-Baskets good
-Map / tee signage excellent
-Makes decent use of area given
-Stays away from other park activities
-Parks with excellent upkeep
-Quick play

-A jump in the middle, 1-6 in one park, 7-9 in another across town
-Natural tees
-Minimal elevation and foliage to work around

Minerva Creek DGC plays in two city parks in the small town of Zearing, IA. Directions in the description get you to the larger of the parks where play starts with 1-6. Signage near the first tee has a full map of both of parts of the course and where to find the other park in town. From the previous description, these parks must have lost a number of trees in the 2020 derecho. These have been cleaned up and the parks are in great shape, but it has opened up the course. Play is typical for a park course, mostly open lines, the creek comes into play on #1 and #5 behind those baskets and playing over the creek on #6. #6 is the longest at 233, so a relatively short course. #7-9 play in the second park with the only real danger being a field (corn or soybeans, I'm guessing, depending on the year) to the left of #8. The 2 sections knocks it for me a bit. Especially with the last 3 holes being pretty pedestrian. I could see 2 to 3 holes in the main park that would fit into the same mold as the others without getting too close to the playground or other activities. Add some concrete tees to add to the rating, too. An OK course to bag, work on short game skills, or teach newbies. Mix it in with Jacobson Bear Creek and/or Story City to make more of a day of it. I might play here again.

- Nice Mach V baskets
- Lots o' trees (Holes 1-6)
- Some interesting shots
- Good signage

- The course is located in two separate parks and there is no indication at either park that there are other holes elsewhere
- Pretty tightly spaced
- No concrete tees (or anything marking the tee on the ground at all)

I've played a fair number of John Houck courses. When the man has a good canvas to paint on, a masterpiece is the usual result. However, I would not go into this course thinking 'championship' caliber. It's plainly a pitch and putt course that will be fun for small town recreational play.

Zearing is a small town. It has small parks. Therefore, 9 holes will not fit in any one of the parks. So, this course is actually set in two separate parks, several blocks apart. Holes 1-6 are located at the park described in the directions. 7-9 are in a smaller park, approximately 4 blocks west and 3 blocks south.

The play of the course: Holes 1-6 are the strongest of the 9. They range in distance from ~150' to ~240'. What they lack in distance, they actually do well in requiring some technical skill and they use the numerous trees and the creek to their advantage. The holes are packed in tight to each other, but mostly apart from other park uses.

Holes 7-9 are at a newer park that has fewer large trees. This portion of the course does not require as much skill.

General thoughts: It's not really a cohesive course so much as it is two short series of baskets. It's actually a pretty good introduction to the sport for a small town. I think it would be better served billed as two courses of 3 and 6 holes. If the town insists on billing it as a 9-hole course, it at least needs to provide directions to the other holes. Concrete tees or at least some sort of ground markers would help it as well.