I am going to be in Ames, Iowa the first part of May and I have one full day and probaly an evening to play. What are some really good course to play.

2 courses I often drive to from Mpls to play early season golf are the Harvester and The Tournament Course of Iowa. Played both many times and always going back. Bos Laden, Alana Colonies, Cold Water, all pretty good, but I put the first two way up front.

i played the iowa state course years ago in the state girl's am........it ate my lunch.

i am at a loss for the name though and too lazy to look it up. Vinker maybe?



so i checked....it is Veenker. I spelled it wrong.



oh and another vote for Amana Colonies. Make the trip....great great track. i left Iowa for greener pastures awhile ago so i don't know many of the new ones. but Amana is soooo goood.

If you are in Ames and don't want to drive then check out either Coldwater Golf Links or Veenker. If you don't mind a little driving, the top course in the state is The Harvestor in Rhodes (also a little pricier). Another close one is the Arnold Palmer course - The Tournament Club of Iowa in Polk City.
It all depends on how far you want to drive. Bos Landen is about 90 minutes away in Pella. Amana Colonies is about 2 hours away. The Legacy is another good one about 45 minutes away in Norwalk.
If none of those trip your trigger, let me know and I'll shoot out some more suggestions - but those are some of the best public courses you could play.

Rumour has it that the greens at Veenker are in bad shape due to the harsh winter .

ha this is right up my alley. I was a member at cold water last year. Its a great course but really easy. Veenker on the other hand is the cream of the crop in the Ames area. I'm a member at Veenker this year and played today and yes the greens are in bad shape as well as the tee boxes because of the winter. However its still a gem. hope this helps

One word: Harvester

any of you iowa people decide to have an outing of wrx'ers....let me know...i'll come up and play. i'd love to play the havester or tournament club.

How far is the Tournament Club and the Harvester from Ames? Are in the same direction?

is is possible to play both in the same day? One in the am and on in the pm?

I don't think it would be possible to play both in the same day.

I've only played the TCI but the harverster is on my list.

TCI is a nice layout tucked in the tree's with some great looking holes. A lot of people hate the TCI because of the tree's.

The Harverster is in the top 100 in the US and the #1 course in Iowa until Blue Top Ridge (Riverside, IA) get's ranked. Rumor has it their application to host a Ryder Cup has been approved. Again this is only rumor I have no facts to support this. http://www.riversidecasinoandresort.com/flash/index.php

I think it would be a long day, but I do think it's possible to play both in one day.

Let's say you start at one of the courses at 8 a.m. and play in 4 1/2. That leaves you at 12:30. Give yourself an hour or 90 minutes to be safe to make the drive and grab something to eat. That gives you a 2 p.m. tee time at the other course.

There's plenty of daylight to do that.

I've been to both, but never made the drive between them. Both are north of Des Moines and TCI is much closer to I-35.

It's certainly doable. Let us know what you think.

i have heard stellar reviews for blue top ridge.....ryder cup though? i dunno.


if champions in houston can't get one, i sincerely doubt a track (rees jones' name withstanding) that is barely open, in the middle of an iowa cornfield and part of a riverboat casino....not to mention being unranked, even sniffs the top of that list.

So if on only can get in one round, which? The Harvester or Tournmement Club?

You have to play The Harvester. I'm from Iowa and haven't played it in a couple years, but I'm going to convince a few guys to fly up there and play it along with Glen Oaks in West Des Moines. I would suggest Glen Oaks if it weren't private.

If you're only going to play one, I would suggest the Harvester.

It's a very strong course with really only one weak hole (in my opinion). There's really good variety. You have to hit good shots, but the course is very fair. TCI (which I've only played once) is a little more tricky. Plus the two par 3s on the back are almost identical and the last two holes are completely different from the first 16.

Got me a tee time at the Harvester for 12:00 on Sunday, now I just need the weather to hold out for me!

what is the weather like in this part of the state? Weather forcast show high 60's for Sunday. Is it normally windy, cool, etc. planning on what I need to bring.

I would expect it to be fairly breezy this time of year and I see a high of 58* on Sunday so a windbreaker may be appropriate. It's a fairly hilly course and you'll be on the top of some of those hills at points with a little more noticeable breeze. Just hope the wind isn't from the West or the Big Hog (#15 - http://harvestergolf.com/course/hole15.html) will eat ya up from the tips. You'll enjoy the course, have fun!

What are the morning temps like? i might try to get two rounds in if I am a single and get done in time? Is the course usually full?

They have Caddies at the Harvester, if I can get one should I?

How was your trip to The Harvester?

I played Sunday Morning, the wind was blowing about 15-20 mph! The course was in great shape except for the greens, just sanded them. Rough was thick. Played the tips (7300 yards) and shot an 87, not my best but with the conditions, I will take it. The 650 par 5 into the wind up hill was a beast. I will be coming back in September for training and plan on playing it again.

we had a high school tournament there a couple weeks ago. I think that hole is called the Hog and we had to play into like 35 mph wind on it. I got a double and i about crushed each shot.