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First, the pace of play was completely unacceptable. They booked us up against an outing, giving us the old “you’ll never catch them” routine. It took 7 holes and 75 minutes to catch them. Three hours after that, we finally gave up and left the course ... on the 14th hole. It was infuriating.

I found the course itself to be a disappointment, given it’s reputation. Tees, fairways and greens were fine, but the conditioning of the grounds outside of the fairways was shoddy, plagued with crabgrass and bare patches. Aesthetically it just wasn’t pleasing.

The layout was not fun, with tons of blind shots and sharp doglegs. Despite the elevation changes, it felt monotonous. A grind. One hole after another featured a downhill tee shot followed by a steeply uphill approach. Wet conditions limited the rollout on tee shots, and then your long, uphill approach shots were to greens that mostly had no place to miss. As a result, the course played very long. In all, a pretty big disappointment even if you don’t count the glacier-like pace of play.

Sorry Branson Hills. We waited two years for a vacation, and you ruined our day with your thoughtless scheduling. We won’t be returning.

Played The Preserve for the 8th time today. Drove down from Des Moines to play an early tee time by myself, and what a great time I had!

After warming up on the range, I hit the course. The Preserve starts with back-to-back par-5s, and three par-5s in the first five holes. Some won't like that, but for me, it removes any semblance of pressure. Hit your tee shot, play your second to inside 100 yards and play some easy approaches. By the time you reach the 5th, you're warmed up and ready to go for the green in two.

My round today was magical. Playing from the middle tees, I went around the front in even-par 36, and the back in 34. Of course, golf is much easier when you're on your own and not waiting, and it certainly doesn't hurt that the course conditions and weather were simply perfect -- 75 degrees with light wind when my round ended. But when you play your very best, you know the course suits you well, and this course certainly does for me.

As I mentioned, this is the 8th time I've played here, and I've grown to love this course more every time. If it's your first time, pay close attention to the GPS and maps ... and stay away from the prairie grass outside the primary rough. You'll lose your ball for sure. But good shots are rewarded here, so hit 'em straight and enjoy the solitude. There are exactly three buildings you can see from anywhere on the course ... the clubhouse, a maintenance garage, and one home. That's it. Beyond that, you're on the prairie in Iowa.

Highlight holes:
The third: A beautiful downhill par-3 that plays anywhere from 117 from the red tees to 243 from the tips. The drop is probably 50-60 feet, so you can play less club. Choose your tee box well ... it's easy to lose a ball here.

The fifth: A fun par-5 that's reachable in two. Downhill tee shot for the first 230 yards, then uphill the rest of the way to the hole. It's not only a drop-dead beautiful view, it's a FUN par-5.

The twelfth: Another downhill par-3 that gives you perhaps the best view of many great views on the course. Plays 210 from the tips and drops probably 60 feet to an enormously wide but fairly shallow putting surface that can be a challenge to hit because of the distance control required. Really fun par-3.

The thirteenth: I love this par-5. Why? Because I nearly holed my third shot today, a pitch from 57 yards, leaving me a tap-in birdie.

The sixteenth: A challenging uphill par-4 that plays 470 from the tips and has a large bunker right in the middle of the widest fairway on the course. Carry your shot straight over the bunker, and you're left with maybe 130 to the green. Go left or right of the bunker, and your approach is much longer. Very cool risk-reward par-4.

Course conditions today were absolutely amazing. Bentgrass tees, fairways and greens, all in pristine condition, give you the impression that you're playing at a much more expensive venue. Greens roll very true and moderately fast, maybe 10 or 11, so they're fun to putt. There are lots of elevation changes and interesting shots, along with some truly great views. You just can't go wrong here. Highly recommended.

Absolutely loved playing The Links at Stono Ferry. The staff was just excellent. They gave us a thorough description of what we could expect, and they just treated us the way we hope to be treated. Major kudos to the staff!

