
Championship Course
Jester Park Golf Club




About this course
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.
Rankings
Ranked by CV ratings from golfers who've played this course. Positions are shown worldwide, by country, and by state; the Public column compares courses anyone can play.
Best in World
Best in USA
Best in IA
Quick facts
- Location
- Granger, IA, USA
- Access
- Public
- Year built
- 1971
- Holes
- 18
- Designer
- Dick Phelps
- Par
- 72
- Length
- 6,914 yards
- Difficulty
- 77.1/130
- Course Vaults score
- 6.3
Getting there
The journey to Jester Park Golf Club begins at Des Moines International Airport, a straightforward twenty-minute drive northwest into the gently rolling farmland of central Iowa. The route follows Interstate 35 before peeling west onto country roads that trace the northern edge of Saylorville Lake, where the urban grid gives way to open prairie and scattered woodlands. As you approach Granger, the landscape softens into the kind of pastoral quiet that defines Iowa's heartland - wide skies, orderly fields, and the occasional red barn - before arriving at the club's wooded entrance along the reservoir's western shore, a public gem tucked into one of the state's most beloved recreational corridors.

FAQ
Common questions about Championship at Jester Park Golf Club
Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.
Championship at Jester Park Golf Club has a Course Vaults score of 6.3 out of 10 based on 15 logged golfers.
Championship was designed by Dick Phelps.
Yes. Championship at Jester Park Golf Club is listed as welcoming public or guest play on Course Vaults.
Par at Championship is 72.
Championship plays 6,914 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.
The slope rating at Championship is 130.




