By Mick Garry, for Pigeon605
Most who are familiar with the golf scene in Sioux Falls would tell you Elmwood has always been about the golf.
The conventional amenities we associate with finishing up a round and kicking back with friends have been available at Elmwood but probably aren’t the reason you play there.
Over the decades, you could say the no-frills nature of the clubhouse was part of the charm of this historic 27-hole parkland-style layout. Or, you could say the clubhouse always finished runner up to the quality of the golf course itself.
Either way, that part of this iconic course’s identity is coming to an end. In anticipation of its 100th birthday, Elmwood will have a new clubhouse and several new reasons to make it part of your upcoming summer.
“The clubhouse we’ve had at Elmwood was a place where people would go to pay for their golf and maybe grab a hotdog on the way out,” said Tory Miedema, park development specialist for the city of Sioux Falls. “Now, they’re going to have a spot where you’re going to want to have a couple beers and a burger and talk about your round, or even meet there for lunch beforehand.”
At the core of this transformation is a 10,000-square foot facility with a restaurant and bar/lounge area. Included is a banquet section with its own restrooms that will be capable of hosting 110 people.
“We will have enough space so that we can host tournaments, special events, wedding receptions and graduations,” Miedema said. “In the past, we never really had an area where that could happen.”
A new year-round facility for the First Tee program, the state’s golf-affiliated youth development organization, also will be a prominent part of the 2026 revamping.
The First Tee and South Dakota Golf Association contributed $1 million to the rebuild project, which Miedema estimates at $7 million overall.
First Tee has maintained a prominent presence in South Dakota, especially at Elmwood, where the organization has been host to programs throughout the summer months. Now, they’ll be able to extend those opportunities.
“They’re going to have a lot of cool stuff,” Miedema said. “It will include an indoor putting green, a golf simulator and a nice kitchen to host all the kids that go through there.”
The success of the First Tee programs necessitated a serious look at making it part of the Elmwood renovation. As conversations progressed, it made more and more sense to include it in the plan.
“We love First Tee,” Miedema said. “They’re teaching our future user base, you could say, and we thought it would be a good idea to get them a separate place. (First Tee CEO) Julie Jansa was also looking to expand her programming into the winter months, so it was a natural to make it happen.”
The clubhousel also will be the new home for the South Dakota Golf Hall of Fame, which had been located at the nearby Holiday Inn.
A covered patio looking out toward the 18th green will include fans – the kind that cool you off – to make the area more comfortable on hot days. The spot also will have outdoor TVs.
“We figure it will be fun for the golfers who just finished up to be able to sit out there and heckle their friends when they’re coming in,” Miedema joked.
The Hall of Fame will include digital displays of inductees as well as memorabilia, photos and trophies honoring the region’s great players.
“The SDGA approached us about it originally, and we thought it would be an awesome deal,” Miedema said. “It would be another feather in our cap for the new clubhouse. We talked with our design team, and everyone decided we should make it fit. Everyone was super-happy with how it came out.”
A new golf cart garage equipped to handle what will be an all-electric fleet at Elmwood has been added, and the grounds will have 30 more spaces to park.
You will still be able to buy a hot dog, but the restaurant has hired a chef and is in the final stages of unveiling a menu.
The adjacent airport runway expansion completed in 2017 necessitated renovation of the golf course layout. Those improvements led to discussions about finally tackling the clubhouse, which was nearly 60 years old and suffering aesthetically and functionally.
In conjunction with Landscape Golf Management, the firm that operates Sioux Falls’ city courses, the partners came up with what golfers will be experiencing this spring.
“We looked at the numbers and knew this was going to be good for Elmwood and good for the city,” Miedema said. “It’s a worthwhile investment. It was crazy not to do it.”