Jester Park Golf Club

Jester Park Golf Club's Championship course is a public facility located in Granger, a suburb northwest of Des Moines, designed by Dick Phelps and opened in the 1960s. The course occupies rolling terrain within Polk County's Jester Park, a recreational area that includes camping, trails, and natural areas along Saylorville Lake. The routing takes advantage of the property's elevation changes and wooded corridors, characteristics typical of central Iowa's glacial landscape. Phelps, an Iowa-based architect active in the mid-twentieth century, designed several courses throughout the state with an emphasis on playability for public golfers while incorporating natural land movement. The Championship course at Jester Park reflects this approach, with tree-lined fairways, modest bunkering, and greens that reward accurate approach play. The layout presents a traditional parkland experience, with the terrain providing more visual interest and strategic variety than the flatter agricultural land common to much of the region. As a county-operated facility, Jester Park serves a broad range of golfers from the Des Moines metropolitan area. The course has hosted various regional amateur events and remains a popular option for daily-fee play in central Iowa. Its setting within the larger park system offers a recreational atmosphere, and the course's accessibility and conditioning make it a fixture in the local public golf landscape.