Des Moines Golf and Country Club vs Glen Oaks

[ScenicRoute]

Looking for any info on Des Moines clubs.  Mainly DMGCC or Glen Oaks as both would be near home and convenient.  Most of my rounds would likely be spur of the moment weekday midday/afternoons when work allows.  I guess what I’m interested in is conditioning, pace of play, and weekday availability.  I’ve played Glen Oaks 8 years ago, Wakonda several times, but haven’t played DMGCC. I have friends that are members at Hyperion, Briarwood, and the Harvester, but those are all too far.  Also, are either friendly to evening rounds with young kids just to play a few holes?
 

Thanks!

[darunia484]

I've heard Glen Oaks is friendly to the kids, but I don't have personal experience with either. I live pretty close to DMGCC, wish I could join!

 

Where do you usually play?

[jshel]

If you are looking for spur of the moment golf, it feels like having 36 holes would be a great benefit. 

 

And it's walkable and without houses. 

 

If I lived in Des Moines, I'd join either Wakonda or Des Moines Golf. 

[darunia484]

I would join Des Moines Golf if I knew I was going to be locked in staying in Iowa for the long term, but can't say that for sure.. it's only like 7 minutes away from my house! Wakonda is a bit far, but seems like a nice course and much more affordable than the other 2

[sleuth]

On 11/3/2021 at 11:32 AM, ScenicRoute said:

Looking for any info on Des Moines clubs.  Mainly DMGCC or Glen Oaks as both would be near home and convenient.  Most of my rounds would likely be spur of the moment weekday midday/afternoons when work allows.  I guess what I’m interested in is conditioning, pace of play, and weekday availability.  I’ve played Glen Oaks 8 years ago, Wakonda several times, but haven’t played DMGCC. I have friends that are members at Hyperion, Briarwood, and the Harvester, but those are all too far.  Also, are either friendly to evening rounds with young kids just to play a few holes?
 

Thanks!

I'm a former Wakonda member, and current DMG member. Glen Oaks is currently running a spring promotion, but I don't know the details. The membership director emailed me to see if I'm still seeking a new club. I've heard the rumors concerning the entire Glen Oaks golf staff being terminated with the change in management/ownership, however. I'm unsure if it's a good or bad thing.

 

DMG currently has a waitlist that's over 50 long. They have an 'On Deck' program that still allows you full, but limited, access to facilities and at a reduced rate.

 

I hadn't experienced issues playing randomly mid-week. It helps since it's a 36 hole course. Young kids are fine, and they have great junior programs. If you enjoy golf events, I'm a little let down at DMG's offerings - they don't have a competitive men's league, and simply a lack events IMO. Wakonda was vastly better in this regard.

[WestSideGrinch]

I just came across this thread, and I thought I'd throw in my two cents, also, as I too am looking at clubs.  I am down to DMGCC, Glen Oaks, Hyperion, and Echo Valley.  Here are my thoughts.

 

- Echo Valley is the farthest from me, but also the lowest cost.  Echo has 27 holes, and a very active social/league play.  That said, as a residential course, a lot of the social events are geared towards residents.  The golf is ok - the course is always in good shape, but the fairways are wide and the layout isn't particularly challenging.  It's known in town as the poor man's country club.  One benefit, if you're a traveler or a snowbird, is that Echo Valley is part of the Troon network, so members get access to clubs all over the country, with a heavy concentration in the south and southwest.

 

- Hyperion is one of the oldest courses is town, and not really convenient to anything, even for residents of Johnston, but I still think it is a great value.  Membership is supportive of staff, and course improvements.  The course is fun, if a little old school.  Social events are plentiful, the restaurant is good, and the kids activities are great.  As I know it now, fall of '23, the initiation nut has been raised to the $10k range, but dues are in line with DMGCC and GO.

 

- Glen Oaks is a good course, with a noticeably younger membership.  One very important thing to note about Glen Oaks is that they are now a "no assessments ever course", which sounds great if you've been burned by a surprise assessment in the past, but really just means they have to keep pumping the membership full to turn tee times over.  If you're looking for spur of the moment rounds, you may want to ask current members how busy the course is.  The club is very focused on family, and does have a lot of fun member social and golf events.  The pool is also a lot of fun.  The most recent promo I got from the member director was for $24k initiation.

