Eastern Iowa and Quad Cities Labor Day Trip

Argonne69 · September 5, 2016

The Preserve on Rathbun Lake

Argonne69 · September 5, 2016

Bos Landen

Argonne69 · September 5, 2016

Blue Top Ridge

Argonne69 · September 5, 2016

Finkbine

Hawkeye77 · September 6, 2016

Nice pics!

Spirit Hollow has always interested me. Now it does even more.

Too bad for all golf course photos the 2D doesn't do them justice.

Your last picture of 14 on the back nine of Finkbine is a great photo of a long, tough downhill, then steady climb par 4. Great hole. The par 5 that follows is no slouch. 12/13/14/15/16/17/18 my favorite stretch on the course.

I've never seen a picture of 13 (with the two "island" greens") that does it justice.

Here's an aerial looking from the greens back, but you just can't get a sense of the "down" when looking at those greens from the upper tees. Like hitting into an abyss to the water-surrounded green. Really have to trust the swing.

Argonne69 · September 6, 2016

Yeah, pictures rarely do the courses justice. The overcast conditions on Saturday and Sunday mornings didn't help.

I didn't realize the 13th at Finkbine was a dual green layout. Do they ever have both greens play at the same time, or do they alternate? Cog Hill #2 outside Chicago has a dual green setup on the 3rd hole that really helps keep backups in check. However, the lines of play don't cross each other.

The 13th green was rock hard. I hit a nice, towering 8 iron that hit the middle of the green, took a massive bounce over the green, hit the cart path, and took another big hop into the hazard. D*mn cart paths. Lol.

Argonne69 · September 6, 2016

Overall, it was was a great trip. The weather was excellent, other than the overcast conditions. When one thinks of Iowa, I imagine most people think of flat farmland. However, all of the courses had enough elevation changes to keep things interesting. I wouldn't say that any of the five courses is a "must play", but they are certainly worth playing if one is in the area. The courses are just close enough to each other to allow for a doable circle tour, but it is a lot of driving. It would probably be worth adding a day or two and adding Harvester and possibly Amana, which used to be on the Golfweek list.

I'm finding it hard to rank the courses, as they are more similar than they are different, with Finkbine being the exception. That said, I would rank them:

- Blue Top Ridge (great bunkering)

- Spirit Hollow (great back nine, but mediocre front)

- Bos Landen (impressive rolling terrain)

- The Preserve on Rathbun Lake

- Finkbine (solid parkland course)

Hawkeye77 · September 6, 2016

Yeah, pictures rarely do the courses justice. The overcast conditions on Saturday and Sunday mornings didn't help.

I didn't realize the 13th at Finkbine was a dual green layout. Do they ever have both greens play at the same time, or do they alternate? Cog Hill #2 outside Chicago has a dual green setup on the 3rd hole that really helps keep backups in check. However, the lines of play don't cross each other.

The 13th green was rock hard. I hit a nice, towering 8 iron that hit the middle of the green, took a massive bounce over the green, hit the cart path, and took another big hop into the hazard. D*mn cart paths. Lol.

One at a time, never seen both in play. Years ago you had to take a cable car down from the tee to the green and back up, can still see some of the rusted out track in the underbrush. Sorry about the bounce, that's really unusual for that green not to be super receptive. I'd be ticked, too.

agray94 · December 28, 2016

Unfortunately I missed this in time to help you but TPC probably would have been worth it even aerated, especially since you should have gotten a deal but Fyre Lake is right there as a Nicklaus design course, as well as Blue Top Ridge at the riverside casino which is closer than Spirit Hollow and a really great course. Amana Colony is another great, underpriced gem which is just west of Iowa City maybe 1:20 from the QC's. You easily could have gotten 18/cart and those for less than $50..maybe next year. For anyone from the Chicago area plan a golf weekend down here and you could play TPC, Fyre Lake in one day for less than a round in town including gas money to get here!