semi-blind which always adds difficulty.

While I found the front nine pretty average, I thoroughly enjoyed the back nine. The short par-5 10th hole kicks off the back nine. It is only 465 yards and doglegs left. From the tee, you can choose to carry a creek to a narrow strip of fairway or lay up. Then, the 14th through the 18th is a solid closing stretch. The 14th and 15th play through the cornfields while the 16th and 17th are the best holes on the course. The 16th (525 yard par-5) is risk/reward par-5 with a creek that crosses the fairway three times. The 17th (180 yard par-3) is a fun downhill par-3.

Rocky Run is a GreatLife course and it was in good shape. It cost $40 to walk, so not too spendy. The turf was lush and the fairways had good coverage. The greens were smooth and quick. The greens were firm which made it tough to keep approach shots close to the landing spot. I only noticed a couple bunkers so not much for the staff to manage from a sand standpoint.

I think Rocky Run fits in well with the Sioux Falls golf scene. I enjoyed the walk and I’d rank the course somewhere in the middle of the area’s public courses I’ve played. It isn’t a destination course, although it is worth the half hour drive. It is a no-frills kind of place from a design perspective, but it is functional and reasonably priced. If I lived in the area, I’d mix in a few rounds here each year.

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