Elkhorn Ridge Golf Course nearing completion (Sept 7)

September 7, 2015 – A decade and half year old dream for a beautiful golf course in the Northern Hills is on the verge of becoming reality.

Half a generation ago, golf course designer Pat Wyss took a walk on a hillside on the old Frawley Ranch near I-90 Exit 17 and saw a thing of beauty.

“Fifteen years ago, the first time I set foot on this property, I stood up on the ridge above this hole and looked down in this valley and thought, ’What a great golf hole that would make!’” Wyss said.

But he had no way of knowing it would take so long for his vision to materialize.

Developer Darryl Propp bought the historic 5,000 Frawley Ranch with plans to build homes, businesses and a golf course. But Lawrence County voters twice rejected the plan. The City of Spearfish then annexed the land, took over the golf course and gave the other plans a green light.

Spearfish has since sold the golf course back to Propp and today Wyss’s dream golf holes are nearly completed.

“It’s really rewarding because we can see all the steps we’ve taken to this point really work,” said golf course Construction Superintendent Larry Barefield. “And it’s really starting to come to life.”

Added Wyss, who said he hopes to have the last nine holes of the course open in early 2016: “You have to have a lot of patience in my line of work.”