The Corsica, S.D., golf course is in the initial stages of raising $250,000 to update its nine-hole golf course. It will also be renamed Dakota Trails Golf Course as of January 1, in order to avoid confusion with another nearby golf course that has the same name.
Lakeview Golf Club in Corsica, S.D., is in the initial stages of raising $250,000 to install natural grass greens on its nine-hole course and to rename it Dakota Trails Golf Course as of January 1, the Mitchell, S.D.-based Daily Republic reported.
The 70-year-old course intends to raise the funds by January, so that the course architect can get the design in place and also put the project out for bid in late winter 2016. From there, construction of the greens could start in August 2016 and the hope is for a grand re-opening in spring 2017. To date, more than $125,000 has been raised for the project, the Republic reported.
It’s a large undertaking but the Lakeview Board of Directors President Brian Vilhauer said the time is right for the greens to be replaced. A committee was formed in 2014 to study the feasibility of installing synthetic or grass greens and found that the startup costs of both options were similar and that the course membership could feasibly maintain the all-grass course, the Republic reported.
“Ultimately, the committee felt that the average modern golfer demands grass greens as part of his or her golf experience and the probability of long-term survival of the course was greater with grass greens,” Vilhauer said.
Currently, the par-36 course plays at 2,553 yards but will be lengthened by about 100 yards when work is complete. It will include a brand-new 148-yard par 3 hole that will hit across a ravine from an elevated tee box. Vilhauer said another par 4 hole will be lengthened by about 50 yards and a dog-leg to the right will be added, the Republic reported.
The artificial turf greens date back as far as the course itself. The course opened in the late 1940s and initially had clay greens. In the late 1990s, the Lakeview course added the synthetic greens and then a new irrigation system about 10 years ago. Fellow member Todd Plooster said there’s a chance for the course to catch on again, the Republic reported.
“We’ve got a lot of younger kids moving back,” Plooster said. “They want to golf on grass course. We think this might be a good chance to get our course a new shot at life.”
Those improvements could open up the business for the rural course, namely making it available to local high school golf teams and potentially could host tournaments. Vilhauer said he’s heard from many area golfers that they like Lakeview’s layout and its challenges but the artificial turf greens are a turn off, the Republic reported.
“Golf seems to be a very popular pastime in this region of the state and there are a lot of golfers in neighboring communities who regularly commute significant distances to play quality courses,” Vilhauer said. “Many of those golfers have given praise to our course for its layout and the challenge it presents, but choose to golf elsewhere on a regular basis because of the current greens.”
The changes might be enough to bring those golfers back, the Republic reported.
“We feel that the addition of grass greens, at the price point we will be offering, will make membership quite attractive for a lot more golfers in surrounding communities,” Vilhauer said.
The course is currently among the most affordable in the area, with a nine-hole round going for $10 and $15 to play all day. With all the changes, Vilhauer said the membership decided now was the right time to change the course’s name. For years, it’s been often mistaken with the municipal course in Mitchell by the same name, the Republic reported.
“It’s been a little bit confusing over the years,” Plooster said. “We figured this would be a pretty good chance to make the change, especially since it will almost be a new course.
“Although the old name is quite fitting for the beauty and landscape of the course, the new name not only gives us a unique identity but also describes the feel of the course as well,” Vilhauer said.
Fundraising efforts for the course are already underway. The membership is looking for sponsors of each hole to have their advertisement at the tee box at each hole and Vilhauer said they intend to have large stones in place that show the layout of each hole and will also commemorate the grass greens project. A golf cart raffle and a wine and golf tournament was held earlier this year, while calendars showcasing the beauty of the course are being sold for 2016 and a gun raffle is being held throughout 2016, with one gun being given away in each of the 52 weeks in the year, the Republic reported.
“So far it’s been going pretty good,” Plooster said. “It’s a big project for a our small towns.”
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