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The barn and silos of the Reetz family farm sit in the middle of Reetz Lake. The buildings have become the centerpiece of Sunken Prairie Golf Club, scheduled to open in spring 2028 just south of Webster. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.<\/p>\n
Two novice golfers from South Dakota are hoping a hobby can turn into a highly successful sports and outdoor venture.<\/p>\n
Webster native Riley Reetz and Winner\u2019s Wyatt Ewing met at South Dakota State University<\/a> in Brookings and developed a friendship that\u2019s led to a bold foray into the world of golf.<\/p>\n They are planning a high-end golf course that will be the centerpiece of Sunken Prairie Golf Club<\/a>, a golfing, hunting and fishing enterprise just south of Webster.<\/p>\n Reetz, whose family has farmed the land for five generations, said he and Ewing looked to build something around Reetz Lake, but golf was not the original idea.<\/p>\n The lake is on Reetz family land that flooded nearly three decades ago.<\/p>\n MORE:\u00a0Braun, Aberdeen Central repeat as AA girls golf champions; Vikander aces 15th<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWyatt and I are always looking for business ventures, big ideas and we were driving around the lake, and I was thinking of putting up a wedding venue, and Wyatt was like, \u2018What about a campground along with the wedding venue?’\u201d Reetz said.<\/p>\n Within minutes of that suggestion came the watershed moment \u2014 a golf course.<\/p>\n \u201cWe both just looked at each and said, \u2018What if we do this right and put in a nice golf course?’\u201d Reetz said.<\/p>\n He drew on his experience from a trip he took to Sutton Bay,<\/a> a golf, hunting and fishing venue along the Missouri River near Agar.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had the hunting and fishing already here, and it seemed like a golf course just made sense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Wyatt Ewing, left, and Riley Reetz stand on the future site of the clubhouse at Sunken Prairie Golf Club on the Reetz farm south of Webster. The high-end golf course is scheduled to open in spring 2028. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.<\/p>\n Ewing said the original plan was just a course where folks could go out and have some fun playing. But that evolved into an Irish-style, championship-level links golf course.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just thought, sure, we can put a golf course out here, have some people come out, just go hit some golf balls, you know, just go out there and rough and tumble a golf course,\u201d Ewing said. \u201cThe thought became to see if someone could draw this and put something on paper. We reached out to a course design company, and when they came out here, the first thing they said was, \u2018You guys are onto something here.’\u201d<\/p>\n The name Sunken Prairie derived from heavy rainfall and snow in the late 1990s that resulted in what was at the time a small slough that, due to the excess water, has since become a lake of roughly 800 acres.<\/p>\n The original farmhouse, barn and silos of the Reetz family farm form the de-facto centerpiece of the course as the buildings remain, albeit in the middle of the water.<\/p>\n \u201cMy family used to have grain and cattle, then the flood happened here and we had to sell all of the cattle,\u201d Reetz said. \u201cNow, 20 years later, instead of grain and cattle, it can be grain and golf.\u201d<\/p>\n But, that concept did not impress Reetz\u2019s family at the onset.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, my dad did not golf and my grandfather sure as hell did not golf, so when we brought up a golf course, the questions were, \u2018Why?\u2019 and \u2018How is this gonna happen?\u2019 and \u2018Who wants to play golf in Webster?\u2019 Wyatt and I took them out around the lake and said, \u2018Don\u2019t look at it as just land.\u2019 Then, they started warming up to the idea,\u201d Reetz said.<\/p>\n A computer-generated image of the Sunken Prairie Golf Club course south of Webster designed by Smyers, Craig and Coyne International Golf Course Architecture Group.<\/p>\n World-renowned designers create Sunken Prairie course<\/p>\n The Sunken Prairie course design was created by the Smyers, Craig and Coyne<\/a> International Golf Course Architecture Group, which has offices in Tampa, Fla., Oklahoma City and Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Colton Craig, a golf course architect, was the first member of the group to visit the Webster area farm. The size of the course is projected to be more than 7,000 yards. That\u2019s roughly the span of Moccasin Creek Country Club in Aberdeen.