Honey Creek Golf Club

Over the years I have always heard how great Honey Creek is and how cheap it is to play but never really gave it a chance. After searching tee times on Golf Now, I booked 18 with a cart for less than $20.

I arrived at the course and entered a small but average clubhouse. I didn't take much time to look around as I wanted to get out and play, but I did notice they had an average number of menu items, a full bar and a few items for sale such as tees, balls and gloves. I was about 30 minutes early for my tee time and was allowed to hit the course early.

I teed off on number one and realized how nice the bent grass fairways were. On number two I caught up to another player who let me play through without any problem. As I continued to play the front nine I couldn't believe how nice the course was kept.

As I got to the back nine, really eleven through eighteen, I couldn't believe this course was in Boone, Iowa. Lots of elevation change carved in to the Ledges State Park with amazing views as far as the eye could see. You will play every club in your bag and be forced to make decisions on shot type. Greens here were in perfect shape and offered nice undulations. The wildlife was abundant as deer and bald eagles really made the experience that much better. A few years ago I played The General at Eagle Ridge, a 4.5 star course on Golf Advisor, and found these two tracks very similar. The only difference is green fees at The General were $165 and at Honey Creek they were around $20. I know this is hard to believe but I am telling you to play this course, as you will not be disappointed.

As far as pace of play, I played all 18 in about three hours. During this round of golf I took my time and didn't have anyone in front or behind. It was a perfect and relaxing round of golf.

I've played here several times over the years, so I'm familiar with it. The conditions are mixed, some holes in great shape, some not. The design is not good. The front nine does not match the back nine, and the first two holes do not match the others. The back nine winds through a valley, and then around the side of a steep hill. Lots of weird bounces that are beyond the players control. The staff is great, but the club house is pitiful. The carts are strong enough to climb the hills, but no GPS. And the driving range is ugly. I played yesterday for $10, still not sure if it was worth it.

Fun and challenging course. Not crowded. Very scenic. Bring your A game and a gps device.

This was the first time playing Honey Creek, but it won't be the last. Very enjoyable and playable course. The front is open with bunkers and water, the back has incredible views, elevation changes, water and trees. No flat straight putts, and few flat lies on this course. Extremely enjoyable and we will be back!

Honey Creek is a beautiful course with a great layout. The front 9 is somewhat flat with some doglegs and bunkers. Back nine has dramatic elevation changes starting on hole 11 and a couple more severe doglegs. You can easily walk the front nine, but the back nine is for Olympic athletes only. There is a small practice range that is limited in distance. Course is normally in pretty good condition, but the bunkers are a bit lacking with very rough sand. The clubhouse is nothing to write home about. Overall, one of the hidden gems in the state of Iowa.

We played this course for the first time, the front nine is like most other coures, fairly flat and real good shape. The greens were perfect, fairways all good also, the rough can be a challenge and water and bunkers will come into play also. The staff was fast and friendly, pace of play was no problem at all. The back nine is a completely different course with challenging holes, very fun, very scenic, one of the best courses I have played. We will be back for sure.

The back 9 is incredibly gorgeous, it is really fun to play

Course was in good shape for end of Oct I can't wait till spring to play again

This course blew me away. I have been working in northern Iowa for three months and whenever I get a chance to get away I usually get on golf now and look for a good deal on a round of golf. Im one of those guys that only looks for th "Hot Deals". Well I literally stumbled accross Honey Creek and boy and I glad I did. This is by far my favorite Public Course in Northern Iowa. The front nine is a fablous layout with wide fareways, large bunkers, tall grass and water hazards. It is fun and fair with plenty of places to get in trouble if you are not on your game. I absolutly love the front nine layout. It reminds me of some of the PGA courses I've played in the past.

The back nine is a different story. This is a beautifully scenic nine holes. So if you like to take pictures, you will quickly fall in love with the back nine, it is truly gorgeous! However, it is my opinion that they tried to hard to squeze a golf course into the hillside and river valley and it loses its PGA feel. The back nine is extremely challenging with a lot of elevation changes and slanted fairways. It will test even the very best golfers. Double digit hadicappers will struggle to enjoy their round.

All and all it is a very nice golf course and most likely people will remember it because of their good play on the front nine and the beauty of the amazing scenery on the back nine. I would highly recommend this course to anyone and everyone. A great value, an amazing experience and a beautiful place to spend the day.

Very nice fairways and beautiful scenery with very challenging greens only downside was some of the greens had dead spots of grass other than that awesome course

We booked on line for the best value and did not expect much of a challenge. However, we were pleasantly surprised. A chance to warm up on the front nine but pick your targets on back nine, wide variety of elevations and doglegs. Forward tees friendly, back tees for bombers but control your driver. Putting greens great condition to allow for most two putts to get your par. Nice find will play again, highly recommend 30-40 min drive from DSM.

I am brand new to this game so the review may not be the best but I really enjoyed this course. I played the back nine first and pace of play was great but then went to the front nine and it was slow but playable., I got an amazing deal through golfnow and I will be playing this course again even if I had to pay a bit more.

Honey Creek is a great place to get away from the city and enjoy great scenery and wildlife. The fairways are in great shape and fun to hit from.

Terrible having two groups waiting on the tee box makes for a long non-enjoyable round of golf. Maybe a ranger should be in order.

this course exceeded my expectations very scenic back nine definitely would play there again congratulations to the groundskeepers

I was in Ames on business and decided to play golf Thursday afternoon.I checked GolfNow to determine if there was any local availability. Honey Creek is without doubt one of the best finds I have seen on golf now or any other local recommendation. The course is outstanding in every way, layout, scenic and challenging. It is really an excellent course and the only thing missing is an adequate clubhouse. A real find that I enjoyed immensely.

had a ggod time and course was nice Price was good

This course is just starting to reach its potential. The course has two distinctly different 9's. The front 9 having more of a links style feel and the back 9 is cut out of trees and a river valley. The greens need some work. The fairways needed work in the past years but they were much better this year. I'm sure the greens will improve as well. The back 9 forces you to hit shots from the tee with narrow/slanted fairways. You are forced to think about what shot you want to hit as well as how far you want to play each tee shot on the back. 11 is a scenic par 3 with a dramatic drop in elevation. Great course with some great deals on Golfnow.com.

The course is fun, but pace of play is terrible. Members don't let fast players through.

With only a few exceptions, the course offers very significant change from hole to hole. I enjoy the challenge of needing to think of each first shot off the tee differently than the hole I just finished.