Amana Colonies Golf Club

I have played this course at least once a year over the past several years. It is a beautiful course and challenging. This past trip we had a member of the group wake up sick the morning of the day we had our tee time and was going to have to cancel. I called the course immediately on the drive over and was promptly told I would still be responsible to pay for this spot because I had not called outside the 24 hr policy. I asked what if I had had an accident on the way to course and was told there is a 24 hr cancellation policy that is enforced. I asked what if I found my spouse passed away the morning of my tee time and was told there is a 24 hr cancellation policy. It was suggested that if I was concerned about the policy I could call the day of wanting a tee time or walk on and see if something was available. But it still goes back to the 24 hr cancellation policy that if i had a wreck on the way to the course the same day I booked I would still be responsible to pay for all the spots not filled. I feel this policy is just a way to profit off players misfortune. Very unfair.

PACE: Played on a Tuesday morning and there wasn't much of a crowd. The only 4-some I encountered let me play thru... thank you!
As I played this course I do see how it could take 5+ hours to play if it was a busy day. Every hole is so difficult that at least 1 person in a 4-some is going to get in trouble and/or card a double-bogey or worse.

CONDITIONS: Greens were a bit marked up... REPAIR YOUR BALL MARKS! Otherwise the course was in excellent shape.

STAFF: Ran my card and handed me a cart key. Wasn't asked if I played there before; wasn't pointed to the practice range or first tee; just payed up and was sent on my way.

LAYOUT: You cannot walk this course, so take a cart. The layout is tough as it's tree-lined with lots of hills. If you're spraying the ball you're not going to have fun. Also, many shots are blind. Finally, it seemed like the fairways could've been cut with one more pass on each side.

VALUE: I'd play this course again. And recommend you give it a try too.

Staff not friendly. Very poor customer satisfaction and service. Very poor golf course conditions. Very bad bunkers, washed out and unplayable. Very bad cart paths, original cart paths from 1989 (33 years old)

Amana Colonies offers a promising experience from the clubhouse with little previews of several holes visible all around. The First hole is a fun roller coaster of a ride over the crest of a hill with helping slopes on either side to assist your breakfast ball find the fairway.

But the overly hilly and undulating design from tee to green on nearly every hole can start to wear you down by the back nine. The conditions are lush (I’d actually argue they overwater the course) and they’re several pretty views from the tees if you’re playing well enough to notice.

My biggest complaints are the narrow fairways and (on several holes) the hurting slopes on both sides that don’t give you a bail-out option.

With all that said this is a quality course and a good player can score low as the greens speed and slopes are fair and the consistency of the turf on nearly all shots is very good. I just wish the course offered you more of a breather from uneven lies and intimidating landing spots.

Over the last several years I've played Amana Colonies quite a few times. My original review of this course is from 2018, so I wanted to post an updated review.

Every time I play Amana, I have one or two moments where I tell myself that I'm never playing it again. It's is a very challenging golf course that, unfortunately, has opportunities to lose golf balls on every single hole. Making it even more difficult is the extreme slopes you will deal with both on the fairways and on the greens. A good rule of thumb is try to land your golf ball where you can see the landing area. That will be your best bet for finding your ball and getting a level lie.

The new ownership has made significant investments in updating and renovating the course. I have seen several improvements with removal of trees and bunkers, as well as cleaning out some brush areas to make finding golf balls easier. They are also updating the cart paths, which is much needed.

A nice change from the last time I played is the greens have been slowed down a little bit. This helps pace of play by reducing the number of 3 putts. This doesn't mean they are slow though. My best guess is they still run 9.5-10 on that stimp meter.

I still recommend everyone try Amana at least once. The best way to play Amana is in one of their regular best shot events, which provides a chance to take on some holes you might otherwise play conservatively.

Showed up at course to find out they were aerating the front 9 (was not told prior to booking) - they gave me an excuse that did not 100% make sense. Yes, the weather was a problem, but why not wait till later in the week when no previously made tee times need to be altered.

Nine hole rate was absurdly high comparing to 18 hole rate and told that was rate and nothing they could do.

