Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort - The Falls Course

Played a mind fall round. It was during the shoulder season rate so the value for the round was good. I only played 16 holes though as the pace of play WAS TERRIBLE and I had to leave before the round was over. Should have been someone from the course staff to keep a group or two moving.

I've played a lot of courses around Iowa and the Midwest, so I was really excited to play Grand Falls for the first time. Unfortunately, I left underwhelmed.

The Good: I played in about three hours, as I was one of the first groups off for the day. It was a windy morning, so it was nice to keep the round moving.

The average: As some others have mentioned on here, the course conditions are decent but pale in comparison to some other really great golf courses in Iowa.

The not so good: I found the course layout, except for a few holes, quite boring and forgettable. Hole No. 9 hugging the pond is a great hole, and I enjoyed it much more than Hole No. 18, which felt like they were trying to squeeze in one last hole on the property. What I really disliked was 2/3 of the holes on the course were either straight north or straight south.

In the end, I'll probably go back and give it another try. But, I might wait for a few years before giving it another chace.

I've now played The Falls four times. I know there are a lot of mixed feelings on Rees Jones layouts in the Golf Architecture community, and I've certainly had mixed experiences, but I really like the layout at The Falls.

The Good:
As mentioned above, the layout of The Falls is really good. I love the treeless, windswept prairie look and feel. You will use a different club on all the par 3s, which is important to me. In addition there are subtle elevation changes and the bunkering is solid.

The Average:
The condition of The Falls is just average for a resort course. Seems like every time I play it, the greens have recently been aerated so that may bias me a little bit.

The Not So Good:
This is something I've seen fall off in the 5 years between my first and most recent round, and that is the pace of play and lack of any urgency to do anything about it by the course staff. During my round today there was a fivesome on the course that had it all backed up and nothing was done. It was not a busy day and it still took 4 and a half hours to play. That seemed really long to me. All of my prior rounds here had been 4 hours or less.

I do recommend The Falls. Just be prepared that it may play more slowly than you think it should.

Really fun course just outside Sioux Falls. Every time I play here the course is in great shape. If the wind is blowing it can get very difficult, choose your tees wisely. Also be aware of the rough; if they let it get a little long you better hope you're hitting it straight. It is thick and unforgiving. Bag drop and valet parking out front is nice. They moved the pro shop upstairs this year so it's a little quicker to check in and get to the range or 1st tee. Greens are quick but you'll usually find fair pin placement. I normally play Monday mornings and pace of play is great. Can't believe this course isn't busier as it's much nicer than most of the courses in Sioux Falls. You can normally come across tee time deals online which make this place an unbelievable value. I've never stayed at the hotel or lost money in the casino so I can't give them a review but the golf course is a must play for any serious golfer. Will definitely be challenging for high handicappers especially if it's windy.