Looking to play the best golf courses in South Dakota? GolfReviewsGuide.com picks out the top courses to play in South Dakota.

South Dakota is the home of a symbol of America: Mount Rushmore National Memorial. A couple of courses in the list of best golf courses in South Dakota below are located near this popular tourist attraction.

South Dakota, comprised of prairie, plains, small mountains and hills, doesn’t offer the picturesque views that one will find in many other United States golf courses.

However, golf course designers have still found ways to impress golf enthusiasts in this interior part of the United States.

1. Sutton Bay Golf Course

Located in Agar, South Dakota, the Sutton Bay Golf Course is a venue with some history despite only originally opening in 2003.

It had to be partly rebuilt in 2013 and those efforts appear to have been successful. This venue, in a couple of short decades, has established itself as a part of South Dakota’s golfing tradition.

Near both the Missouri River and Lake Oahe, Sutton Bay has earned a distinguished reputation among golfers in South Dakota.

A par-72 course with a length of 7,226 yards, the Sutton Bay is a private resort.

The design of the acclaimed Graham Marsh, the 18-hole test is a genuine inland links golf course that provides its patrons with breathtaking views as they enjoy their favorite past time.

With a mixture of lakeview holes, creek-intersected holes, and prairie holes, this is a diverse venue that earned Golf Digest’s top pick for courses in South Dakota (June 2019).

2. Dakota Dunes Country Club

The Dakota Dunes County Club, the design of Arnold Palmer with Ed Seay, is nestled in between the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River.

Opened in 1991, the course plays to a length of 7,165 yards from the back tees as a par-72. It has emerged as one of the most original golf courses in America’s midwest.

With four separate tee boxes, the course guarantees something for a range of skill levels.

Featuring riverside wooded dunes, this championship course has maintained a strong reputation since opening in the early 1990s.

Travelers searching for this course, should not be confused with a very similarly named course in the Saskatoon area of nearby Saskatchewan, Canada.

The Dakota Dunes Country Club of South Dakota is tucked right into a narrow area of the state near Sioux City, Iowa. In fact, there are actually three states that a mishit could land in – South Dakota, Iowa, or even Nebraska.

3. Hart Ranch Golf Course

The Hart Ranch Golf Course, opened in 1995 in Rapid City, South Dakota, is a public course that features 6,833 yards of length and plays as a par-72 test.

Located near the Black Hills National Forest, the most-noted tourist attraction in the area is the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

The course offers eight different tees with the shortest tees playing to a distance of just 4,991 yards.

Listed in Golf Digest’s “Places to Play” in the past, the course has definitely been kept it in great shape down the years.

4. Minnehaha Country Club Golf Course

A historic course, the Minnehaha course at the Minnehaha Country Club opened in 1922.

It has undergone changes since the original design of William Langford and Theodore Moreau, but remains one of the best golf courses in South Dakota.

In 2010, political and geographical considerations forced some redevelopment that was performed under the watch of Graham Marsh Golf Design.

The revisioning has been successful as the venue has hosted a PGA Tour Champions event since 2018.

Located near the Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History, the par-71 course is on the short side for length at just 6,437 yards.

Expect rolling terrain, lush groves and fairways, and all of the manicuring and maintenance that one would expect of a championship course.

5. Meadowbrook Golf Course

The Meadowbrook Golf Course opened in 1977 and is a par-72 golf course with a yardage length of 6,933.

Located close to Black Hills National Forest, this course was designed by David Gill and features an array of trees in a parkland-style setup.

It features fewer elevation changes relative to other courses in the state, however, it was judged challenging enough to host all of the 1984 US Women’s Amateur Public Links Championships and the 2009 and 2010 NAIA collegiate women’s national championships.