Spearfish Canyon (S.D.) Golf Club is adding new tee boxes, leveling or resurfacing old tee boxes, adding cart paths in spots, and repairing or replacing current cart paths. Ownership is also adding a new 18^th green, but will keep the current green in play until grow-in is complete. “We couldn’t afford, from a business standpoint, to close the 18th hole to rebuild the green where it sits currently,” says General Manager Rob Kortan.

Spearfish Canyon (S.D.) Golf Club is in the midst of renovating the golf course.

“We’re just continuing our efforts to improve the course,” General Manager Rob Kortan said.

New tee boxes, leveling or resurfacing old tee boxes, adding cart paths in spots, and repairing or replacing current cart paths are some of the items that are part of the current master plan, the Black Hills Pioneer reported.

The 18th green, nearest to the clubhouse marks one of the more prominent renovation efforts. Kortan told the Pioneer that green has been rebuilt, with plans to replace it next year after the grow-in process is complete.

“We couldn’t afford, from a business standpoint, to close the 18th hole to rebuild the green where it sits currently,” Kortan said. This new green is southeast of the current one, and play could continue while the new green is growing in.

Kortan told the Pioneer the course is also addressing some drainage issues on the property line. “By moving the green away from that area, we’ll have improved drainage as well,” he added.

The course was temporarily closed in late June because of heavy flooding, the Pioneer reported. Kortan said this year was a real eye-opener with respect to drainage issues behind that green.

Longtime golfers are used to the smaller greens, he told the Pioneer. He said sizes are gradually increasing as the older surfaces are phased out, with this new green’s usable area roughly 30 percent more than the previous one.

The former green utilized surface drainage. Kortan told the Pioneer the new green and bunkers will utilize sub-drainage, with water going back to the creek by the maintenance shop instead of the fence line.

Workers installing a new green dig out the green cavity to start the process. They then trench out where the drainage pipe will be installed, the Pioneer reported. The pipe is then taken out of the green cavity in the green’s lowest spot. This is continued to where the drainage will be taken.

A 10-inch sand layer rests on a pea rock (a type of gravel) layer of 6 to 8 inches, the Pioneer reported. This will be covered during the winter to limit contamination, with fine-tuning required to get ready for seeding.

Kortan said the overall yardage for the finished hole will not differ much from current totals, the Pioneer reported. A new tee complex added about 40 yards to some tees, but the new green resulted in 35 fewer yards for the hole.

“The angle from where we hit that tee shot, and the shape of the hole, have both changed with regard to the new tee and the new green,” Kortan said.

Irrigation finished on Oct. 23. Kortan told the Pioneer plans call for seeding, and installing sod rings around the bunker and greens, in May 2024.

Kortan said the normal growing period is roughly 100 days when seed is in the ground, the Pioneer reported. That depends on ground temperatures, availability of sod, weather and other factors.