Sunken Prairie Aims To Make South Dakota Golf’s Next Destination State

New South Dakota Courses

Sunken Prairie and Lazy J Sporting Club, in the south-central region of South Dakota, were both designed by the team of Smyers, Craig and Coyne. Although they’re located within the same state, the two canvases couldn’t be more different.

While water is omnipresent at Sunken Prairie, the topography at Lazy J has a rugged heathland-meets-ranch aesthetic, with a commanding ridgeline, deep ravine, native grasses and wind-scoured blowout bunkering. Both courses are projected to open in 2028 (with the potential for preview play in 2027), and both will offer public access in one form or another.

“Our ambition is for South Dakota to follow Nebraska’s playbook, transforming into the Midwest’s next great epicenter for national destination golf,” said Craig, who started his own design firm at the age of 25 before teaming with Smyers and Coyne.

Smyers, a former president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, has nearly five decades of industry experience – “the Mr. Miyagi to my Karate Kid,” says Craig — while the latter is a well-traveled author with a passion for golf architecture whom Craig met in 2019 during Coyne’s “A Course Called America” book tour.

“After conceiving the idea, the journey began the moment we reached out to Smyers Craig and Coyne,” said Reetz. “When we received the first routing back, seeing how a golf course might potentially lie on our beautiful farm put a smile on my face that hasn’t diminished since that first drawing.”

Sunken Prairie aims to bring a pure links experience to the American heartland, leaning on the collective experience of its trio of architects.

Coyne has written about playing every links course in Scotland and Ireland, Smyers competed and designed courses across Europe for decades, and Craig spent an architectural fellowship studying Scottish links.

Craig says golfers can expect a traditional out-and-back routing, British-style pot bunkers, and the occasional raw blowout bunker. And he insists that water directly comes into play on only 10 holes, although routing maps make the confines appear much tighter.

“On select holes, water frames both sides of the corridor,” said Craig. “But the natural width of the strip is very playable, upward of 250 yards wide, to ensure the course never feels claustrophobic like many of the overbuilt, cramped condo courses of the 1980s.”

Unique Landscape

Even so, the first thing anyone notices when they see the landscape at Sunken Prairie is the water that defines the property.

“If you see a satellite image of the property, South Dakota or anywhere in the Midwest would be the last states you would guess,” said Reetz, who then detailed how the unique landform is the result of unfortunate circumstances.

The Reetz family homesteaded the land in 1891 and farmed below the current water levels for generations. But in the 1990s, heavy rainfall and brutal winters turned what was a small slough into an 800-acre body of water. The family moved 18 buildings, including three houses, when the farmstead flooded.

One of the original farm structures, however, remains anchored in the center of the lake. And now it has new life as the logo of Sunken Prairie, a centerpiece for the club that will be lit by floodlights after dark.

“Creating this club will be a true ‘lemons-to-lemonade’ story,” said Reetz.

It won’t be the only curiosity in Reetz Lake either, as plans are in place for a putting course on an island that will also have a tiki bar and is only accessible by boat.

Ground is expected to be broken for construction of the 18-hole main course as well as the clubhouse following the farm’s corn harvest, which is typically in October. Memberships are on sale and – although the course won’t be ready for play for at least a year – members this fall will be able to book hunting and fishing packages.

Covid Golfer

The president of Sunken Prairie, Reetz is a lifelong resident of the club’s small hometown, Webster, and got degrees in agricultural science, Ag business and agronomy from South Dakota State. Growing up in Webster, he played football, baseball, basketball and ran track, but once high school ended, so did his days of organized sports. His competitive nature remained, however, and when the pandemic hit in 2020, he decided to play the local 9-hole golf course for the first time with his dad’s dusty old clubs.

“Ten bad shots in a row led to one great shot and… I was hooked,” said Reetz, whose passion for the game continued to grow and eventually gave rise to the vision for Sunken Prairie.

“Spurred by Covid, both golf and the secondary home market surged and have continued to grow. Fishing has had a similar growth,” said Reetz. “We aim to emphasize golf and fishing and create an All-American community at Sunken Prairie.”

Public ‘Backdoor’

And while it is envisioned as a private destination club for members, their guests and select events, Reetz isn’t forgetting his roots. That’s why he’s creating what he calls a “backdoor for the public golfer.”

Anyone can get an unsponsored round at Sunken Prairie if they buy a green fee at Webster Golf Club – the local municipal course at which Reetz learned to play – and bring the receipt along with a short note, story or drawing about what the game of golf means to them.

“Make it funny, weird, heartfelt, whatever,” said Reetz. “We refuse to just be another retreat for the wealthy. Great golf architecture belongs to everyone who loves the game.”

Eventually, all those notes will be pinned to a dedicated wall in the Sunken Prairie clubhouse.

Golf’s Next Destination State?

South Dakota isn’t necessarily a state that first springs to mind when one thinks of golf destinations.

But neither was Nebraska at one time. Today, the sandhills of western Nebraska are home to not only Sand Hills, the private club that in many ways gave rise to destination golf, but places like Dismal River, the Prairie Club, CapRock Ranch and Dormie Network’s GrayBull Club. On the eastern side of the state, Landmand has emerged as a cult classic getaway with a course that sells out its year’s allotment of tee times in seconds.

Sutton Bay has been South Dakota’s most noteworthy private destination club, located in the central part of the state, with Mapleton opening more recently near Sioux Falls.

Soon, Sunken Prairie and Lazy J will join the mix.

And while the latter was originally envisioned as a luxury hunting lodge, it has evolved into a destination golf and sporting club that offers open public play and lodge accommodations in addition to a limited collection of founder memberships.

So, will South Dakota emerge as the next hot spot in the world of destination golf?

Reetz, for one, is eager to find out. And to be a part of the movement.

“This is one of the country’s most overlooked golf states,” said Reetz. “Myself, my family and my team could not be more excited to bring such a unique course to South Dakota.”