While the weather has been blustery in recent weeks and kept the lights in the Clubhouse off, dozens of golfers have already been out walking the course in Flandreau excited about the course conditions and the season ahead. This past year, club officials offered a discounted rate to patrons due to less than ideal playing conditions, but a dedicated team of volunteers, staff, and an outside landscaping company have River’s Bend back to an ideal small rural course to get out and play.
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By Carleen Wild
Moody County Enterprise
As River’s Bend Country Club prepares to open for another year along the scenic shores of the Big Sioux River in Flandreau, club officials and volunteers say they are excited about the season ahead — especially after a tough 2023.
This past season saw greens fees taken in fall to nearly half of what they might be normally due to poor conditions on the course.
“The greens were in really tough shape, they had some bad winter kill last year, the winter of 2022-2023, so playing conditions were pretty poor, greens fees were down about half because we had to discount them, so we brought in a little less money,” Jason Ramsdell told Council members.
That won’t be the case in 2024, Ramsdell assured them.
“This year, with all of the extra work that we did reseeding and aeration on the greens, it came back really well over winter…it’s going to be a very nice course to play.”
City support has also gone toward improvements in the course’s irrigation systems and hiring a third-party landscaping company to help make ongoing improvements to the fairways and greens.
The Fire Department donated time as well this winter to water the greens to keep grass and greens that were reseeded this past summer and fall, to develop as strong a root system as possible.
It’s paying off.
Dozens of golfers who just can’t wait to pick up the sticks again and who love the local 9-hole historic course have been out soaking up time on the fairways this winter. The unusually warm weather has allowed walkers to hit the course for months.
The Annual Meeting for the course will be held on April 19th at 6:00 p.m. in the Royal Room at the Royal River Casino.
Ramsdell was one of the only people remaining other than Council members this past Tuesday night. Earlier in the evening, it was a busy place.
New police officers Tyler Wallert and Zach Ridgway were introduced by Police Chief Zach Weber. City Administrator Cohl Turnquist additionally introduced Ashley Strong as the new Administrative Office Assistant.
The Moody County Enterprise will have a full introduction in next week’s edition.
Also heard at the most recent meeting of the Flandreau City Council:
In a follow-up to a story the Moody county Enterprise brought you this past week, City Administrator Turnquist plans to work alongside Mayor Dan Sutton to develop a committee to look into development at the Flandreau Dam.
Turnquist also informed Council he would like to hold a workshop with the Council to discuss a 5-10 year plan on future city projects.
The First Reading of Ordinance No. 620, which would rezone the area adjacent to the Janklow Community Center from Agricultural to General Residential, was held. This is dedicated space for a future community child care center should a major grant be awarded a collaborative project of the Boys and Girls Club of Moody County, the City, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, and County.