The course was just plain fun. Not overly difficult or long, but not easy, either. The greens and tees were in excellent condition, as were the majority of the fairways. Bunkers were really good, with cream-colored sand that was consistent and playable. Greens rolled true and moderately fast. You'll especially appreciate the back nine, which takes you out near the Stono River and really gets you close to the water. We had such a great time that we immediately made a tee time for the next morning.

My only knock was that the driving range was closed on the second day we were there. It's tough to play at my age when you can't warm up. There didn't seem to be any reason for it, although to be honest, I didn't ask why. Just a slight disappointment in an otherwise wonderful experience. Highly recommended!

Wild Dunes Harbor Course, while less popular than its more celebrated sister, the Links Course, should have been an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, it was not.

It started with the parking. All I can say is, "Unbelievable." It took a good 20 minutes to find a place to park. We just kept driving and driving until finally a random woman noticed we were searching, and she pointed out a spot, ran over to it, and held it for us until we could navigate the never-ending maze of narrow/one-way streets. Just ridiculous.

Next was the clubhouse staff, which acted like neither my wife nor I mattered. The only thing that could take their attention away from their own conversation was my credit card. At a resort course, I expect better. The cart staff and starter were nice enough, but that first face when you walk in the door needs to be more than somebody who simply takes your money.

Finally, the course. In a word, it was weird. The tiniest greens I've ever seen. One of them on the short par-4 10th was probably smaller than my living room. Another on the par-3 11th was no more than 6 or 7 paces wide ... I missed the green left and had a 12-foot putt from the fringe to a flag that was centered (see the photo). And the course was so soft. It hadn't rained all that much, yet all my drives left huge pitch marks and stayed within 18 inches of where they landed. The course is very narrow, which isn't a bad thing except that the longest holes played into the prevailing wind. And finally, the mile-long drive between the 4th and 5th holes. We almost got lost. Add all this to no driving range and the world's smallest putting green, and it doesn't feel all that resort-like.

All in all, I was glad when the round was over. Honestly, I just can't recommend this course. There are so many better choices in the Charleston area.

If you're looking for a playable course with some interest, variation and value, look no further than River Valley.

I've played this course 5-6 times in my life -- it's a bit of a drive for me, but always worth it. Today I was the first person off the tee at 7 a.m. The young man in the clubhouse was extremely friendly and helpful. Had my cart ready, wiped down, ready to go. From the first tee -- a beautiful elevated shot to a straightaway fairway below -- to the last approach, which requires a high wedge to an extraordinarily elevated green, the course is just fun. It's well maintained for a public course, and the greens rolled 3-4 feet faster than I thought they would just by walking on them. They were also quite smooth and rolled true. There are a few challenging holes here, but nothing too punitive. A skilled player will find the course moderately easy, while high handicappers will find it playable. Again, it's just fun golf.

If you're looking for a relaxing round in a laid-back country setting, River Valley is a great choice!

My friend and I played Bos Landen for the first time on July 23, 2018. We have lived in Iowa a long time and had heard rave reviews, so we really anticipated a great day.

What we experienced was anything but great.

First of all, understand, the staff was fine. They weren't overly helpful, but they were attentive. How hard is it to take your money and send you to the tee? Also, it was a beautiful day, and the course wasn't crowded at all. We finished in 3.5 hours (although it might have been 2.5 if not for all the lost balls caused by the wonky layout).

From the first tee shot, we discovered what we hate about Bos Landen ... a plethora of blind shots and forced layups. I drilled my first tee shot long, right down the middle, with about a 3-yard draw. Couldn't have hoped for a better swing on the first tee. But when the ball hit the ground, it immediately careened hard left. When we got to where the ball should have been, we discovered a bottleneck in the fairway. On one side was long "junk" ... tall fescue, water, small trees, etc. On the other side was water. None of it was visible from the tee, and there was no map on the card. I had no idea that a forced layup was required.

