Great old course.Waveland is one of the oldest golf courses west of the Mississippi River and it has lots of turn of the century character and charm. There’s even an old observatory (Drake Observatory) in the middle of it.Waveland plays long because it is (Iowa’s longest par 4 — #16 is 453 yards). The fairways are not crazy and the greens are not insane. It’s hilly and long and always windy. It’s good.It’s one of the pricier public courses in Des Moines. 18 and a cart is $42 during the week and $49 on weekends. It’s worth it.Top 3 public courses in the Des Moines metro.

Despite what is going on in the world today, the employees at Waveland were incredible. My friend and I decided we needed some golf in these trying times, and being from Minnesota, where it had snowed overnight, we decided to head down to Iowa for greener pastures. We found your course on Google, and instantly thought the course looked cool, so we called them up, and set up a tee time. The course is kept in amazing condition, despite being a little muddy in some places (not complaining, its that time of year). I thought the course was going to be a breeze while looking at Google maps, and was not expecting all of the elevation changes whatsoever. My friend and I had a blast, and we plan on coming back in the near future.

Love this course. Old with lots of trees and lots of character.

Always a good time at Waveland. There were some dry spots, which is to be expected with the current hit streak. The course was packed but play moved fairly quickly. Waveland is supporting the Covid-19 pandemic a bit by offering single rider carts for $4.00 extra.

Great sledding in the winter! Thank you Waveland golf course!

Nice course. Challenging but fun.

One of the best public courses in town. Hilly freeways, and a challenging setup makes for a great time here

We went sledding here in early February 2020. It was awesome it was a great time and best of all it was free :)

My home course they always get out to play

A wee bit slow today, but good day out...

If you like tight fairways and lots of hills this is the course for you. Super challenging.

What a great golf course experience. If you love a golf course with history and character this is a place for you. Very interesting design and very playable and fair. Director of golf Jacob and head pro Rocky were really great to us. If youre in Des Moines you have to try this course.

Great place to go sledding with the kids over the winter! Wonderful that the course owners allow this! Some pretty intense hills- super fast and dangerous enough to be crazy fun even for the adults!

Not the greatest shape of a course. Cool layout though is about the only good thing. Staff is insanely rude wouldn’t recommend coming if you want to be treated like you are worthless.

Golf course is great. The technology with the golf carts is great and helpful, but the staff is very rude and will get upset if you ask them a question. Checked into our tee time 10 minutes before our time and got treated like we were 10 minutes late and holding everyone back. Groups got stacked up on top of each other on the back 9 several times.

Great course! And Jack O is there now!!!!

Such a fun course to play. Very hilly and pleasing to the eye. The price is hard to beat and the clubhouse is extremely cool and historic. There is no driving range, but given how old it is, you can really expect to have that. Course was in great shape for a city course. You gotta play here if youre looking for a fun golf experience!

Really nice little golf course with good views and it was very reasonably priced at $20 for 18. We played near the end of the season and the course was still in pretty good shape. Pizza in the clubhouse was quite good as well!

The coarse is great but the new staff this really just sucks. I feel like Im imposing on them instead of thanking me for my business.

They open in winter (providing snow is deep enough) for sledding/skiing activities. Great hills

Golf course is in great shape very impressed the guy taking money this morning needs work on his people skills he acted like it was a real burden that he had to check us in but other than that it was awesome!

It would be nice to have the upper tee box open on #3. Otherwise I love this golf course.

A top notch experience on a wonderful piece of land. I first heard about Waveland from the little known website nolayingup.com. As a midwestern golfer I had to add it to my list of must plays and recently made it out to Des Monies.Boy were those guys right. As a pure walking (yes I like to walk) golfer my expectations were probably higher than they should have been. You cant walk exclaimed my partner, well he was wrong. Was it easy? No, but rarely are things worth it when they are easy. The golf course is fantastic, almost lulling you to sleep with benign numbers but rarely is a shot as simple as the yardage. The rolling hills and perched greens make for a challenge no matter the skill set. The back nine stretch is 10/10 with each hole keeping one on their toes. Recommend playing with someone who has played before as lots of blind tee and approach shots. All in all a hidden gem, share wisely!

Really enjoyed the rolling scenery of the course. Its fun to play even for terrible golfers like myself. Saw a fox on the course. Overall, great experience, will come again when in the Des Moines area. Hot dogs were good too

The navigation system in the carts in really cool and the course is pretty well kept. Enjoyed golfing here, the staff was also friendly and the prices aren’t to bad.

Well maintained course with great views. The staff was extremely friendly

I was just meeting someone but looks like a nice course.

The course was in great shape! The construction around University Ave made it a challenge to get there.

Great classic course

Ive never golfed there but its a great place for sledding, snow shoeing, or cross country skiing in the winter. Nice and hilly.

Nice course.

Great night for our high school reunion!