I had high expectations for this course and was bitterly disappointed.

First I’ll give the maintenance team full credit for getting the course re-opened and playable after the derecho earlier in the week. A lot of hard work paid off and the course conditions were generally very good.
The course truly feels much more like a New England course that one you’d find in the middle of Iowa. Rolling terrain and most holes are heavily wooded on both sides of the fairway. Overall the design did not thrill me with some of the holes poorly designed. #2 was a prime example, a par 5 where a layup tee shot is required for most players and the hole then plays off a downhill lie to an uphill green.
GPS is a nice touch. Cart paths are in horrible shape. Did not feel the course was a good value.

I have been traveling around Iowa this week playing some of the better thought of courses. I was getting a bit tired, so I thought about skipping this one but man am I glad I didn't. Lovely setting amidst many trees. Saw lots of wildlife.

Off the tee many of the holes/fairways look tight but overall it is more forgiving than it appears. The course seemed to play longer than it's yardage. The fairways and greens were pretty soft when I played. Greens rolled nicely, but were far from easy. Challenging but fair ... like the rest of the course.

I had a few older gentlemen at another course warn me "you won't have a flat lie all day out there!" Yes there are a lot of elevation changes and I guess some people don't like hitting to elevated greens (which isn't always the case here) but I found it all around pleasant and plenty of flat lies to be found. The more narrow of the fairways seemed to have slope on the sides of the fairway to help keep mis-hits safer.

There were a few times where I felt like I knew where my drive or shot would end up and was perplexed to find it ran off somewhere unexpected. Part of playing a course for the first time I suppose.

The clubhouse is a temporary one (albeit nice) as they had the clubhouse burn down several years ago. Still a nice place to hang out outside overlooking a pond and all the trees. Overall a very relaxing and peaceful setting and just the right amount of out of the way.

My one complaint lies in the state of the cart paths. They are aware of the issue and have plans to repair and replace them (have already started). More often than not you have to slow down due to their dilapidated state.

A great course I'm sure to visit again if back in the area. I can see how multiple plays would really help one get around this course better although I did play pretty well.

Cart path put players in danger. Staff was unfriendly from the moment our group checked in. Be careful before you book. Blue Top Ridge is hands down the premier course and arrangements in the area.

Wow, what a wonderful layout course that is carved out of forest, hills, lakes, etc!

Greens are wicked good/challanging! Two putts are not guaranteed especially if putting downhill or side hill pins. Just wow! These greens will greatly challenge your putting speed/touch
and accuracy/line.

I saw at least 5-7 deer roaming around. Course is super scenic with lots of undulation. Fairways drives were usually down hill and approaches were back uphill. That and tight course overall requires a significant premium on accuracy! Extra xtra concentration required off tee boxes to ensure fairway hit or what lines to take on drives.

Staff are super nice and wants you to enjoy the course and your round! They also provide mini-yardage book = Awesome!

I would highly recommend and will definitely play again. Tips around 7K yards! Slope definitely played towards the 130-140+ listed on scorecard. I played gold tees and that was approx 6,600 yds. Almost had a hole in one on 17th hole from 210 yds as ball peeked at pin! :)

I’d maybe suggest beginners or higher handicappers “play it forward” as was promoted/campaigned by PGA tour. Maybe even skip blue and go to white tees to make round that much more enjoyable and have higher clubs for approaches. Super fun challenge and look forward to playing this gem again! This was worth every penny I paid to play.

This review pains me a little. Each of the last 2 years I've played The Amana Colonies Golf Club and it's been a 5 star experience. Unfortunately, today was closer to 3 stars than 5.

The Good:
Amana is one of the most picturesque courses you will ever play. You'll see wildlife and beautiful vistas everywhere you look. The price is fair and the condition of the tees and fairways is excellent. Also, the pace of play was just under 4 hours for 18 holes.

The Average:
They had ladies league today so they had us tee off the back 9 first. As someone who doesn't handle change well, I didn't love this. Also, every par 3 played as either a 5 iron or 6 iron for me. That was pretty boring. Finally, I'd like to see them add something on the flags to make them easier to laser.

