Golf in Fort Dodge

We are an 18-hole public golf course located in the heart of Iowa. We showcase bentgrass tees, fairways, and greens and over 40 undulating bunkers. Our course pays tribute to the links traditions of golf by relying on the prairie winds and fescue grasses as the primary defenses.

Cedar Pointe Golf Course’s 18-hole layout unfurls across 6,647 yards of pristine fairways cleaved into a landscape of mature trees and rough-side waterways. The course eases golfers into the round with eight relatively straightforward holes before testing swings at the ninth hole, where tee shots must clear a pond on their multishot journey to a windswept flagstick 543 yards in the distance. The intervening water at the end of the front nine foretells an upsurge in aquatic obstacles in the course’s second act, where a slender pond runs between the 12th and 13th holes and two ponds loom menacingly at the junction of the 10th, 11th, and 18th holes, tempting many hydrophobic golf balls to forge doctor’s notes allowing them to stay in the dry bag. An adjacent driving range prepares players and gun-shy three-woods before the round, and a revamped clubhouse and bar await just beyond the 18th green, where pin-hunting posses can recap their round over a frothy beverage.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course

• Length of 6,647 yards from the farthest tees

• Course rating of 71.1 from the farthest tees

• Slope rating of 120 from the farthest tees

• Four tee options

• Download scorecard

Cleaved through the bucolic terrain of Ledges State Park, Honey Creek Golf Club’s 18-hole course bounds over contoured terrain amid prairieland flora and mature tree lines. The challenging par 71 starts fast, with water in play on four holes on the front nine, including a forced carry on the second tee that will punish shaky swings and drivers that forgot to stretch before the round. Multiple dog-leg holes cater to players who can work their drives both ways, helping them find the bentgrass fairways and avoid the arbors and brambly prairie grass of the rough. A difficult layout for those teeing up from the back tees, the course features five tee options to make the round surmountable for players of any ability.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course

• Length of 6,805 yards from the farthest tees

• Course rating of 70.5 from the farthest tees

• Slope rating of 131 from the farthest tees

• Five tee options

• Link to scorecard

Mature trees dot the emerald expanse that makes up Willow Creek Golf Course’s 36-hole layout complex, which invites clubbers of all stripes with player-friendly fairways and greens. The long fairways at the 18-hole Red Course tunnel through imposing tree lines on their way to large, contoured greens, which demand solid hits from a driver, putter, and cheese wedge. The nine-hole White Course presents a relatively open layout, and the Blue Course plots a winding path past treacherous water hazards. Willow Creek’s driving range enables golfers to warm up for rounds, and an indoor golf simulator facilitates safe practice during inclement weather and picketing protests from unemployed caddies.

Heralded by the Iowa Golf Association as the best nine-hole course in the state, the course at Cardinal Hills Golf & Swim guides players over more than 60 feet of elevation changes in hot pursuit of small, quick greens. The course first opened in 1916 and bears reminders of its almost century-old history with ancient trees that frame many of the holes and elderly squirrels that still refer to theirs as the "Greatest Generation." A large creek meanders along the western edge of the grounds, flowing through the fairway of the third hole and forcing players to carry their tee shot over it on the par 3 second hole.

Course at a Glance:

• 9-hole, par 35 course
• Total length of 3,167 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 35.2 from the back tees
• Course slope of 129 from the back tees