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About Us
WHERE THE COWS ONCE GRAZED...
The Harvester has the elements of a dramatic championship course: visually diverse beauty, varied terrain and natural water features – all in a charming setting where a course was sculpted into the land, not built upon it.
“The Harvester evolved into a course built upon Iowa’s values of hard work, honesty, integrity, and helping one another. Just as the farmers must work the fertile soil to reap a good harvester, so The Harvester works to provide an exceptional environment and experience for those who love the game of golf.”
– Dickson Jensen, Owner
Get inside the mind of owner Dickson Jensen:
1998
The search for the land The Harvester was built upon was one that had to be created by nature, not one that could be artificially created. Through many trial and error strategies The Harvester's location was chosen on a large acreage northeast of Des Moines. This land was home to many local Iowans who had served the economy in typical Iowa farm fashion. It was beautiful country with rolling hills, natural lakes, and great views of the countryside.
1999
Piecing together the original routing of the course was setup with Lake Crabtree at the center of it all. The Clubhouse sits atop the lake being able to be seen throughout the course. The front 9 was determined to be to the east of Lake Crabtree and the back 9 to the west of Lake Crabtree. The lake allowed for dramatic finishes to their respective nines with holes 8 and 9 on the front nine and holes 17 and 18 on the back nine.
2000
Opening in 2000, The Harvester’s original goal was to be a daily fee course where people of Iowa and surrounding areas could come and experience a championship golf course. The Harvester met and exceeded expectations. Over the first 17 years we developed an atmosphere of a great golf experience that could reach all levels of golfers.
2018
In Spring 2018, we closed our doors to undergo a major renovation to the golf course and the clubhouse. Keith Foster, a renowned golf course designer with experience remodeling many 1920 Golden Age of Golf Architecture projects, led the project to turn a modern design into a course that could draw parallels to the masterful golf designs of the 1920’s. The clubhouse has been redone to comfortably house a golf-centered membership with great design and attractive vistas of the course.
2019
The Harvester Club will open in Summer 2019 as a fully renovated private club. We are excited about what the future will hold in this transition from a very good public course to a great private club.
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