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we first took Colton around the lake and where we thought the course could go, his head was spinning,\u201d Ewing said.<\/p>\n MORE:\u00a0I Have a Question (or two): Northern State\u2019s wolf logo, school fight song<\/a><\/p>\n Craig spent the day walking around the lake and noted areas where tee boxes and greens should go.<\/p>\n \u201cHe rode with me around the lake,\u201d Ewing said, \u201cAnd you could see him drawing out fairways and greens, like, the entire time, but that\u2019s what he does, and he\u2019s really good at painting a picture of what it can look like. At one point, when we were along the lake, he said, \u2018This is a true, natural links course.’\u201d<\/p>\n The original \u00a0rendition of Sunken Prairie Golf Course near Webster designed by Smyers, Craig, and Coyne International Golf Course Architecture Group.<\/p>\n Ewing said the contours of the land around Reetz Lake allow the design to have little to no effect on the landscape.<\/p>\n Since Craig\u2019s initial visit, both Ewing and Reetz have shared the same vision and can see how the course could be laid out.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are land bowls you can stand on top of and almost see that there needs to be a golf green at the bottom of it,\u201d Ewing said. \u201cI mean, after he left, Riley and I went out and walked all around and put on miles walking and driving and said, \u2018This could be a cool golf hole, and this could be a cool hole as well.\u2019 It\u2019s been a super-fun process.\u201d<\/p>\n Sunken Prairie will occupy about 200 tillable acres of the farm, Reetz estimated.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s about 6% of what we farm, but when you\u2019re out here you realize just how much land it actually is. When Colton was here, he said there were about 30 holes he envisioned, and we had to cut that down to 18 and, honestly, based on the design, it\u2019s perfect,\u201d Reetz said.<\/p>\n Hopes are Sunken Prairie is ready for golf in 2028<\/p>\n Ewing said he and Reetz hope to begin initial clearing and excavating the area after the corn harvest this fall, with the opening for golf targeted for spring 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hope is for a grand opening of the course in 2028, with most of the golf construction taking place in \u201927, if all goes to plan\u201d Reetz said. \u201cThere\u2019s potential for preview play for the fall of 2027, but it becomes a question on whether the course is ready and do we want to go out and kind of beat it up.\u201d<\/p>\n When he and Ewing were asked about the estimated cost of the venture, their answer was succinct.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot,\u201d they said, smiling.<\/p>\n Memberships are already for sale, and while the golf course won\u2019t be ready for close to two years, members can book hunting and fishing packages for this fall.<\/p>\n Reetz and Ewing weren\u2019t much into golf in high school. Their interest grew during the COVID-19 pandemic when both were still at South Dakota State and started to play more.<\/p>\n Now, with what\u2019s expected to be a world-class links-style golf course set to be built, Ewing said the excitement is palpable.<\/p>\n Riley Reetz, left, Wyatt Ewing and Colton Craig of Smyers, Craig and Coyne International Golf Course Architecture Group discuss the course layout of Sunken Prairie Golf Club, which is set to open in spring 2028 just south of Webster. Courtesy photo.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Colton and Steve (Smyers) came out to look at the course, then left and it\u2019s Riley and I standing there, we just started slapping each other on the back and got all jacked up that this was actually happening. It was like we were little kids again,\u201d Ewing said.<\/p>\n Smyers<\/a> is also a golf course architect and has designed courses on six continents.<\/p>\n Smyers, Craig and Coyne is a highly reputable golf course design company. Smyers has been in the business for around five decades and once served as president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s expected Sunken Prairie will include an elegant clubhouse with fine dining, an executive chef, a bar and social club, and a wrap-around deck with views of the entire course and lake. A handful of cabins will be built where guests can lodge, and a gym and golf simulators are also planned.<\/p>\n![\"Wyatt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SUNKEN-WYATT-RILEY-1024x659.jpg\" "\\"World-class")
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