18 things to know about University of Iowa’s Finkbine Golf Course renovation

IOWA CITY – Most golf courses, once planned and built, stay the same even as the game changes and golfers and their gear improve. 

But because of an aging irrigation system and some generous donors, the University of Iowa’s Finkbine Golf Course is getting an $11 million renovation that seeks to serve both weekend warriors and collegiate champions. 

Two Finkbine experts – General Manager Josh Clay and former Superintendent Mike Hoffman – shared 18 things to know about Finkbine’s history and the course’s makeover, expected to be done next spring.

1. No public money used

Mary Lee Nagle Duda and her husband, Fritz Duda, are the primary donors for the Finkbine project. The Dallas couple have been major donors for several other UI athletic facilities, including the $10 million Nagle Family Clubhouse and the $20 million Nagle-Duda Gymnastics & Spirit Squads Training Center, opened in 2025. Other private donors contributed to the Finkbine course renovation.

2. Course will remain public

Finkbine has always been a public course and will stay that way.

3. Finkbine’s third life

The UI’s first golf course was on 175 acres along Highway 6 in Coralville donated by William and Charles Finkbine. In the early 1950s, the UI bought 270 acres and moved Finkbine to its spot north of Melrose Avenue. Architect Robert Bruce Harris designed the 18-hole, 72-par course opened in July 1955.

4. Celebrity status

Former President Gerald Ford, baseball great Joe DiMaggio and Chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka are among famous folks who golfed at Finkbine during the Amana VIP Pro-Am tournament, held at Finkbine from the late 1960s through early 1990s. The Classic drew up to 20,000 spectators to see pros teeing off with celebrities like Hee Haw’s Roy Clark and musician Glen Campbell.   

5. Course architect played Big Ten golf

The Finkbine management team considered hundreds of golf course architects before selecting Scott Hoffman (no relation to Mike Hoffman) to redesign the Iowa City course. An Omaha-based designer who grew up drawing golf courses on church bulletins, Hoffman played golf at the University of Nebraska and Creighton University before spending more than 20 years designing award-winning courses. 

6. Less rough

Finkbine had about 50 acres of irrigated rough, where longer bluegrass snags balls and often requires an extra shot to get back to the fairway. The redesign reduces the rough to 30 acres and expands fairways with a hybrid bentgrass called Centennial. 

7. Less watering

Summer droughts have been the norm in Iowa the past five years. The Finkbine redesign will include a state-of-the-art irrigation system with sensors to detect evaporation rates, soil and air temperature, soil moisture and soil chemistry to reduce water use. 

8. Native prairie

The UI has a chain of native prairie remnants with grasses like big bluestem, Indian grass, tall coreopsis, tall bush clover and tall cinquefoil. The new Finkbine design features one of these prairies near Hole 11.

9. Landmark trees

Although the renovation required removal of some trees, many were invasive species, including wild cherry and box elder. The new course design highlights bur oaks – a staple of tallgrass savannah – including a giant that will make great photo opps by Hole 11.

10. Longer fairways

With modern clubs and balls, top collegiate golfers need longer fairways for a competitive game. The renovated Finkbine will extend the length of some holes with multiple tees so golfers of varying skills can enjoy the experience. The total yardage for the course will rise from about 7,200 yards to 7,500, Clay said.

11. No more big hill

Between Hole 13 and Hole 14 of the old Finkbine course was a big hill. So big that for decades, a cart with a motor and chain hauled golfers to the next tee. Hoffman’s redesign shaves off part of that steep incline to make the back nine more walkable. The topsoil from the hill is being used in other places so no additional fill was brought in for the renovation.

12. New bunkers

All of Finkbine’s sand traps, or bunkers, will be lined with capillary concrete. Previous bunker liners had to be replaced every few years, but the capillary concrete allows water to drain through but keeps the sand in place.

13. Finkbine among ‘13 notable renovations’

Finkbine’s renovation was listed among “13 notable golf course renovation projects to track in 2026’ in a Jan. 8 piece in GolfPass. Other projects listed include the makeover of The Old Course at St. Andrews and the $25 million renovation of the Yale University course. 

14. Signature hole 

Finkbine has one water feature – a pond on what used to be Hole 13 – with two tied island greens. While common now, this design feature was groundbreaking in 1955, when the course opened. After the reno, there will be only one island and one green on the renamed Hole 16, which Clay thinks will be even more of a showstopper.

15. New bridge

A brand new feature of the renovated Finkbine will be a 30-foot-high, 12-foot-wide timber bridge crossing a ravine on the back part of the course. The bridge, designed for golf carts and golfers on foot, is made of pressure-treated pine by The Bridge Guy, from upstate New York, and is intended to last 100 years, owner Jason Sommerville said. 

16. Big finish

When Scott Hoffman routes a new course, he plans the 18th hole first because he wants golfers to end their day “with a bang”, he told Derek Duncan, Golf Digest architecture editor, on the Feed the Ball podcast in 2024. Finkbine’s new Hole 18 will shift west so golfers finish within view of the Nagle Family Clubhouse’s chimney with a Tiger Hawk logo. 

17. Where are the teams playing? 

During the reno, the Hawkeye men’s and women’s golf teams will practice and play at area courses, including Brown Deer, in Coralville; the Cedar Rapids Country Club and Pleasant Valley, in Iowa City. The James M. Hoak Family Golf Complex, adjacent to Finkbine, has indoor-to-outdoor hitting stations as well as a 3,150-foot indoor practice green with Puttview, an augmented reality system. 

18. Course will reopen in Spring 2027

Finkbine is scheduled to reopen to the public next spring. Whether that’s in April or May will depend, in part, on how much snow we get next winter, Clay said. “Snow’s a great thing,” he said. “It’s almost like a little blanket, and creates moisture so you come out of this into the spring a lot healthier.”