Worst Golf Holes in Iowa

[enisthemenace]

I LOVE the quirkiness of Veenker! It isn't skillful to have every hole be a driver wedge. Since my ball flight is right to left, I only hit my driver twice on the entire front 9 (#1/#9). That to me is a much greater challenge than the $*** courses like Ames Golf & CC and others where you can swing away and not be punished for missing the fairways.

Disclaimer*
I'm very biased towards Veenker after working there for several years thru college.

I agree with this point about “hitting driver on every hole”. On par 4’s it is completely fine, and like you, I rather enjoy it. My only beef is when you can’t reach a green on your second because you are forced to layup off the tee (#11 at Jester is the prime example, but there are others).

 

[octaviouspoon]

I played River Valley for years on the Tuesday night 2 man league. 18 was very frustrating, especially if you had a good score going into it. All could change on that stupid green. Anytime you have to mow a green completely different that all the other 17 is ludicrous. They have to keep it long just to try and keep balls from going off the green. They anything going back to the hole forces you to hit a putt you have not hit all day. I guess practicing on a shag carpet would help you figure out the speed...

I've played in 2 man league the last 4 years. Anymore I don't find 18 too difficult. I finally realized there is no sense hitting a driver off the tee. I go iron now so I can hit a full wedge or short iron to the green.

I think all their greens are like that anymore...slowest around town. That saves you on 18 though.

 

[CY88CE11]

Is that the one with the pond in front? I sometimes get the east and west courses confused.

Correct. Trees on either side of the green. Back tees have a tiny window to hit through to get anywhere close to the green. And somehow, I can hit a perfect iron shot and land square in the pond about half the time. I hate that hole.

 

[enisthemenace]

Correct. Trees on either side of the green. Back tees have a tiny window to hit through to get anywhere close to the green. And somehow, I can hit a perfect iron shot and land square in the pond about half the time. I hate that hole.

Ok...last time I played there, which was late this past season (so not too long ago), I shanked it off the tee, hit a branch on the tree, ricocheted back toward the green and ended up pin high, 8 feet for birdie. Laughed my ass off, because had I not gotten so lucky, it was such a bad pass, I may have ended up out of bounds right of #4 tee box. Instead, I was putting for birdie. I missed the putt. Karma, I guess.

 

[Tre4ISU]

I LOVE the quirkiness of Veenker! It isn't skillful to have every hole be a driver wedge. Since my ball flight is right to left, I only hit my driver twice on the entire front 9 (#1/#9). That to me is a much greater challenge than the $*** courses like Ames Golf & CC and others where you can swing away and not be punished for missing the fairways.

Disclaimer*
I'm very biased towards Veenker after working there for several years thru college.

Veenker is fun. I won't say it's not and I would play it at any point. It's gimmicky, though and it forces way to much. There are just a bunch holes where it takes options away and you're hitting a bunch of 4 irons of the tee, not because it's the smart play, because it's the only play. Like I said, it's fun, but a design masterpiece, it's not.

Also, when I was in college it was in really poor condition. Hopefully that's changed.

 

[ClonesFTW]

#7 at Otter Creek. Either move the tee up 50 yards or change it to a par 5. It plays into the wind 9 times out of 10.

Oh, and don’t put the pin in the back right when most approaches are coming in from 200 yards.

I play league at Otter and this was the first hole that came to my mind. Definitely agree with the blind par 3 at River Valley as well.

 

[FerShizzle]

I play league at Otter and this was the first hole that came to my mind. Definitely agree with the blind par 3 at River Valley as well.

I've been cruising through so many rounds only to derail at that hole. You can literally avoid hitting any bad shots and still take bogey.

 

[ZJohnson]

14, 15, 17 and the original 18 at Bos Landen are some of the worst finishing holes in the history of golf. It really shows how amateur the designer(s) were with this course. 14 is just plain stupid...long iron or 3 wood if you have balls off the tee, mid/long iron to a landing zone that is honestly only 15 yards x 15 yards and then up 60 feet to a moronic green. 15 is beyond dumb...Iron over a ******* stupid oak tree to a landing zone that is tiny with a pond 10 feet from the fairway. 16 is a good par 3, I'll give them that. 17 is ok, but after hitting 10+ mid/long iron shots in a row it gets old. The original 18 where the creek cut the fairway into an island was crazy hard and unfair at times. You had to hit 215 to carry the water, through a shoot of trees 15 yards wide and had to be on the left side to get a good angle at the green. Then 150-190 into a tough green made double bogey an easy possibility.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Is that the one with the pond in front? I sometimes get the east and west courses confused.

Yep

 

[cyfan92]

Veenker is fun. I won't say it's not and I would play it at any point. It's gimmicky, though and it forces way to much. There are just a bunch holes where it takes options away and you're hitting a bunch of 4 irons of the tee, not because it's the smart play, because it's the only play. Like I said, it's fun, but a design masterpiece, it's not.

Also, when I was in college it was in really poor condition. Hopefully that's changed.

I agree on the condition. There are soo many rounds played on Veenker it definitely can look rough. The range especially get destroyed! Several factors play into that: It has had major flooding several times that required a complete re-seed. It also doesn't help that <50% of players NEVER fix divots or ball marks while playing.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Correct. Trees on either side of the green. Back tees have a tiny window to hit through to get anywhere close to the green. And somehow, I can hit a perfect iron shot and land square in the pond about half the time. I hate that hole.

