the preserve on rathbun lake

Very nice, well kept, challenging and somewhat forgiving. If you tend to miss the fairway on occasion, bring extra balls. They maintain the fairway and rough, oob is tall prairie grass that gobbles up balls. Greens are nice and the layout is such that you don't feel like you're playing out in the open. Would recommend as a destination for any enthusiast.

My friends and I chose this course for our annual two on two tournament. We are average golfers so this course was a little difficult for us, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless. The fescue is extremely tall and thick, so bring yourself plenty of golf balls, because if you aren't a straight shooter, you will lose a ton of them. The course was very nice and well kept. The fairways and greens were great and challenging. The staff was very polite and fun to chat with. We played four rounds so we were able to see the same people numerous times and they were very pleasant.The only negative I would say is that the course isn't very memorable. There aren't any landmarks, landscaping, water, fountains, or anything to really make certain holes special. The stay and play package deal with Honey Creek resort is the way to go. Two nights at the hotel, free breakfast and lunch, and all the golf you can play for $330.

This course was gorgeous and we REALLY liked the GPS in the carts. We're thinking of making the drive from Des Moines in the future JUST to golf here. My only apprehension is the staff. They didn't exactly know what was up or keep consistency regarding knowledge among each other. There was a tournament later in the day and we felt like an inconvenience to them to squeeze us in prior to that tournament (which we got off the course in plenty of time). I do realize this is the same service we'd get at any golf course and were likely just jitters about the tournament - but that doesn't change that I don't care to be treated that way. We pay the same as everyone else and hope to be back, so expect to be treated the same. Regardless, it was a beautiful course and the GPS cart lead to an excellent experience on the course. We hope to be back.

It took me over two hours to reach this destination but it was well worth it. Lake Rathbun is 11,000 acres of resevoir smack dab in southeast Iowa. Splendid boating and an awesome place for a day or two to hike. It has over 100 units for camping, four cabins you can rent year round and plenty of trails to hike on. On this particular day, I was floored when I saw just how many deer, fox, wild turkey and other animals I encountered from just steps into my hike.The Lake itself is an awesome achievement and the possibility of seeing woods teaming with this much wildlife is thrilling. The nearby Honey Creek resort is also a welcome sight. It features a golf course, several cabins that can be rented, an indoor waterpark, plenty of rooms to stretch out in(or recover) and a wonderful restaurant on-site. The resort is an oasis in the middle of southeast Iowa. I strongly urge everyone to see/visit this resort and or Lake.

Just boated on Rathbun over Labor Day weekend and can't believe we've been missing out this whole time!! Water is deep and cool, as clear as you can expect from an Iowa reservoir, and not a busy lake at all. While I was only able to go for the day, my family stayed in a cabin at the state park that was clean, nicely laid out and CHEAP! Can't wait for next summer to spend a long weekend here!

I recently golfed at The Preserve and loved it. They have built the course away from busy streets and highways. Once on the course you are surrounded by nature. They had a lot of split fairways which were well maintained and medium speed greens. The price was on the higher side especially for Iowa but the fact it is in the middle of no where makes sense. The club house was nice and fully stocked with golf equipement, food and beverages. You have to hit straight on a lot of the fairways as the grass that lines them is tall. I would have given it a 5 but due to the mixed feels by the rest of my group I settled for a 4.