The Harvester Club

Favorite Hole

No. 16, par 4, 518 yards

This hole has had three distinct variations over its lifetime, going from three separate fairway islands down to two, and finally one continuous downhill runway. I recommend taking a look at the Google Earth images of this hole and the rest of the course from 2008, 2012, and 2021.

After the difficult uphill 15th, the 16th allows you to open up the canons and fire a bomb down the sweeping hillside. This is a nice reprieve during the round which will have likely chewed you up and spit you out by the time you reach the 16th hole. It’s not uncommon for your ball to roll out 50+ yards on this fairway.

A severe fall-off and ravine guard the left side of the fairway which must be taken on to gain the best angle to access all pin locations. Although ample room down the right, long irons will have to carry the greenside bunker from this approach. The built-up green creates an infinity look with a sea of blue water beyond. Putts can be deceptively fast as the entire hole plays downhill despite the green appearing to have a back-to-front pitch.

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Overall Thoughts

Almost every golf-obsessed person has longed to build their own golf course, but a monumental task of this nature rarely comes to fruition. The resources, environmental restrictions, and immense cost are tough to juggle and require an aligning of stars to be successful, let alone create a golf course that falls into certain “best” categories.

Dickson Jensen’s vision wasn’t to just build a golf course; he wanted to create something special that would cement itself into an elevated class of golf courses. A lofty goal that many developers often seek yet seldom accomplish. But by Golf Digest’s standards, the Harvester Club did just that, receiving the “Best Course in Iowa” 18 times since opening. While this recognition is subjective and worthy of scrutiny, it goes to show the success of Jenen’s ambitions and proves that a great piece of land hardly ever produces a bad golf course.

An interesting piece of land with undulating terrain is the backbone of some of the greatest golf courses in the world. In Harvester’s case, this backbone is made up of broad rolling Iowa farmland with ravines, expansive views, specimen oak trees, and a large lake. These are the very best natural elements Iowa has to offer, and Foster used them to create the unique stand-alone design.

While the long views across the course and swaths of contrasting fescue grasses provide incredible visuals throughout the entire round, the inefficiency of this journey is evident. One of the most common flaws of modern golf courses tends to be the routing due to the reliance on golf carts. Harvester’s design successfully uses the land to create compelling golf holes but at the expense of continuity in the routing flow. Because most of the golf holes play within a valley or atop ridgelines, many of the green-to-tee transitions require walks up and over or around landforms that are just long enough to annoy. Walks from Nos. 4 to 5, 5 to 6, 8 to 9, 10 to 11, 12 to 13, and 14 to 15 are cumbersome and feel unnecessarily long. A lot of these transitions could easily be tightened up to give the course a smoother flow.

Another aspect that hinders the overall design and experience is the course conditioning. Although very impressive, the lightning-fast fairways and greens cause issues that devalue the design features. For example, the fourth fairway tilts strongly from left to right in the layup zone and a row of large oak trees jut into the right side of the fairway. Layups targeted at the optimal left side tend to roll down the hillside to a flat spot that leaves an obstructed approach angle. In addition, the fourth green’s pin positions are primarily confined to the large bowl that consumes the right half of the green due to the intense speed. There are several other instances like this that compound during the round, creating problems. Slowing down the playing surfaces while maintaining firmness would allow the design to shine and provide a more enjoyable experience.

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While the routing flaws and speed of the course hold the design back a great deal, the quality of golf holes is present throughout. Strategy, risk, reward, and variety are the main tenets of the design and are applied in various ways. Holes like the seventh, 13th and 16th require proper placement to create easier approach avenues into the greens. The second, sixth, and 15th provide wonderful risk-reward opportunities, where heroic execution creates chances for birdies and eagles. The one-shot 14th boasts arguably the most thoughtful and engaging green contours while providing a beautiful view for the tee shot.

I could go on and on about certain features and specific holes that provide an interesting canvas to knock a white ball around. But in the case of Harvester, several good things without cohesion and proper presentation result in a less-than-stellar product. There’s a lot to like about the course and its uniqueness, but just as much to critique.

0 Eggs

At the end of the day, I think this is a very good golf course with just too many flaws. The routing mishaps, over-the-top conditioning, and abysmal 18th hole hold this course back from its potential 1 Egg. While the maintenance of the playing surfaces is incredibly impressive, it hinders the experience, making an already difficult golf course even more challenging. The course can feel gimmicky and borderline unplayable at times due to the speed of the grass. Shifting tees closer to the greens and slowing down the playing surfaces to a modest pace while maintaining the firmness would greatly improve the experience and quality of the golf.

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