by This September, we’re offering Club TFE members the unique opportunity to see Iowa’s four best courses in the same week. We’re going to spend four days traveling from Des Moines to Davenport, stopping for at least five rounds at a quartet of world-class golf courses along the way. Participants will get to play two rounds at Wakonda Club during The Maize, and play one round each at Harvester Club (optional replay), Cedar Rapids Country Club, and Davenport Country Club to complete the trip.
Event Details
Date: Monday, September 9 – Thursday, September 12, 2024
Cost: $1,750/person
Included in registration: Entry into The Maize at Wakonda Club, one round of golf with a caddie (gratuity included) and lunch at The Harvester Club, one round of golf and lunch at Cedar Rapids Country Club, and one round of golf and lunch at Davenport Country Club.
Locations: Wakonda Club (Des Moines, IA) – Harvester Club (Rhodes, IA) – Cedar Rapids CC (Cedar Rapids, IA) – Davenport CC (Pleasant Valley, IA)
Registration status: SOLD OUT – Join the Waitlist
Schedule
Monday, September 9 – The Maize at Wakonda Club (36-hole event)
Tuesday, September 10 – The Harvester Club (optional replay round available)
Wednesday, September 11 – Cedar Rapids Country Club
Thursday, September 12 – Davenport Country Club
A full itinerary with detailed tee times and travel structure will be emailed after registration.
Travel information
In order to provide some flexibility to the week, participants will transport themselves between each stop on the road trip. We will provide suggested departure times for each leg of the trip. No leg requires more than 90 minutes of driving time.
Fried Egg Golf will be in contact with those who register for the event about suggested lodging and room blocks. Please check your email for information following registration.
While there will be plenty of golf to keep us busy, there will also be some time during the trip with no scheduled activities. We will have optional meals organized that participants can elect to attend, including a “closing ceremony” dinner on Wednesday night ahead of Thursday’s final round in Davenport.
About each course
Wakonda Club – Shortly before they built their crown jewel in Lawsonia Links, the design duo of Langford & Moreau made Wakonda Club in Des Moines. Over the last two years, a restoration project was completed by architect Tyler Rae. This brought back the wide corridors and cavernous bunkers originally seen around Wakonda, some of which had been buried in the trees. Today, Wakonda’s terrific land is much more exposed, and the course’s architecture accentuates its strong property. Its wild topography starts the trip with a bang. You can read all about Wakonda’s restoration on their website.
The Harvester Club – Next, we visit The Harvester Club, a Keith Foster design northeast of Des Moines. The course was originally built in the late 1990s, and Foster came back to improve the layout in 2015 when the club went private. Harvester climbs up, down, and along the hills surrounding Crab Tree Lake, making for a routing with great variety. With native grasses and rolling hills throughout, Harvester makes the most of its rural landscape and fits seamlessly into its surroundings. In an article he wrote for GolfPass in 2016, Tom Doak remarked on a couple of Harvester’s standout holes: “It’s the holes up on the hills, like the par-5 6th and the lovely downhill 14th, that have me thinking [Harvester] is the best course in the state, next to Davenport,” Doak said. While it should be noted that Wakonda has been recently restored and Cedar Rapids finished up work shortly before Doak wrote that, his comments are high praise for the Foster layout.
Cedar Rapids Country Club – The next stop on our trip is Cedar Rapids Country Club, the only Donald Ross design in the state of Iowa. Ross arrived when the course was nine holes, keeping two of the original and lengthening the course to the full 18 that exist today. In the 2010s, before he restored Wakonda, Tyler Rae and Ron Prichard spent a few years working with CRCC to bring back the Ross character that had been lost over time. The restoration removed hundreds of trees, expanded both the fairways and green complexes, and moved bunkers to locations more relevant to modern distances. CRCC occupies some tremendous land just north of Cedar Rapids, and the restoration helped expose that great property for all to enjoy once again. With holes moving through the land’s hills and playing into the area’s river valley, Cedar Rapids is an enjoyable journey for golfers of all skill levels.
Davenport Country Club – Finally, our road trip heads to Davenport, Iowa, a C.H. Alison design we consider to be one of the most underrated courses in the country. The course was restored by Ron Forse and Jim Nagle in recent years, preserving Alison’s original design. Throughout the routing you’ll experience significant elevation change and topography not often associated with Midwest golf. There are holes at Davenport unlike any others in the region, including the stunning par-4 7th, difficult par-3 10th, and picturesque par-4 16th. It’s a brilliant design and one that will round out our trip in style.
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Right of the 12th green at Wakonda. Courtesy of Tyler Rae
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Fairway connecting the 10th (left) and 8th (right) holes at Wakonda. Courtesy of Tyler Rae.
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The par-3 14th (foreground) and long par-4 11th (background). Courtesy of Tyler Rae
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The par-3 14th at The Harvester Club. Courtesy of The Harvester Club
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The rolling 10th at The Harvester Club, a mid-length par 4 that shows off the hills and grasses of Iowa. Courtesy of The Harvester Club
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Short of the green on the 13th at The Harvester, playing down towards Crab Tree Lake. Courtesy of The Harvester Club
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The long par-3 12th at Cedar Rapids can play up to 285 yards. For those bold enough, a bank shot may be able to be played off the bumper left of the green
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High above the incredible 14th hole at Cedar Rapids, a par 4 with a massive green high atop a large mound. The par-3 12th (right) sits on the back side of the mound.
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A huge bunker separates the 14th and 15th fairways at Cedar Rapids
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Nos. 3, 6, 12, and 13 at Davenport Country Club with a peak of the iconic 7th in the distance
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The show stopper par-4 7th at Davenport CC. A hole that has to be seen to be believed.
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Clockwise from the left, Nos. 15, 10, 9, 1, and 18 at Davenport CC. This area of the property plays into, on top of, and over a massive ridge.
Fried Egg Golf related content
The Sultans of the Steam Shovel: Langford & Moreau – Our profile of the great design duo that is William Langford and Theodore Moreau.
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Questions? Email us at events@thefriedegg.com
