The Harvester

Yesterday, 3 friends and I went to play golf at The Harvester near Des Moines, IA. This course was recently ranked #36 on the Golf Digest Top 100 Courses You Can Play (i.e. Public). The picture above is from the 3rd hole, which was my favorite on the course. It is 180 yards over water. I hit the green with my tee shot, but 3 putted for bogey...3 putting was common for me yesterday.

While the course is beautiful and difficult, overall it was a disappointing day from a golf standpoint. I played my worst round in several years...I couldn't putt or hit my irons. I actually drove the ball very well. Unfortunately, I haven't reached the point in my golf game where I can completely divorce myself from expectations...I can handle a bad round, but awful rounds still affect my fun level. Yesterday qualified as an awful round.

Overall though, the course is a wonderful golf course. The greens are the fastest I've ever played, and they are firm, so the ball releases forward when it lands rather than checking up. The fairways are wide enough, without being easy, and the bent grass fairways are really tightly mowed...which was another problem for me. Tight fairways reveal a fundamental swing flaw...I don't take divots, which works fine on most courses, but get me on really tightly mown fairways, and I struggle to hit it solidly. I'll have to work on that.

There were only 2 disappointments, other than my golf game. The bunkers are very inconsistent, some have too much sand while others do not have enough. Also, I thought the service was lacking. For $80, I would have expected to see the beverage cart more often, and I would have expected to have someone clean my clubs afterward.

I'm glad I played The Harvester once, but I'm not going to go out of my way to go again. If I have friends who want to go, I'll consider joining, but it's not so special that it warrants a yearly trip.

Here's a couple more pictures. This one is from the top of #15, otherwise known as "Big Hog". It's a 600 yard par 5, uphill the entire way. Our tees were actually back so it was playing at probably 630 yards. I hit driver, 3 wood and 6 iron to the back of the green, and then 3 putted for bogey. Being above the hole putting down hill is a really bad idea on this course.



This last picture is of the 18th hole. I actually took this from the 14th tee box, which is a better angle. It's a 540 yard par 5 with water all the way down the right side. You hit to the first peninsula, then you can either go for the green or lay up to the 2nd peninsula. I ripped a perfect drive on this hole, then played my hybrid just off the green to the left. I chipped it to about 10 feet, but missed the birdie putt. I did manage to make the par though...so at least I finished somewhat strong.