Preserve on Rathbun Lake

The Honey Creek Resort at Rathbun Lake was a development from the Iowa Department of National Resources to generate some tourism in the south of the state, showing off a lake created by the Army Corp of Engineers. Part of that project was The Preserve golf course, a design from Kevin Norby and Don Herfort. Stretching just more than 7,000 yards, it can offer a stiff test to the scratch golfer (as well as more manageable tees for more casual duffers, of course).

The property is considerable and the design duo did not restrain themselves when spreading the route around the peninsula on which the resort sits (visitors will drive out to the tip on the peninsula to find the hotel itself, and will pass the clubhouse on the way down).

The final three holes of the course features two separate holes with split fairways, both of which will call for players to consider the pin position before making their second shot. No. 16 is a rather long par four, which may play as a “par 4.5” depending on the player’s strategic route to the hole. The final hole, a par five, features a split fairway in the final stretch to the hole...whether you take the “correct” path for the day may determine who wins the last point of the match.