The Not So Good:
The greens were fast and bumpy, which is a bad combination. It appears they had recently been verticut and not yet recovered. I normally love fast greens, but these were too fast considering how bumpy they were. Also, we had issues with our cart not running as well as it should.

The last item on my list is just a personal observation. Amana has a lot of run off areas into hazards (no mow areas). I would like to see them leave the rough a little longer on the slopes into the hazards to prevent lost balls. I hit a couple shots today that I thought were fine. I saw them land and bounce, but we never found the ball. I can only conclude they caught a slope and ran into the hazards (no mow areas). To the club's credit, most areas are marked red which helps the pace of play.

I will definitely play Amana again. And I still recommend it. Just had a sub par experience today.

Tight unforgiving. The whole place is well taken care of and the staff is great. Above average.

I played twice and it can be slow at times. However, you can just enjoy being there.

There are a lot of tight tee shots and most people will lose 6-10 balls on the course.

A lot of uphill shots into the greens

Very scenic course Entertaining holes Always in great shape Make plans to get over to play Well worth it

We played this course while en route to Hazeltine for the Ryder Cup. The course and its staff were awesome in every way possible. It's roughly a 4+ hour drive for me, however we will definitely be planning a 2-3 day getaway for 2017 just to stay and play this course.
If you are in the area, or traveling through the area and want to play an absolutely awesome course, please call Amana Colonies and give them your business, you won't be sorry!!! AAAAA+++++

Fast and friendly staff. Moved right along a scenic monster of a golf course.

This course was one of the nicest and most picturesque courses that I have played and this includes all of the courses I have played on the RTJ Golf Trail and Florida resort courses. The course has lots of carries over ravines off the tee and a wide variety of doglegs on most holes so you rarely have a full picture of the hole. The greens are immaculate and feature more break than the eye sees. This is a course where you need to keep notes on many of the holes to know where you can miss. I frequently got out to tee shots and found myself with poor lies and if I had known better I would have aimed differently off the tee or hit a shorter club.

Always enjoy playing this course even when the woods steals my golf ball. With all of the trees I think people have a tendency to get nervous when teeing it up, but once a player gets to the landing area there is a lot more room than you imagine.

First off, the good:

The course is in exceptional condition. Fairways and tee boxes are well maintained, the greens run true, and the surrounding scenery/wildlife is exceptional. The natural beauty here is stunning.

Now the bad: The bunkers are a mess. Not maintained at all. Stay out of them, lest you want to hit out of holes that a guy on an excavator made last week.

Now the bizarre: Who the heck designed this thing? Every hole, and I mean EVERY hole, is uphill to a blind pin. Now, add a blind tee shot to many of these, then slope the fairway, then hide what passes for a landing area, and finally route almost all the holes in the same manner. It got to the point where we could literally describe the next hole, and the hole after that, and the hole after that. I don't think I have ever played a course that was so ridiculously designed. It is almost comical the way every hole bears a remarkable resemblance to the other 17. I wonder if the designer was upset that he couldn't make the par 3's blind off the tee, but he did his best to make them uphill.

It really is a shame, because the land is just begging for a golf course with a little bit of creativity - you know, silly things like doglegs and holes that play downhill, or holes that need a little bit of earth moved to give them a sense of individuality. I seem to be in the minority here, but I wouldn't get within 100 miles of Amana Colonies again, unless they let me play for free and let me take a nap halfway through.

I have golfed Amana golf course many times and always look forward to going back, As usual, I was NOT disappointed. It was a bit cool and some misting at the end of play but the golf was fantastic. The greens were rolling fast, probably about an 11 or 12 on the stimp, but that's part of the challenge. I love the fairway conditions but it is important to know the if you come up short on uphill approaches to the greens, don't expect the ball to bail you out and roll to the green, you have to put it on the green. I will continue to return and recommend it to anybody, but don't expect to be given any breaks on the course you have to earn them with good placement and knowing your distances with each club.