Review- Waveland Golf Course, Des Moines Iowa

My maternal grandparents lived in downtown Des Moines most of the time I can remember.  Only after my grandfather passed away did my grandmother sell the house and downsize into a condo nearby.  I remember fondly visiting their house growing up.  My grandfather was a tremendous gardener and I used to love seeing his rose bushes in bloom and spent a lot of time in the green house room on the font of the house.  After my grandfather died my grandmother planted a memorial garden in the front yard, at the base of the hill below the house.  On my recent trip down to play golf in Iowa I had the privileged of being able to stop by the house.
The memorial garden is still there.  Sadly the rose bushes are gone.  In the back yard is now one of those big Rainbow systems playground sets.  Time carries on.

I didn't take up golfing until I was in college.  All the while I was visiting my grandparents in Des Moines I had no idea that less than 1/2 mile away is the Waveland golf course.  An 18 hole course built in 2001, it is the oldest municipal golf course west of the Mississippi river.  Waveland is one of those great old school courses with huge trees, narrower fairways, and smaller greens.  Waveland is on very hilly ground and there are dramatic elevation changes on lots of the holes.  Despite the big hills the layout is nicely planned.  The result are very few blind shots.  On some courses, less hilly than this, it seems like you are constantly hitting blind shots over or down a hill.  Not so here.

 
I am told that this course gets over 40,000 rounds a year.  Being centrally located to the city and with its great terrain I can see its popularity.  This course reminds me of what the Theodore Wirth golf course in Minneapolis could be like.  The Minneapolis city courses offer some great golf but the maintenance on the courses is sorely lacking.  I don't know if it is poor funding or overplaying but their conditions are definitely on a downslide.  Waveland seems a lot like Wirth with the big elevation changes and big trees (like hole 8) but is in a lot better shape

The course is fairly tightly packed geographically but it does not feel like it when you are on the course.  It is not like some clubs where holes are side to side and any errant shots are likely to land on someone one hole over.  With the age of the course the biggest challenge is the ancient trees that line each hole.  Water and sand is not common, though strategic bunkers and meandering creeks do exist.  When we played there were several sand traps that looked like were under repair with large piles of sand randomly placed within the bunkers like some kind of crazy moguls.  I imagine this is typical early season maintenance and not likely an everyday condition.


The number one handicap hole is #3, a par 5 558 yards of testing how straight you can hit.  This hole is referred to as "the chute" and from the tee I can see why.  A seemingly never ending tunnel of trees welcomes your first shot.  Should you manage to hit your drive straight and avoid the woods, your second shot requires an even more precise approach as the landing area squeezes down even more between two water hazards.  The third shot finally opens to the green.  A par here is a nicely done job.

Waveland is also the first course I have played with a solar observatory nestled in amongst the holes.  The obervatory was built in 1920 and is still operated by Drake University.  It is the home to the Des Moines Astronomical Society.  It was dedicated to Dr. Daniel Walter Morehouse, and is actually the burial spot of him as well.  The observatory houses an 8 1/2 inch refracting telescope.  The observatory is even open to the public Friday nights in the spring.

2011 Green fees for Waveland are a ridiculous $20 M-F and after noons on weekends.  Before noon on weekdays the fee is just $30.  Carts are not included and you probably would want them unless you want a true work out on the hills.  A surprising number of people were walking the day we played, but the course says about 70% of people do get a cart.

If you are in Des Moines and can find time, I would definitely recommend Waveland.  Just hit them straight or you will be in the trees a large part of your day.