Mounds/Val Brooks at Brooks Golf Club

The Mounds/Val Brooks course at Brooks Golf Club in Okoboji, Iowa, represents a Warren Dickenson design in the Iowa Great Lakes region. Dickenson, who worked primarily in the Midwest during the mid-to-late twentieth century, created layouts that typically worked with existing terrain rather than imposing dramatic manufactured features. The course name suggests two distinct nines that can be combined for eighteen-hole play, a common configuration at clubs offering multiple routing options.

The Okoboji area, known for its glacial lakes and rolling topography, provides natural elevation changes and wooded corridors that likely influence the routing. The "Mounds" designation suggests the nine incorporates more pronounced landforms, while "Val Brooks" may reference either the valley character of that nine or a person associated with the club's history. Dickenson's work generally emphasized strategic variety over length, with greens that reward accurate approach play and bunker placement that defines preferred angles.

Brooks Golf Club serves the resort community surrounding West Okoboji Lake, one of only three blue-water lakes in the world, and the course likely reflects the region's recreational character. The Iowa Great Lakes area has supported golf since the early twentieth century, and courses here typically balance challenge for members with playability for seasonal visitors. The combination of lake-country setting and Dickenson's design approach suggests a layout that integrates naturally with the landscape while offering distinct character across its two nines.