The last stop on our road trip was at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course, which is associated with Riverside Casino and Resort. Blue Top Ridge normally gets ranked as one of the best public courses in Iowa and it is one I’ve been itching to play since moving to the Central Time Zone!
We made good time from the Chicago area on the drive and cut south of I-80 on a state highway to get to the course. The last part of our drive felt more desolate – through the cornfields – than it really was though. Blue Top Ridge is only 20 minutes south of Iowa City so it is easy to get to if you are passing through the area.
Blue Top Ridge is a Rees Jones design that felt very similar to The Falls Golf Course, another Rees Jones course in the northwest part of the state (near Sioux Falls, SD). Both courses have a prairie look without many trees coming into play. Also, most holes are pretty wide open with large driving areas and nice bunkering. However, my comparison isn’t perfect because The Falls has more water while Blue Top Ridge has more elevation change.
As the name indicates, Blue Top Ridge works its way around a small ridge. Over half the holes have some up and down to them with a handful of semi-blind landing areas. The other half of the holes are flatter, closer to the casino and the large parking lot. Overall, I thought the nice piece of land was one of the course’s best qualities.
Considering the great property, there wasn’t as much “wow” to the individual holes as I was expecting. I don’t think there is a weak hole at Blue Top Ridge, but I don’t think there is a signature hole either. There are a couple good par-3’s, par-4’s and par-5’s but nothing that really had me in awe. So, the lack of a signature hole is my only complaint about the design.
We played the black tees which are 71.6/136/6454 and I found Blue Top Ridge to be sneaky difficult for a resort/casino course. Yes, the fairways are pretty wide, but the sight lines are somewhat uncomfortable the first time around. Plus, there are enough uphill holes which add distance on the approach shots. The bunkers are deep and tough to play from.
My favorite holes were the two driveable par-4’s (the 3rd and the 17th) and then the par-3 6th. The 3rd – 278 yards – and 17th – 300 yards – aren’t far from each other and follow a similar template. They are both downhill and dogleg slightly left. The hillside falls to the left too so if trying to drive the green then favoring the right half of each hole is best. The 6th is a scenic downhill par-3 that plays 192 yards. Water behind and to the right of the green shouldn’t normally be in play but can catch an awful shot.
Our twilight rate was $60, a great value. The conditions were mint and one of the reasons why I love golfing in this part of the country. The fairways and tees were lush. The greens were shiny and quick. The bunkers had some rocks, so not quite in line with the rest of the conditioning.
I greatly enjoyed my round here and was happy to finally check Blue Top Ridge off my Iowa list. For a modern course it offers a lot and isn’t controversial in any way. There is even a cool corn crib to the right of the 14th green in case you forgot you were in the Midwest! I’d put the course on your cross-country travel list.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):