Bakker Crossing Golf Course

Course is on a very flat site and is part of a housing project. Course has a to. Of character at the greens and green side bunkering. Greens have plenty of movement to be challenging and fun. The bunkers are strategically placed and deep enough to be a threat.

Course was a little higher priced then I would expect for November.

I last played Bakker Crossing 10 years ago, and frankly, I didn't remember much about it. I remembered it being pretty open and that I scored okay, but I didn't remember individual holes.

While in Sioux Falls this past weekend for the Sandford International, I took at 2nd trip around Bakker Crossing, and I really enjoyed the course.

Golf Advisor doesn't let me pick half stars, so I selected 4 stars overall, though it's really closer to 3.5 stars. Bakker Crossing is pretty forgiving off the tee, though if the fescue ever grows in, it will be more challenging. I was told they've been working on the fescue for the last 3 years. It's growing in, in some spots, but not in others. With the rain the Sioux Falls area has had, I imagine the course has seen some flooding, making it difficult to grow fescue.

The fairways were firm and fast, which is pretty amazing given the aforementioned rain. It wasn't unusual to get 20-30 yards of roll on tee shots, which I think makes golf more fun.

The greens are big and roll pretty true, with a fair amount of undulation. I didn't find them to be overly fast, which was a good thing given how windy it was. I imagine the wind is a constant at Bakker Crossing, so having the greens too fast could lead to balls rolling on greens.

The most interesting, and controversial, aspect for me was the bunkering. There are wood planks installed in the front face of each bunker. I'm not sure I'm a fan of this, and the few locals I talked to kinda laughed about it.

Overall, I enjoyed my round at Bakker Crossing very much and I will be back. My favorite hole is the par 4 10th. It's downhill and semi-blind, with water left of the green. Given the strong wind, I was able to take an aggressive line and almost drove the green!