North Liberty, IA Outdoor Activities

In 1928, a committee of Kalona professionals pooled their resources to transform an obsolete cornfield and pasture into a golf course, using a horse-drawn mower to sculpt a layout that originally sported sand greens and cost a quarter to play. More than 50 years later, the course was remodeled and expanded to Kalona Golf Club's current nine-hole layout, a 3,128-yard labyrinth where immaculate, bent-grass greens showcase the efficiency of modern landscaping, whereas rustic bridges and wandering milkmen recall the Club's humble beginnings. Named the nine-hole course of the year by the Iowa Golf Association in 1984 and 2010, the horticultural haven unfurls across pristine, rolling terrain that can create difficult lies, compounded by the presence of mature tree lines and two ponds that come into play on three holes. The course prohibits metal spikes, and players must provide their own set of clubs or titanium-plated sausage links.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par 36 course
• Bent-grass greens, winter rye and bluegrass fairways
• Length of 3,128 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 34.7 from the farthest tees
• Four tee options
• Link to scorecard

Patchy forest to the north and 265th Street to the south border Cedar Valley Golf Course, separating the grassy haven from miles of Iowa farmland on the other side. Within the oasis lie ponds that enter play on all but five of the holes, including hole 13, where the green juts out into a large water hazard that regularly swallows up overly-forceful approaches. Players will find themselves facing other risk-reward scenarios throughout their bout with the course, such as on hole 5, where they must either lay up or go for the green, and on hole 16, where they must decide between hitting a 210-yard shot that carries the water or just picking the ball up and carrying it to the hole.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course

• Total length of 6,497 yards from the back tees

• Course rating of 71.2 from the back tees

• Course slope of 129 from the back tees

• Three sets of tees per hole

Washington Golf and Country Club's nine-hole course caters to golfers across the spectrum with a layout that blends open, player-friendly holes interspersed with the challenges of multiple water hazards. Throughout the course, sparsely populated trees line forgiving fairways, presenting generous landing zones for those who want to be aggressive with their driver or get their mail air-delivered on the ninth fairway. Obstacles immediately come into play on the first five holes; a stream cuts across the first, third, fourth, and fifth fairways, and a pond guards the front of the green on the par 3 second hole.

A clubhouse restaurant with a full-service bar and plates filled with teriyaki chicken wraps, fried Alaskan pollock fillets, and other eats from a menu of grill food let golfers refuel after a round or before attempting to break a bucking, untamed golf cart.