MORAVIA, Iowa - In July of 2008, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will unveil a new championship golf course at Honey Creek State Park. The course, located 90 minutes southeast of Des Moines, was designed by Kevin Norby of Herfort Norby Golf Course Architects, a Minnesota based golf architecture firm. “The dramatic elevation changes, views of Lake Rathbun and the abundance of wildlife habitat make the site at Honey Creek some of the most beautiful we've worked with” says Norby.

The 6,980 yard course will feature bent grass tees, greens and fairways, five and six sets of tees and over 20 acres of restored native short-grass prairie. The routing of the golf course is somewhat unique in that the front nine starts with two par fives and ends with a beautiful downhill par three. According to Norby “avid students of the game will appreciate the fact that we have allowed the land to dictate the routing and the sequence of holes rather than to attempt to conform to a more traditional routing with two five pars and two three pars on each nine.”

Duininck Bros. Golf was responsible for construction of the course which broke ground in early 2007 and was completed in October of the same year. “Even with incredible rainfall, Duininck was able to complete the course on time and on budget. They did a great job of managing the project” said Norby.

The golf course is expected to open in July of 2008 with the new clubhouse and maintenance facility currently under construction.