Veenker Memorial Golf Course

Original course by Perry Maxwell was bastardized
In the 70s and 6 or more holes were lost. The remaining Maxwell holes are great, but the newer holes and bland compared to the original’s.

Great course. Greens were aerated but they notified us before hand. Only issue was group in front of us. Group of 5 that was slow and didn’t let us pass them. They ended up getting mad at us because they felt we hit into them, which we didn’t and they ended up purposely hitting a ball at us. Ball landed within 10 yards from us. Told the clubhouse workers about it, but not much was done other than taking names down.

I first played Veenker in the 70s ... the year before the big make-over that put everything on the north side of the tracks ... as a young attendee at the ISU golf camp. I later went to ISU for college and played Veenker many times during those four years. Since then, I've only been able to play it every few years when I'm back in the area, and I always enjoy it.

Veenker is an enigma. You'll have to play target golf on many holes, but you'll be able to swing from your heels on others. There are huge greens and small greens ... greens that will suck back from the initial impact, and greens that will take a big first hop. There are holes lined with old timber, and holes with trees that were newly planted since the 70s. You don't have to hit it long here to play well, but if you do hit it long you will be able to take advantage of a couple of the par 5s down the flats.

On this particular day, the pace of play was awful. It took nearly 5 hours to finish the round, which seemed even slower because the 3 college kids I was playing with only played the front nine.

Aside from that, it was a gorgeous (albeit quite warm for late September in central IA) day, and the course was in very good condition. I played the ball down all day, and only had a couple instances of mud on the ball, neither of which noticeably affected my shot.

It sounds like a cliche, but I used every club in my bag during this round ... in fact, I'm pretty sure I used every club (except maybe the 7 iron) at least twice.

The clubhouse is small, but decent ... you can get a beverage, a snack, or a hot dog ... and the practice facilities are excellent.

Veenker is a good test of golf. If you're in the area, give it try, you'll be glad you did.

Great course, fun to play yet challenging. Pace is good played in afternoon was not very busy. Like that no hole is the same lots of opportunity to score. Play here a lot it is always fun but have to play smart.

No 2 holes similar, big but then very tough greens, medium to fairly wide fairways but mature huge trees adds 3rd dimension to shots. Target golf shots mostly. Challenging but very rewarding.
You likely won't shot your handicap here, and will lose a few balls due to deep woods rough and creek in play on 6-8 shots.

The greens were outstanding for early April golf. The fairways were in nice shape too! Fun course!!

Requires a lot of patience and the use of your whole bag. Study the course diagram! Lots of elevation change.

I hadn't played this course for more than 20 years, but glad I found it again. It's not a long course, but there are shots you have to make in order to score. If you can shape the ball, you'll do well here. The course was in excellent condition, even in the fall with very little rainfall. The greens are some of the best around central Iowa. My only gripe was the other golfers with poor etiquette. I'll definitely be back.

I have played this course several times and still find it quite challenging. I booked a tee time using the Golf Now app and got a great price. Because I booked using Golf Now I was paired with another player which was fine but I expected to play by myself. The course was not busy but staff still paired us up. The course itself was in great shape with lots of long holes, challenging fairways and tight shots. This course will force you to think about your club selection making it tough for your average golfer. The course is full of mature trees and has nice elevation changes. The pace of play was excellent as I was able to finish is less than 3.5 hours.

The clubhouse is a a bit dated and has a small pro shop, food and drinks. There is also a small locker room for guests.

Veenker also has a nice driving range with several marked targets, as well as 3 practice greens for chipping and putting.

Overall Veenker is a great course and a lot of fun to play for all golfers. You will not be disappoint playing this track.

This golf course was very challenging. A lot of holes you have to hit a ball 215 off the tee instead of a driver 250. That doesn't play to my game well so I don't like that. Also, the yardages on the course are very hard to read unless you have a mapping book of the course. For the first time golfer of the course, I had 4-5 holes where I hit the wrong club based off of the tee box distance. My buddy was golfing with me and he had a very hard time keeping the ball out of the hazards. If you cannot hit a straight ball off the tee this course will challenge you severely. The clubhouse people were not the friendliest as well (young and kind of bored with their job). However, course was beautiful and well kept. The greens rolled true, and the fairways allow you to control spin of ball very well. I can see why Iowa State would use course, but not for beginners at all.

Fun course to play. Good mix and challenging and forgiving holes.

Very large course with a few tight shots on a few holes makes a good challenging day of golf. Very scenic with lots of mature trees. Pace of play was good less than 4 hours. Definitely recommend this course.

Great time - would go again - nice challenging course

This course is challenging and in very good shape. The staff, mainly Tess was great to deal with and she took care of our concerns. Will definitely go back even though it's 45 miles away

6 hours to play 18. Ridiculously slow. Pace set by two groups that would not let any one play through. No Rangers in sight just a beer cart girl.
Nice course but thirty minutes a hole is excessive. Sorry just cannot recommend it!

Didn't have the flag in our 1st hole and then made us wait on 8th hole while they cut New holes in the middle of our round at 9am... Should have been cut earlier...

This course is both fun and challenging. It was very wet because of heavy rains so it was cart path only with the golf carts. The course is in great shape considering the rains. It has several holes that require you to think ( should I lay up or go for it) before you pick your club.

overall very nice course several holes very demanding with big dog legs and natural barriers enjoyed playing very much definitely will be back

Great course, bring a view extra balls, it challenges you. Lots of trees, beautiful views. Not too often do you see deer and a fox crossing the fairways. Beautiful waterfall too. I will surely play this course again.