Big Sioux Rec DGC is a mostly wooded but very flat course that plays through a beautiful park just outside Sioux Falls. There's 18 holes here in a pretty much disc golf exclusive section, minus a couple walking paths.

The course features concrete tee pads on every hole. These were all level and had good grip to them. They aren't the largest pads I've seen but are an appropriate size for a course like this. One tee per hole, except hole 13 I want to say, which had two side by side aiming on an angle to the pin, depending whet position it's in. Never seen that before but it was kind of neat.

The baskets are older Mach III's. One per hole but 2 pin positions on every hole if I recall correctly. These were all mounted nicely and had the number plates facing the tee pad. There was also one hanging basket on hole 4.

The tee signs are the generic DGA plexi/fiber glass ones. These have all the basic info on them. Basic hole map, hole #, Pars and distances to either pin position. There were also next tee arrows on many of the signs but not all of them. There were a few next tee signs by some of the more confusing juntures of the course.

The course design is really nice here. The course starts and ends right by the parking lot. Most holes are pretty close to the last one. There's all kind of shot shapes here, you'll need every shot in your bag to score well out here. The fairways bend in all different directions with many of them playing right alongside the river.

The park entrance fee is $8 for a non resident day pass. Not the cheapest by any means, but if there's at least 2 of you playing it's more palatable. Playing solo that's an expensive round.

The tee signs aren't the greatest. They serve their purpose sure, but for a pay to play course that's been around a long time you'd like to see better. At least a way to show you what pin position is in play. Those Mach's are very difficult to spot in the shadows of the woods.

There's a number of chances to lose a disc out here. The river is very close on quite a few holes where one back kick and your disc is gone. The rough in certain areas is also pretty thick. Make sure to keep a close eye on where your shot landed.

There are a couple walking/biking trails that wind through the park to be aware of, but they don't seem to cross any fairways or anything. Just something to be aware of.

The bugs can get pretty gnarly I'd assume. It plays along a muddy, slow moving river. There were quite a few out there on an extremely windy, late September day. I'd imagine they get thick in the summer. Bring bug spray just in case.

This was a very solid, well rounded course. I thoroughly enjoyed me round out here as did my wife. This course is more up my alley than the other highly rated one nearby, Tuthill. This course is more tight and technical. So if that's your kind of thing you'll like this course. If it's not, there's plenty of other more open options nearby.

I'd definitely recommend this course to anybody passing through. It won't take very long to play due to the shorter distances and it's only 10 or so minutes off of I-90.

This course is built in within a bend in the Big Sioux River, and brings the river into play on a number of holes.

Good variety of hole lengths from 175' out to 575', with most being in the 200' - 400' range.

About half of the holes are completely in the woods, with the other half being quite a bit more open. Even the wooded holes are not really tunnels, as the trees are large and spread out.

Seven of the holes play alongside or toward the river, and on each of those holes there is a real potential to lose a disc. The river is wide and murky with steep banks, so you'll probably lose a disc that gets out there. Hole 5 is a great one at 555', curving alongside the river.

A single concrete teepads for each hole. Flat with perfect texture.

Two pin positions for each hole. When I played they were pretty evenly mixed between the "A" and "B" position. Baskets were all in good shape, though they are tough to pick out of the shadows on some of the wooded holes. Hole 4 has a hanging basket which is interesting, but at about the same height as a regular basket so it doesn't add much.

A bulletin board at the parking area has scorecards and a map. You'll need the map to navigate so grab one.

Tee signs were missing on about half of the holes, and even the posts were gone on a few.

A walking path runs throughout the course so there is potential conflict with other park users. Check the paths before you drive. There were also other users in the large field that Holes 16, 17 and 18 occupy.

The three finishing holes were just big drives across a grassy field. Not as interesting as the rest of the course.

We camped at this park for three nights in April and pretty much had it to ourselves. It is great that South Dakota has included this course in one of their parks.

Requires you to throw controlled/finesse shots and stay in fairways for the most part. You will use a wide array of shots. I love the hanging basket to add some elevation. Very scenic course that doesn't get too busy vs. the Sioux Falls course. Two basket placements.

I think that the park should spray the nettles down in a lot of areas and maybe mow the fairways a little wider on some holes. Holes I don't care for or could be changed are 3 long needs a better lane maybe open up a risk shot over the water from the pad.13 could be opened up a little more on the right side.15 long I don't see the point of. Sixteen short could be shorter and more attainable. and 18 just don't like. The bugs out here can be ridiculous. It costs money, I hope it goes back into the course. Hardly any elevation. It would be great to use the area over the river!! No cement pads and signs on the back nine.

Great course and fairly new just needs to be completed and it would go up in my rating. Well worth it to play.

- dual tees
- multiple good/challenging pin positions on every hole
- great layout, and easy to follow
- upkeep is very good, seems as if they mow the fairways weekly
- not crowded, smooth rate of play

- no cement pads
- no signs. there are little laminated squares of paper that give the distances to each of the pin positions, but no maps, etc.
- the course is a little short to be championship caliber, but from long tees to the longest pin positions it is very close

The long tees on the front nine were ready to be cemented while I was playing, but just haven't been yet. They may be as of this review. None of the short tees are ready for cement, and the boxes to cement the back 9 long, are not in yet either.

Overall, I didn't go into this course expecting too much. I was going because I hadn't played in South Dakota before, but I came out happy as I could be. With a little bit more development, which it looks like is happening, this course will be among the country's best. It is definitely worth going a little bit out of your way to play, and if you're a local the dual tees/multiple pin positions offer a new course to play every time.

Challenging and fun new 18 hole river bottom course. There used to be an old 9 hole that wasn't very fun to play but it was removed earlier this year and then the new, bigger 18 hole course was added that utilizes the area of the park much more nicely. Holes 1 - 15 play throught tight woods and tall prarie grass fairways that truly test your accuracy game. 5 of the holes play along or next to the Big Sioux river, one of these holes being number 5 which also plays as a par 5 on the longer pin placement. Holes 16 - 18 are the open bomb throws of the course playing through the area that housed the old 9 hole.

Poison ivy. Flat terrain. Very easy to lose a disc here during summer when the prarie grass gets tall, up to 6 feet or more!! Good to have spotters for some of the holes during these times. It is also easy to lose a disc into the river if you over throw, especially holes 4, 5 and 15. Dirt tees for now but people are trying to get sponsors for cement tees and signs. Course is hard to navigate without a map first time or two playing through. Stop by the park office for a map. $4 park fee per car.

A fun course to challenge most aspects of your game. I have been forced to learn new ways to throw because of this course that are really helping to improve my game. Leave contact info on your discs. If park workers find any lost discs they will contact the number and try to return them.