 

- DMGCC is the big guy of these four, and I would argue is the nicest facility.  Having two full courses and two driving ranges, as well as swimming and tennis, is a big plus if your family isn't as big into golf as you are.  They also put a dome up over the tennis courts in the winter, so that season goes year round.  The membership is a little older, but to me that means you don't have to deal with the "bros" that some other clubs have.  League offerings are a little lacking, but there are a number of member events throughout the season.  There are two restaurants and a bar, and all are good.  The course was recently renovated for the Solheim Cup, and I would say both are challenging tracks.  Initiation looks to be $24kish for full golf or on-deck, with very competitive dues.  One important note about DMGCC is that last I heard there were reserved tee times, so high demand windows like Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings were effectively blocked out until you gain seniority.  There is a system to allow members to fill in, and those with reserved slots must fill them or risk losing their reserved tee times.  When I drive by, it is rarely packed, and many members walk with motorized push carts.  I would not think it is difficult to get a weekday afternoon tee time with late notice.

 

- A note on Wakonda.  I would have said it was easily the best golf course in town, but it does suffer from some of the old money Des Moines cliquey-ness, IMO.  That, of course, was before they shut the course down to completey redo it, and in turn drove off a significant share of membership.  Assessments were astronomical, and as a result, plans were scaled back.  That means the clubhouse won't be redone, and that was probably the biggest weakness of the club.  You also have to deal with the restrictions that come from the club hosting the Principal Charity Classic every June.  The last weeks of spring are kind of off the table for golf each year.

 

That's about all I've gathered in my searching.  Covid kind of messed up the local club scene, and now all the clubs have wait lists.  That may change pretty quickly as people get back to norms.  Before Glen Oaks was last sold, it wasn't uncommon to scoop up memberships without no initiation nut, or sometimes two-for-one deals.  The management was pretty poor, and deals could be had as a result.  Those days seem to be behind them, but as I mentioned, because they can't assess anymore, they are now forced to jack up the membership numbers.

 

Hope something in here helps.

 

West Sider

 

 

[sleuth]

On 9/25/2023 at 7:46 AM, WestSideGrinch said:

- DMGCC is the big guy of these four, and I would argue is the nicest facility.  Having two full courses and two driving ranges, as well as swimming and tennis, is a big plus if your family isn't as big into golf as you are.  They also put a dome up over the tennis courts in the winter, so that season goes year round.  The membership is a little older, but to me that means you don't have to deal with the "bros" that some other clubs have.  League offerings are a little lacking, but there are a number of member events throughout the season.  There are two restaurants and a bar, and all are good.  The course was recently renovated for the Solheim Cup, and I would say both are challenging tracks.  Initiation looks to be $24kish for full golf or on-deck, with very competitive dues.  One important note about DMGCC is that last I heard there were reserved tee times, so high demand windows like Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings were effectively blocked out until you gain seniority.  There is a system to allow members to fill in, and those with reserved slots must fill them or risk losing their reserved tee times.  When I drive by, it is rarely packed, and many members walk with motorized push carts.  I would not think it is difficult to get a weekday afternoon tee time with late notice.

 

- A note on Wakonda.  I would have said it was easily the best golf course in town, but it does suffer from some of the old money Des Moines cliquey-ness, IMO.  That, of course, was before they shut the course down to completey redo it, and in turn drove off a significant share of membership.  Assessments were astronomical, and as a result, plans were scaled back.  That means the clubhouse won't be redone, and that was probably the biggest weakness of the club.  You also have to deal with the restrictions that come from the club hosting the Principal Charity Classic every June.  The last weeks of spring are kind of off the table for golf each year.

I can provide my own personal insight.

 

Wakonda is my favorite local golf course. Is the clubhouse of importance to you? Myself, I don't care. The dining and event experience is still great. Between DMG and Wakonda, Wakonda has more and better golf events. I use to sit on the golf committee and this was always a focus of conversation: having many event options and formats, and how to create engagement. I look forward to playing there after the renovations.

 

As for DMG, they actually have 3 driving ranges. What's not to like about 36 holes? It's a bit more bureaucratic and small things need to go to committee or board for approval. They lack golf events, and they do have a men's league but it's not a competitive environment. The presumed belief is having too many events and taking away open tee times will upset the wider membership. And this could be true because this is an older demographic club. However, I personally haven't had issue with play and tee times. They do have permanent tee times in the summer Saturday/Sunday. You'll eventually find a way to play into those, or around them. And there's an app to make tee times 7 days in advance so it'll be rather easy to find Friday times.

 

You're a West sider, so it really comes down to DMG or Glen Oaks. Last I heard DMG waitlist is around 120.

 

**EDIT**

At the time I was a member, Wakonda also had reciprocity.  $50 + cart fee to play Cedar Rapids CC, and Davenport CC. Even better was Milburn (KC), and Happy Hollow (Omaha) was just a cart fee charge.

DMG does not have a reciprocal program and one is not planned.

Edited November 29, 2023 by sleuth