As the round wore on -- and I do mean WORE -- we found more of the same. Blind tee shot after blind tee shot, forced layup after forced layup -- at least 7 or 8 forced layups off the tee. Doglegs that force you to hit irons off the tee, then leave you with a longer second shot than your tee shot. I've never had a day where my ball-striking was so spot-on, my putting was really good, yet I put up such a bad number. The madness continues right up to the last hole, where you have a forced carry of 200 yards, but a pond at 250. Add to that the baked fairway conditions, and it's just a recipe for disaster.

There are courses in Iowa that are challenging. The Harvester is a bear, but it's fair. Amana requires tremendous accuracy. Spirit Hollow gives you an all-around challenge. Bos Landen simply isn't fair. It tricks you into big numbers with blind shots and forced layups. And for such a well-regarded course, the conditions -- other than the greens and tees -- were abysmal. Water grass everywhere, baked fairways, rough choked with weeds, bunkers like concrete (even though it hadn't rained in two weeks). In fact, the bunkers were so hard and pebbly that we refused to hit out of them for fear of damaging our clubs.

I will never play this course again. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because of the price. I guess at $32, you get what you pay for.

Played this course on a Monday morning with my wife. I was honestly stunned at how few people were playing. I realize it was a Monday, but the weather was absolutely perfect. I thought we'd run into more people, but we easily finished in just over 3 hours.

The course was fun ... lots of nice views and intriguing holes. It was also enough of a challenge to be interesting, although nowhere near the kind of test you'll find at a course like The Harvester. You can score here. The course was in absolutely beautiful condition. Tee boxes were perfect, fairways had a nice amount of roll without being ridiculous, and the greens were simply immaculate. Rolled a nice pace, about 9 on the stimp, and exceptionally true. Very enjoyable to putt, and received balls well without being too soft. The multiple sets of tee boxes (5 total) make it easy for you to match your game to the course.

My only complaint is with the food. We asked for a chicken salad sandwich at the turn, but the bread was frozen. So we went to a pre-made ham sandwich, and it had a little mold on the bread. Not appetizing. My rating dropped from a 5-star to a 4-star as a result.

Overall, a nice place, with good pace of play and excellent playability. Would definitely recommend.

if you're in central Iowa and want a great test of golf and a wonderful experience, go play The Harvester. It's an absolute gem nestled in the middle of nowhere, a course that represents the best Iowa has to offer. Rolling hills, incredible scenery and a phenomenally fun layout await you on a course that is in pristine, country-club condition because it's only open a few days per week. A word of warning, however: This is a difficult (but not impossible) course, so understand that your game will be truly challenged. But good shots are rewarded, and you will have fun. Also note that you'll pay north of $100, but I'm confident you'll find it worth every penny.

This will be a bit of an odd review. I am actually a season pass holder, and while I easily played enough golf to pay for the pass, I won't be renewing my pass next year.

The problem for me has to do with course setup, an specifically about two things -- pin placement and condition of the rough.

Pin placement is such an important yet overlooked aspect of course setup on public courses. Copper Creek's greens are extremely undulating to begin with, and certain positions are nearly impossible. It seems every day I play, there are at least 6-8 pin positions that if you have an 8-foot putt, you pray you can just get it close. Some putts are so fast that you can't do more than start it rolling, but the greens are so pitted with unrepaired pitch marks that your putt has little chance of holding its line. It's just not fun to putt.

My second problem is with the condition of the rough. It is kept so long that missing a fairway, even by a few inches, can leave you with a nearly unplayable shot. It is often so thick and long that you can easily lose a ball even when you know where it landed. There is no second cut, which is simply unfair when the primary rough is this long. Worse yet, the rough goes right up to the green, with maybe 3 feet of fringe. That means pretty much every time you miss a green, you're chipping from the rough. This is not the US Open. I don't want to go out every day and beat my head against the wall.

For these reasons, I won't renew next year. If you are visiting or looking to play a single round, be forewarned. You will experience 3-putts, and you'll probably be sore from chopping the ball out of US Open rough...unless you simply don't miss fairways. In which case, why are you playing here?