There are more than 80 golf courses within 50 miles of Des Moines. There is at least one muni in every county (and we have 99 counties). Public courses range from rough tracts that Ol' Tom might have played to beautiful new layouts that would cost 100s of dollars in any major market. Instead, we can play them all for less than $75 dollars and many for a lot less; have lunch for less than $10, and be back at work by noon. The season goes well into the fall; I've played Thanksgiving weekend, and some of the local public courses are open year round. (One of my favorite fundraisers, for Children and Families of Iowa, is played at Terrace Hills east of Des Moines in December, and my other favorite, A Shot in the Dark for Prevent Blindness Iowa is played after dark at Willow Creek Golf Course.) We'll be posting reviews of these and other Iowa and New Jersey courses, as well as any resort courses we get to play, regulalrly.  We have golfers of all shapes and sizes, young and old. And now we have Zach Johnson. See you on the links.

Comments

[Gloria]

Hey, Tom, what's more fun than playing golf in the snow! OK, playing golf on a beautiful sunny day in July! But it really is fun and what a challenge to play in our unique annual winter tournament, in Des Moines, Iowa. We welcome one and all, and the details so far for this year include:

December 2nd, 2007: Holiday Golf Classic & Texas Hold Em' Tournament, Terrace Hill Golf Course in Altoona, Iowa.
Bundle up and join us on the course for a round of golf in a winter wonderland. Not up for a chilly round of golf? Join us inside for a friendly Texas Hold Em' Tournament. All proceeds from the event benefit Children & Families of Iowa. Information will be updated as we get closer to this event at:
www.cfiowa.org.

Thanks, Tom!

[Kirsten]

Hooray for the munis!!!!!

Great way to meet other people, too -- I often get chances to golf that are kind of last minute, which means it can be hard to find a buddy to go with - I love how at my city's muni courses I almost always have a chance to join other groups, if I want, when I'm golfing by myself. Everyone's so relaxed & friendly.

[Tom]

Kirsten:
Thanks for the comment. I love walking on to munis as a single. My last round at a local favorite, Waveland Golf Course, was a treat as I joined up with a young couple, both of whom could play: he was long knocker and new to Des Moines; she was down the middle and a former cowgirl. Lots of fun, and it turns out I had some business interests in common with him. Good golf, beautiful, sunny day on the links, and good people, all for less than 30 bucks.