SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A new private golf club has received approval from the Joint Planning Commission and will have a public hearing at the Joint Minnehaha County Commission and Sioux Falls City Council meeting later this month.
Announced to the public in April, Mapleton Golf Club is looking for zoning approval for 210 acres of land from A1-Agricultural district to the Mapleton Golf Planned Development District.
The meeting will be 5 p.m. CT Tuesday, June 27 at Carnegie Town Hall.
A memo from Minnehaha County planning says the rezoning is “to develop a private golf course with clubhouse facilities and lodging accommodations for club members.” In April, Mapleton Golf Club launched a website and announced plans to open a new private golf club in 2025 in northeastern Sioux Falls, just north of Interstate 90.
Danny Amundson, a founding partner and Sioux Falls O’Gorman graduate, told KELOLAND News in April the natural floodplain of the property with Slip Up Creek makes it a good fit for a golf course.
The golf club’s operational plan says the land has a natural elevation change of more than 90 feet, which will “bring this golf course to life from South Dakota prairieland, into a world-class club of tomorrow.”
The operational plan says Mapleton Golf Club is expected to average 12,000 to 14,000 golf rounds annually (1 golfer playing 18 consecutive holes). According to the operational plan, Elmwood Golf Course averages 45,000 golf rounds a year, while The Country Club of Sioux Falls is around 24,000.
Sioux Falls is home to two private golf clubs – Minnehaha Country Club and The Country Club of Sioux Falls. If you include the Grand Falls Casino golf course in Larchwood, Iowa, as well as golf courses in Brandon and Hartford, the Sioux Falls area has 13 golf courses in a variety of styles. While Mapleton would be a private course, it would be the area’s 14th golf course.
Clubhouse, lodging units and construction plan
If Mapleton Golf Club gets zoning approval, construction plans are for October 2023 through August 2025 with peak of project construction May 2024 through November 2024.
In the Minnehaha County planning report, the city noted water is currently unavailable in the location and Mapleton Golf Club would need to acquire water from a rural water service or private wells for clubhouse, lodge and irrigation uses. Amundson told planning commission members there will be irrigation ponds on the golf course and required water rights have temporarily been approved for irrigation.
A water rights application with the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources says the golf course plans to use two wells from the Split Rock Creek Aquifer.
Landscapes Unlimited and Landscapes Golf Management will develop and construct the golf course and manage the club operations when it opens. The golf course plans to play 7,260 yards and be a 72-par championship course.
The same company operates the three golf courses owned by the city of Sioux Falls and helped design and construct the private Sutton Bay golf course along the Missouri River in central South Dakota.
In addition to the golf course, there will be a clubhouse with a golf shop, locker rooms, a fine dining restaurant, bar, private meeting space and outdoor patio space. There will also be maintenance equipment and cart storage buildings.
Part of the rezoning plan, calls for a limit of 24 bedroom units for overnight lodging and Mapleton Golf Club said the lodging units will be for members only. The golf club will not have swimming pools, tennis courts, weddings or public events.
The new business will create between 40-60 new jobs and generate additional tax revenue to the county from increased property value and clubhouse operations.