Golf course living
Five neighborhoods built around a course, and only one of them is private.
The thing nobody tells you about golf course neighborhoods here is that most of the courses are public. You do not need a membership to live on them or to play them, which is not how this works in a lot of the country. There is one real exception and it is on this list. Here they are, in the order I would drive them.
- 1 / Rapid City
Red Rock
The Golf Club at Red Rock is public, and the development is 360 acres in the pines. Two markets under one name: Red Rock Meadows sells at a $537,500 median and Red Rock Estates at $865,000. Streets named for Prestwick, Muirfield, Cog Hill and Lahinch.
- 2 / Rapid City
Elks Country Estates
Semi private, on membership and season pass tiers. 259 homes on the course side at a $541,800 assessed median, with another 245 next door in Elks Crossing at $450,100. In the golf course sections the association mows the lawn, hauls the garbage and stains your house.
- 3 / Rapid City
Hart Ranch
A Patrick Wyss design from 1987, repeatedly ranked the top public course in South Dakota, and public. Also the most expensive ground on this list: 13.93 acre median lots and a $1,540,000 recorded sale median. The village core on the same course is the cheaper way onto it, at a $555,600 townhome median.
- 4 / Spearfish
Elkhorn Ridge Golf Estates
Built on the historic Frawley Ranch along Highway 85, inside Spearfish city limits so the lots are on city water and sewer. 101 homes built and 82 lots still open, from $68,000 for the land.
- 5 / Sturgis
Apple Springs
Boulder Canyon Golf Club has been public since 1948, and the new clubhouse opened this year: golf shop in April, Canyon Grille to the public on the first of May. 241 platted parcels with 159 still open.
One more worth knowing about even though there is nothing to buy in it yet. The builder behind Shepherd Hills, which markets to buyers as View Homes at yourviewhome.com, is advertising something called The 19th at Arrowhead near Arrowhead Country Club in Rapid City, listed as coming soon with no price, no lot count and no release date published anywhere. That community page was last updated August 18 2026 and still shows Coming Soon with no price, while the builder's other three South Dakota communities all show a starting price, so the status is current rather than a stale page, and I rechecked it on August 24 2026. Arrowhead Country Club itself is a private, membership based club, and the PGA of America states play is limited to members, so anyone shopping it for golf access should ask the club before assuming a house conveys anything. If golf is the reason you are moving, confirm the release date, pricing and lot availability with the builder when you are ready to act.
See what's for sale now
These open my search site, where the listings update from the MLS through the day. This page is the background; that one is the inventory.
Looking for golf course living?
Tell me which streets you have already driven and I will tell you what you missed.
Last updated August 2026
This page is general information, not legal, tax, lending or financial advice. Facts and figures are cited from public sources as of August 2026 and change over time. Henry Roy is a licensed real estate professional with Ascend Realty in South Dakota. Equal Housing Opportunity.