Dont even try one of their rice Krispy bars at the counter inside you will love it and have to keep going back for more!

Nice and challenging city course layout but pace of play is very slow on the weekends.

Good course, has some interesting holes and staff is friendly. Has small pro shop and eatery. Only downside is traffic noise depending on time can be distracting on some holes.

Favorite local spot

Mature trees, hilly, quality course.

Great place for sledding! Always lots of families there and Lots of the parents are friendly and easy to strike up a conversation with! Waveland Cafe is close and a great place to get some coffee to warm up after braving the cold!

One of the best municipal courses youll find. Unique layout, very hilly with plenty of elevation changes. Scenic wooded areas line many holes to keep you honest. Overall, just a fun course to play.

Nice course. Great greens. Challenging layout. Only downside is no chipping green or driving range. Understandable with amount of space. Ranger didnt do anything but drive in front of greens tearing up grass.

Challenging course with many hills and blind spots. Fun fact that it’s the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi

Was nice place but no driving range

Iconic 100 yr old +, well-maintained public course that will challenge the best of golfers.

Easily the best value course in Des Moines. Cant wait to see what the new course layout of the front 9 will look like. Hopefully pricing will stay about the same.

The experience needs to be experienced, take pictures of the beauty.

Well maintained course that is always a challenge!

Nice for a public course!

A pretty good golf course. Several high school meets are played here throughout the year.

Beautiful golf course

Played the city courses 20+ yrs ago.....incredibly positive changes since the mid-90s! Greens are consistent at all 3 courses-firm and well maintained....good selection in pro shops considering todays on line shopping options....solid staff as well at all 3!

Good track nice staff

Pizza good. Pro good.

Hate this course!

Assume place to have dinner or lunch

Great Staff. Great Course.

Beautiful Course, well maintained, with friendly people. Perfect

Page and Jake treated us awesome today! If you havent been to this course youre missing out on a great experience....

Nice hilly wooded challenge

Waveland is my go to course when I travel to Des Moines. It is a very challenging course, lots of trees, doglegs & hills. Awesome GPS system on the carts.

The oldest public course west of the Mississippi. Steeped with tradition, and promises a balance of tough lies, moderate greens, and high risk reward shots. This is my favorite public course in Iowa.

One of the best public courses ever! Hole 3, 12 and 14 are my favorite! The other 16 are fun too.

A wonderful and well manicured public course. Watch out for the blind spots!

Fun and challenging course. Rocky and his staff are great!

I didnt play, I just rode along. The course is beautiful with lots of mature trees. My husband and the gentleman he played with both liked it very much.

Course is nice. Staff is pretty rude and un-welcoming.

Love the course and old school layout. The only thing missing is a driving range. If it had a range, Id be a member.

Employees were very happy to try to give us the best service, I am very pleased

Very hilly course which adds to the difficulty! They also have GPS in the carts to guide you. I felt the layout was quite a bit different but once you figure it out, its a good time.

Lots of fun

Great course....not as good as,grandview in my opinion. Maybe a free 18 hole pass with golfcart,would change my mind. Grover Collins was my grandfather

Nice public course. Reasonably priced

Had a blast sledding with the kids

Kids had great time sledding.

Great track, good condition

Theres two places in Des Moines you have to experience,Christophers Restaurant in Beaverdale and Waveland GC.

Fun old country club!

Today was the worst experience. Course was busy which we expected on a Saturday, not a big deal. The problem was when a group behind us hit into us. Carts have gps so no reason for it. Reason for 1 star is that group complained to club house that we were slow. Well what about the group in front of us we had to wait on. The ranger came out and felt like he had to follow us for awhile and tell us to hurry up. Ok I guess we could hurry up but what about the group we were waiting on in front of us?? After spending a lot of money to play here and get treated like this, I will never play this course again.

Wow the greens are fantastic!

Tried to book a formal outing for 10 golfers a month in advance, the employee that answered the phone was unaccommodating. The GM was unwilling to make an exception or even get on the phone. Im sure the course plays fine, but am disappointed from a business stand point. Was really looking forward to the event.

Dont golf but love the sledding hills.

Great course, greens are talking care of well

Great course. Great staff!

Outstanding, challenging course!!

Classic golf course. My favorite public course in DSM.

Lisa makes great pizza!

Unfortunately, this place has really gone downhill. Its the oldest golf course in Iowa, and it looks like it. Heard the locals started calling it Wasteland instead of Waveland. Staff is very rude, as they close the course randomly at times.

Great demanding course with lots of hills.

Great golf course, well maintained, challenging holes

Best public course in the city!

Best place to sled in the metro!

Went sledding cut open my hand and sprain my back so eh but the hills were fun while they lasted

We had our wedding and reception at the club house. The staff was fantastic!

Ok place

Good bang for your buck

Close to work!!

Challenging and fun course

Its fun to play the hills..

Nice golf course

Great track, great service

Challenging beautiful and great people