Golf Guide: Waterloo - IA

No one has ever mistaken Waterloo, Iowa for Paris, France, but then very few people in Waterloo wear berets, so things even out. Seriously, the residents of this city on the bank of the Cedar River find plenty to keep them occupied, and so can visitors.

Waterloo, perhaps as a nod to its name, features the largest water park in the state, and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame grants insights into Iowa's virtual headlock on the sport. The Grout Museum of History & Science helps to explain the region's past, and the Waterloo Center for the Arts, in addition to its other collections, features the world's largest public collection of Haitian artwork.

And since this is, after all, Iowa, where farming is king, visitors may want to sample a section of the Silos & Smokestacks tour, which meanders through a swath of northeastern Iowa that includes more than 100 sites and attractions throughout 37 counties. The tractor-assembly plants, dairy farms and other attractions all are part of only 49 federally designated heritage areas in the country.

As for golf, many of the courses in the area feature only nine holes, allowing visitors to squeeze in a round if they are in town on business. Red Carpet Golf Course, however, steps up the game dramatically, since this course was designed by the highly regarded Tom Bendelow, the man who designed Medinah Country Club and Olympia Fields. In other words, golfers in Waterloo should not skip this course.