Waveland Golf Course
Des Moines, Iowa · 18 holes · par 72 · Public/Municipal. Designed by Warren Dickenson, opened 1901.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about 920 ft the ball carries about 1% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 148. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 17, where the green sits 64 ft above the tee and plays about 21 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 3, where the green sits 74 ft below the tee and plays about 25 yards shorter.
- Driving-zone hazards sit on the right on 3 holes and on the left on 1: a tee shot missed right costs more here.
- 17 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
| Hole | Par | Hcp | Blue | White | Gold | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 9 | 355 | 308 | 306 | 301 |
| 2 | 3 | 17 | 165 | 147 | 142 | 137 |
| 3 | 5 | 1 | 585 | 558 | 407 | 402 |
| 4 | 4 | 7 | 371 | 361 | 301 | 296 |
| 5 | 4 | 13 | 325 | 318 | 285 | 280 |
| 6 | 4 | 15 | 355 | 345 | 314 | 309 |
| 7 | 5 | 11 | 495 | 486 | 477 | 378 |
| 8 | 3 | 5 | 182 | 175 | 138 | 133 |
| 9 | 4 | 3 | 393 | 384 | 376 | 371 |
| 10 | 3 | 6 | 243 | 225 | 137 | 200 |
| 11 | 4 | 10 | 370 | 361 | 301 | 296 |
| 12 | 5 | 4 | 565 | 560 | 427 | 450 |
| 13 | 3 | 18 | 152 | 121 | 111 | 106 |
| 14 | 4 | 14 | 328 | 303 | 180 | 152 |
| 15 | 5 | 12 | 475 | 466 | 406 | 401 |
| 16 | 4 | 2 | 460 | 453 | 350 | 340 |
| 17 | 4 | 8 | 365 | 357 | 276 | 271 |
| 18 | 4 | 16 | 360 | 354 | 310 | 300 |
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | Male | 6544 | 71.2 | 124 |
| White | Male | 6282 | 70.6 | 121 |
| Gold | Male | 5651 | 68.2 | 116 |
| Red | Female | 5323 | 69.4 | 109 |
Hole 1 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 355+1 ft
- Green · Blue tee
- 342 · 355 · 368front · middle · back
- Green size
- 27 × 23yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 39 ydswide at 220
In play
- Water right: 57 to reach, 152 to carry
- Water across the hole: 64 to reach, 113 to carry
- Bunker back-right of the green
Playing notes
- Dogleg right at about 229 yards.
- Water crosses the hole: 64 to reach, 113 to carry.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 39 yards wide at 220 and narrows to 31 at 263.
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
Hole 2 · Par 3
- Plays like
- 165+1 ft
- Green · Blue tee
- 151 · 165 · 177front · middle · back
- Green size
- 26 × 30yards deep × wide
- Green slope
- 4%falls to the front
In play
- Bunker front of the green
Playing notes
- Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from back to front, about 4%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 3 · Par 5
- Plays like
- 560-74 ft
- Green · Blue tee
- 572 · 585 · 598front · middle · back
- Green size
- 25 × 24yards deep × wide
- Green slope
- 2.5%falls to the front
In play
- No bunkers or water mapped on this hole
Playing notes
- Plays about 25 yards shorter: the green sits 74 ft below the tee.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- Best lay-up: 70 to 170 yards from the green, where the fairway is about 26 yards wide with no bunkers or water within 16 yards.
- No hazards mapped around the green.
- The green falls from back to front, about 2.5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 45 · Par 46 · Par 47 · Par 58 · Par 39 · Par 410 · Par 311 · Par 412 · Par 513 · Par 314 · Par 415 · Par 516 · Par 417 · Par 418 · Par 4
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 22 hazards with reach and carry
- 15 green slope reads
- 3 par-5 lay-up zones
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Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].