I don't know what it is with that hole but it always seems to play 10-15 yards longer than it really is and there really isn't much of an elevation change. I'd hate to know how many times I've strung a really nice ball but still land in that damn pond.

 

[ISUalum2012]

Here is one:

#14 at Bos Landen (Par 5)
- a layup required tee shot (in my opinion, a par 5 should not “require” a layup off the tee. Now...if a person decided to layup off the tee, maybe to set up an angle on their 3rd into the green, fine, but requiring it is stupid)
- the 2nd shot is also a required layup. I have never seen a person even have a remote chance to reach that green in 2. Not one time. And that 2nd is no picnic
- the 3rd/approach is way below the green surface (think #11 at Veenker). Left is dead. Right is dead. Short is essentially dead (very, very long grass in front). Long leaves you chipping downhill to a green that slopes severely back to front.

Dumb, on an otherwise fun course.

Agree with this. Adding to the badness of the hole, the landing area for the tee shot layup is slopped fairly severely from right to left meaning for a righty your second shot has the ball above your feet which is one of my least favorite stances in golf.

 

[enisthemenace]

14, 15, 17 and the original 18 at Bos Landen are some of the worst finishing holes in the history of golf. It really shows how amateur the designer(s) were with this course. 14 is just plain stupid...long iron or 3 wood if you have balls off the tee, mid/long iron to a landing zone that is honestly only 15 yards x 15 yards and then up 60 feet to a moronic green. 15 is beyond dumb...Iron over a ******* stupid oak tree to a landing zone that is tiny with a pond 10 feet from the fairway. 16 is a good par 3, I'll give them that. 17 is ok, but after hitting 10+ mid/long iron shots in a row it gets old. The original 18 where the creek cut the fairway into an island was crazy hard and unfair at times. You had to hit 215 to carry the water, through a shoot of trees 15 yards wide and had to be on the left side to get a good angle at the green. Then 150-190 into a tough green made double bogey an easy possibility.

#15 at Bos. I usually tee it up on the far left of the box, tee it high and bomb a driver right over the top of the right hand trees. Usually have about 90 yards in from the middle of the fairway. Takes some guts, because it requires a really high tee shot and about 30 yards right of the dogleg tree line, but it will reward you if you can pull it off.

 

[ZJohnson]

#15 at Bos. I usually tee it up on the far left of the box, tee it high and bomb a driver right over the top of the right hand trees. Usually have about 90 yards in from the middle of the fairway. Takes some guts, because it requires a really high tee shot and about 30 yards right of the dogleg tree line, but it will reward you if you can pull it off.

Yeah it is a ballsy shot with very high risk/low reward. If you are playing the course for fun, I get it, but I generally played that course in tournaments and hitting driver there isn't a smart choice at all. That is basically the whole back nine at Bos. In tournaments, #11 and occasionally #12 are the only times I broke out the driver.

 

[dosry5]

Oh, this is about golf.

I was going to say, my ex-wife is one of the worst in Iowa

Is it over crowded? Too many guys on the course?

 

[FOREVERTRUE]

Is it over crowded? Too many guys on the course?

Too easy to play? Cost too much money?

 

[cyhiphopp]

Is it over crowded? Too many guys on the course?

Too easy to play? Cost too much money?

These were some of my main concerns. Guys trying to play through during my round. Hills and valleys looked nice from afar but the upkeep on the greens and in the rough were lacking. WAAAAY too expensive. But overall just a frustrating experience.

 

[VeloClone]

Veenker is fun. I won't say it's not and I would play it at any point. It's gimmicky, though and it forces way to much. There are just a bunch holes where it takes options away and you're hitting a bunch of 4 irons of the tee, not because it's the smart play, because it's the only play. Like I said, it's fun, but a design masterpiece, it's not.

How much of this is due to the changes they had to make to the course to accommodate the 13th to Ontario connection that cut through there years ago? I know they had to alter and even abandon some of the original holes - there were two on the other side of the railroad tracks originally. Anyone here play the course before 1971?

 

[SayMyName]

How much of this is due to the changes they had to make to the course to accommodate the 13th to Ontario connection that cut through there years ago? I know they had to alter and even abandon some of the original holes - there were two on the other side of the railroad tracks originally. Anyone here play the course before 1971?

Holy crap - I don't think I ever knew that about the place! Would explain a lot, though.

Bad part is it is no longer a suitable venue for the golf team. Had a work buddy, who could play the mini-tours or be semi-pro if he wanted, show up having never played the course before and take 2nd place in a big tournament event (probably the Iowa Masters). He only lost because the dude who won aced #11! Don't need a long game with that course, so the guys with a solid short game tend to eat it up.

 

[enisthemenace]

Holy crap - I don't think I ever knew that about the place! Would explain a lot, though.

Bad part is it is no longer a suitable venue for the golf team. Had a work buddy, who could play the mini-tours or be semi-pro if he wanted, show up having never played the course before and take 2nd place in a big tournament event (probably the Iowa Masters). He only lost because the dude who won aced #11! Don't need a long game with that course, so the guys with a solid short game tend to eat it up.

Unfortunately, quite a few places are seeing the same thing happen. Waveland being one of them. Look at the Des Moines Men’s City scores over the years. Just a couple under used to win that thing, and not too long ago either. A couple under may not even get you into the championship flight anymore. Guys are destroying that course now.