
Glen Oaks Course
Glen Oaks Country Club

About this course
Glen Oaks Country Club sits in West Des Moines, Iowa, and features a Tom Fazio design that opened in the late 1990s. The course represents Fazio's approach to modern championship golf in the Midwest, with substantial earthmoving used to create elevation changes and strategic interest across relatively flat Iowa terrain. The routing takes advantage of mature hardwoods and incorporates water features throughout, characteristics typical of Fazio's work from this period. The layout emphasizes playability from multiple tee sets while maintaining challenge for accomplished players through green complexes, strategic bunkering, and water hazards that come into play on several holes. Fazio's signature attention to conditioning standards and visual presentation is evident in the manicured fairways and carefully framed sight lines. The course stretches over 7,000 yards from the championship tees and features bentgrass playing surfaces suited to the Iowa climate. Glen Oaks serves as a private club and has hosted regional amateur competitions, including USGA qualifiers and Iowa Golf Association championships. The club maintains a traditional country club atmosphere with facilities that include tennis and swimming alongside golf. The course reflects the era of upscale residential golf development in the Des Moines metropolitan area during the 1990s, when several communities built championship-caliber courses as centerpieces for residential neighborhoods.
Rankings
Ranked by CV ratings from golfers who've played this course. Positions are shown worldwide, by country, and by state; the Private column compares member-only and guest-restricted courses.
Best in World
Best in USA
Best in IA
Quick facts
- Location
- West Des Moines, IA, USA
- Access
- Private
- Year built
- 1994
- Holes
- 18
- Designer
- Tom Fazio
- Par
- 71
- Length
- 6,961 yards
- Difficulty
- 74.9/142
- Course Vaults score
- 8.2
Getting there
Des Moines International Airport lies just fifteen minutes east of Glen Oaks Country Club, making this one of the most effortless arrivals in American golf. The brief drive west traces the southern edge of the city before slipping into the leafy, residential enclave of West Des Moines, where the course occupies a serene, wooded parcel along the bluffs above Walnut Creek. There is no drama in the approach - only the quiet transition from urban grid to shaded lanes, culminating at a discreet entrance that has welcomed Iowa's most discerning members for nearly a century.

FAQ
Common questions about Glen Oaks
Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.
Glen Oaks has a Course Vaults score of 8.2 out of 10 based on 33 logged golfers.
Glen Oaks was designed by Tom Fazio.
Glen Oaks is listed as private on Course Vaults; guest access is typically restricted.
Par at Glen Oaks is 71.
Glen Oaks plays 6,961 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.
The slope rating at Glen Oaks is 142.



