Golf in Iowa

Iowa's golf landscape spreads across one of the world's most productive agricultural regions, where the glacial topography that shaped the land for farming also created a diversity of course settings ranging from the flat prairie of the north to the Mississippi River bluffs of the east and the Loess Hills of the west. The state's approximately 12,000 farms and the small cities and county seats that serve them create the social fabric that makes golf a central community institution throughout Iowa.

The state's most celebrated courses reflect the breadth of Iowa's geographic character. The Harvester Golf Club in Rhodes has earned national recognition for its design quality in the central Iowa prairie, while Spirit Hollow Golf Course in Oak Hills draws visitors to the bluff country near Burlington with one of the state's most dramatic natural settings. Tournament Club of Iowa near Polk City brings championship-caliber design to the Des Moines metropolitan area, and Bos Landen Golf Club in Pella (set within the Dutch heritage community) offers an experience connected to the distinctive cultural landscape of central Iowa.

Iowa's major cities anchor significant golf communities. Des Moines, the state's capital and most dynamic city, offers multiple quality courses serving the insurance industry professionals and state government workers who define the capital region's character. Cedar Rapids, Iowa's second city and the Linn County manufacturing and agricultural processing center, provides eastern Iowa's most complete golf environment. The Quad Cities' four communities straddling the Mississippi River create another metropolitan golf cluster, while the Iowa Great Lakes resort region in the northwest corner concentrates recreational golf around the glacial lakes that draw summer visitors from across the Midwest.

The state's cultural communities add distinctive flavor to Iowa golf. The Amana Colonies Golf Course serves the historic communal settlement's visitors in one of Iowa's most distinctive cultural landscapes. Decorah's Norwegian heritage country in the northeast creates a scenic setting where Luther College's presence and the Oneota River valley's limestone bluffs create a college town golf environment unlike any other in Iowa. The Dutch-American communities of Sioux County (Orange City, Sioux Center, Hull, and Rock Valley) serve a northwest Iowa population where the Reformed faith, the tulip festivals, and the corn and soybean farming create a coherent cultural landscape.

Iowa's municipal and nine-hole courses form the backbone of the state's recreational golf economy. The small county seats (from Lamoni in the south to Sibley in the northwest) maintain their community courses as social and recreational institutions that reflect the state's commitment to accessible outdoor recreation in communities of every size. The seasonal character of Iowa golf (with the prime season from April through October bracketed by unpredictable springs and autumns) creates a golf culture built around making the most of Iowa's genuinely fine summer weather in one of the great agricultural landscapes of the American Midwest.