Travel Club - Iowa

Tee Times Magazine Travel Club – Iowa

Tee Times Magazine Travel Club Iowa section brings you interesting articles from many of the areas Minnesota and Wisconsin golfers frequent. Here you will find hot topics and reviews from Iowa.

Tournament Club Of Iowa – Best Of Intentions

Tournament Club Of Iowa – Best Of Intentions

You’ve played the course. We all have. The course begging for a tweak here or flip there. We’re all experts as golfers, especially when our ball ends up in a particularly unplayable spot. It’s not our fault… it’s the architect’s, the manager’s, the superintendent’s. “This hole could be so much better if…” and “Who in their right mind puts a tree there?”

Briggs Woods Golf Course – North Central Is ALL Right

Briggs Woods Golf Course – North Central Is ALL Right

HAMILTON COUNTY, IOWA:  If you’re unfamiliar with the beauty of North Central Iowa, but interested in exploring it, I can think of few better origin points for your expedition than the Boone River Valley of Hamilton County.

Amana Colonies – Iowa’s Best Kept Secret Golf Course

Amana Colonies – Iowa’s Best Kept Secret Golf Course

Everyone is setting records. “2020 was the best (golf) year ever,” they say. “And 2021 was even better.” “Not necessarily,” Stephen Kahler of Kahler Golf Management tells me, noting the game itself was responsible for THIS boom (not just one individual – Tiger).

Briggs Woods Golf Course – The Course In the Middle Of Everywhere

Briggs Woods Golf Course – The Course In the Middle Of Everywhere

“We had the biggest influx of Minnesota golfers last year, of any year. You could call it overflow, given how close we are to the state line, and how packed the courses up north were, but there’s also something to be said for the ‘escape factor’ we provide.

The Tournament Club Of Iowa – The King Of Clubs

The Tournament Club Of Iowa – The King Of Clubs

Iowa deserves some love on America’s “Top 100 PUBLIC Golf Course” lists – a fact that would likely go unchallenged among the state’s 250,000 golfers. But… which course? For my money, and I’ve said this for years, the club that most deserves inclusion is the Tournament Club of Iowa.

Otter Creek Golf Course – The Less Things Change

Otter Creek Golf Course – The Less Things Change

The less good things change, the more good things stay the same. “We really haven’t made many changes lately,” Head Golf Professional Curt Ingham acknowledges, (not since the massive, multi-million dollar 2009 Paul Miller renovation) and I know that, but that fact is saying something on its own.

Amana Colonies Golf Club – Amana From Heaven

Amana Colonies Golf Club – Amana From Heaven

“Hidden Gem.” What else would you call it? Year after year I give it the same moniker, in local and national stories. Why? Why not? It’s true. Amana Colonies is hidden. Amana Colonies is a gem.

Tournament Club Of Iowa – The King Reigns On

Tournament Club Of Iowa – The King Reigns On

I miss Arnold Palmer, and how could I not. Meeting him, listening to him, watching him… each opportunity left me wanting more opportunities. I have similar feelings when I play golf courses I love.

Otter Creek Golf Course – Otter This World Fun

Otter Creek Golf Course – Otter This World Fun

2019 marks the 10 year anniversary of my first visit to Otter Creek – not anything for the world to celebrate, by any means, but something I marvel at, just as you might looking back on your own golf travel history.

Amana Colonies Golf Club – Emerging Target

Amana Colonies Golf Club – Emerging Target

Not all golf courses like to be considered a “hidden gem.” It implies, somehow, that you have to really dig to find the value. In that instance, Amana Colonies is NOT a hidden gem. Its value is blatantly obvious.

Whispering Creek Golf Club – Rock and Roll

Whispering Creek Golf Club – Rock and Roll

There’s something cool about a rustic red barn – it’s an Iowa trademark of sorts. Whispering Creek has such a signature barn as their clubhouse, positioned perfectly to take in the best of western Iowa’s golf course panoramas. It’s been the backdrop for many post-round pictures (and pitchers) with friends – the heralded home of Pooch’s Pub.

Tournament Club Of Iowa – King Country

Tournament Club Of Iowa – King Country

There are five Iowa public courses every Midwest golfer should play, and the Tournament Club is absolutely one of those five. Ratings themselves are subjective, doesn’t matter which publication we’re referring to, but at one time or another every single relevant golf magazine in the world has proclaimed Arnold Palmer’s suburban swingbox one of Iowa’s very best.

The Preserve at Honey Creek Resort – Southern Dells

The Preserve at Honey Creek Resort – Southern Dells

Wisconsin Dells is the Water Park Capital of the World. With all of its water parks, golf courses and outdoor recreation opportunities “The Dells” is simultaneously the Activity Capital of Wisconsin. The Preserve at Honey Creek Resort is the Water Park Capital of Iowa.