WATERLOO – This is one of those searing hot days that make you not want to golf. Kidding, of course. C’mon, not want to golf? Impossible.

This is the day before the Waterloo Open and the Gates Park Municipal Golf Course is teeming with professional golfers looking for a round and some local knowledge.

I know what you’re thinking. What’s he doing there?

I certainly wasn’t golfing in the Waterloo Open. It just happened to fall around the time I toured Gates Park, a wonderful, old course that has bridged the gap between persimmons and metals quite nicely.

With generously wide fairways, acres of native grasses and gently rolling terrain, Gates Park has an expansive, open feel. It’s almost the polar opposite of the target golf courses in vogue today.

But it’s not exactly a red carpet out there, either.

The front nine has some tremendous doglegs, particularly Nos. 2 and 3. The two par 3s are 185 yards or more. Stately oak trees line nearly every hole.

Three sets of tees stretch the course from 5,568 yards to 6,839. I played the blues, the longest. I didn’t have a choice, believe me.

Brad Smith, my brother-in-law, is something like 6-foot-1, 235 pounds and hits the dimples out of the ball. We played with brothers from Waterloo, Dave and Dan Nagerson, a pair of Waterloo Columbus grads who were coming home to play in the Waterloo Open.

I’m about a 15 handicap. I was out of my league.

Brad and Dave Nagerson talked hunting. Dan and I cussed our golf games, though from where I stood, I didn’t see anything wrong with his.

I hit a handful of fairways and hit two greens. It wasn’t a good day to stink and fire a 98. I kept it less than 100, so, yeah, yay for me.

When it comes to munis, Waterloo knows what it’s doing. In 1998, Waterloo was named the fourth-best golf city in the nation by Golf Digest Magazine. With Gates Park, Irv Warren Memorial and South Hills, Waterloo is steeped in quality, affordable public golf.

Juniors pay $6 a round for Waterloo munis. That’s $6 a round.

Mow a few lawns and pay for a month’s worth of golf.

The Waterloo parks and leisure services folks know they have a good thing going. The average of the three courses is close to 50,000 rounds a year, according to a Waterloo Courier story.

The story says not all of the traffic is local. Surrounding communities send plenty of golfers, with Cedar Rapids being one of those communities.

It sounds like many Cedar Rapidians know all about Waterloo’s muni gems.

(By the way, I think Cedar Rapids munis are right there with Waterloo’s. Once Ellis is fixed and open, there may not be a better buy in golf than a Cedar Rapids city pass. And no, I don’t work for the city and I’m not running for office.) My favorite hole was No.2, a 536-yard par 5 with a whiplash of a dogleg right. Well, dogleg is one way to put it. Boomerang is another.

I drove about 235 yards, not quite long enough to get a look at the green. So, without a 3-wood I trust, I swacked another driver just left of the green. I chipped on a huge wavy green and two-putted for par. One thing, I forgot my camera and scrambled to get a box camera. The pictures turned out better than my game.

Go figure that one.

A closer look at Gates Park

• Location: 820 East Donald St., Waterloo
• Classification: Public
• Tee times: Gates Park takes tees times for weekends only. Tee times are taken after 8 a.m. Tuesdays
• Phone: 291-4485
• Dress code: Proper golf attire
• Spikes: Metal spikes allowed
• Greens fees: 18 holes – $15 for adults; $12 for students, $6 for juniors and $14 for seniors. 9 holes – $11. If you want to golf the next 9, it’s another $5
• Carts: 18 holes – $24. 9 holes – $12
• Holes: 18
• Par: 72
• Yardage: Blue tees – 6,839; Yellow tees – 6,382; Red tees – 5,568
• Course rating: Blue – 71.5; Yellow – 69.1; Red – 69.4
• Course slope: Blue – 118; Yellow – 113; White – 118; Red – 113
• Driving range: None

Toughest hole: Accuracy counts when it comes to the 435-yard par 4 No.5. This is one of the few fairways where the landing area is pinched. Miss the fairway and you’ll deal with trees on the left and trees and bushes on the right. The approach shot is straightforward into an undulating green. If you’re going to miss the green, favor the left side. Huge oak trees stand on the right. I hit the fairway, and had about 170 yards to the front of the green. I hung my second shot out to the right. Had the right club, a 6-iron, just left it right, which is something I’ve been doing with my irons lately. That straggling fade is tough to account for. I chipped close and two putted for a bogey. This is the first of Gates Park’s three monster par 4s. Nos. 14, 15 and 16 are the toughest stretch of holes. That’s 424-yard par 4, 440-yard par 4 and 523-yard par 5. Your driver better work here if you plan on scoring.

Easiest hole: No.12 is a no-frills 189-yard par 3. You have a big green, which helps, especially when you’re struggling with hitting any targets. This is one of the few holes that doesn’t bring trees into the equation. Gates Park is one of those cool, old courses with tons of massive trees. I missed the green to the right, as usual, darn it. Chipped on and missed the par putt, settling on bogey, which the way this round was going, was just fine.

Overall impression: I can see why they play portions of the Waterloo Open, the grand Iowa golf tournament, at Gates Park. The course is old – built in 1920 – but it will more than stand up to titanium, steel alloy, super titanium, hyperdrive, graphite, 400cc, cavity-backed, any and all sort of golf science fiction available in today’s game. The course might not have the sand and water trickery of newer courses, but it doesn’t yield. You need GPS to guide you through Nos. 13, 14 and 15 – a stretch of two 400-plus par 4s and a par 5. Even the par 3s are on steroids. From the blues, they measure 196, 185, 189 and 182. That’s guess territory for me. If I hit a clean 7-iron, I can put it on a 196-yard par 3. I hit a fat 5-iron, I’m looking at a 70-yard blooper. Gates Park makes you eat 70-yard bloopers. Waterloo is a city that takes care of its golf courses. So much so, the city was named the fourth-best golf city in the country by Golf Digest in 1998. Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course and South Hills are Waterloo’s other two munis. Gates Park is long enough to count for 1, if you ask me. Waterloo is just an hour or so away. Gates Park is a bona fide challenge I’m sure you’ll enjoy.