Brown Deer Golf Club

Front nine starts easy with short downhill par 4. Rest of front nine plays through slightly sloping open farmland with the par 5 2nd being the best of the group. Back nine (original nine) moves into more wooded and hilly terrain that partially plays through the surrounding residential neighborhood. The double dogleg par 5 10th bordered by water was my favorite here. Par 3s and 5s were the strength of the course. Least favorite hole on the course was #18, a 90 degree dogleg par 4 with water bordering Inside of the dogleg for the length of the hole.
Course conditions were the disappointment here compared to the other courses played in the area.

Golfed Brown Deer many times and like it for the convenience (near where I live, but also 1 mile away from Interstate 80). 4 Tees gives you every opportunity to pick your level of pain. Back tees still afford a good look at landing areas. Front nine is somewhat up and down tee to green, back nine is very contoured with interesting tee to green play. Play is moves along, but playing through slow groups is never a problem.

Only played the back 9. Course was packed despite 98 degree heat. Layout forced you to play smart. A couple of par threes too short. Greens were fast! (I like that!). Fairways were beautiful. Traps could use more sand, but they were ok and well maintained.

This was the first time I've played Brown Deer in a few years. I actually ended up playing 3 days in a row because I was in a tournament over the weekend, but this review focuses on day 1 when I played it under normal conditions.

The Good: The course condition is excellent. The bent grass fairways are very nice and the bent grass greens roll fairly true. Also, the pace of play was very good. The staff in the pro shop and in the restaurant were all very friendly which made for a nice experience both checking in, at the turn and after the round. Finally, the practice facilities are great!

The Average: The course layout is just okay. The front 9 is pretty open and more modern with a bit more width and an open feel. The back 9 is tighter with a few quirky holes (13, 15 and 18). After repeated playing, I actually enjoy the layout but it won't be everyone's cup of tee. The short par 3 14th is one of my favorite par 3s in Iowa.

The not so good: The greens were a little beat up with ball marks, probably because the course gets a lot of play. Also, the sand had quite a few small pebbles in it.

Overall, Brown Deer is a fine course. The Iowa City/Coralville area has a wealth of top notch public facilities for pretty reasonable rates. I would definitely recommend Brown Deer and look forward to playing again.

This course was in excellent shape, the fairways and greens were in perfect shape and it was a very challenging course. I would recommend it to anyone visiting the area as a course you must play. Some great views and wonderful holes. Must play!

An unusual amount of unfixed divots in fairway. I would expect this on a course for hackers but this is no hackers course.

Not the course of old that I knew 10 years ago. There were dead spots all over the greens from ball make that weren't fixed. Have some respect people! The ants were taking over #6 green, they had their own green. Putting the ball was an adventure. Overall not too impressed with the care/ condition of the course, facilities were nice, staff was friendly.

The course was in great shape when we played Brown Deer. Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to see the whole course, there was a women's league tying up the back nine. I wish there was a way to communicate this to the golfers, I would have made plans to play another time had I known this was the case.

Course was in great shape. In my opinion best course in the area.

Our group drove 90 minutes to reach Brown Deer and we were all very pleased and impressed with how well maintained the facilities, clubhouse, course were and greatly enjoyed our experience. The Hot Deals on golfnow are an absolute steal for this course.

Loved the layout of the course. A wide variety of holes to play. I will play this course again.