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RULES & COMPETITIONS COMMITTEE REPORT
Mike Pape, Chairman
We had another busy but
successful year in the Rules and
Competitions arena in 2016.
We had a good mix of familiar
sites and new places. Weather
played a factor, as always, yet
we were always able to crown a
deserving champion.
Two of our biggest championships, the Iowa
Amateur and Herman Sani Tournament, were
rain-shortened to 36 holes due to massive storms.
We also had some significant delays at the Junior
Amateurs and the U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier, but in
each and every case, the maintenance crews at our
host facilities did yeoman’s work and got the golf
course playable as quickly as possible. Even when
we have terrific weather (like at our Match Play this
year) the grounds crews deserve loads of credit for
what they do for us each day. They are truly the
unsung heroes in the golfing world, and I want to
personally thank them for everything.
We are truly spoiled in the quality of our host
venues. We worked with some old friends at
Sunnyside, Finkbine, Spirit Hollow, TCI, Ames G&CC,
Lake Panorama, Jester Park, Hyperion Briarwood
and Wakonda. We went back to places we had not
been in a while in Crow Valley and Elmwood and
visited Ellis GC and Urbandale G&CC for the first
time.
One could probably look at our 2016 champions and
think, “the more things change, the more they stay
the same”. But that wasn’t always the case.
Familiar faces certainly captured many titles. Nate
Dunn won the Iowa Amateur for the third time and
his second in three years. Jenny Heinz won her third
straight Women’s Player of the Year award while
Gene Elliott won the Men’s Player of the Year for
the second straight year and fourth overall. He also
captured the Iowa Senior Amateur for the second
time in the last three years. And it was great to see
Jon Brown come back from back surgery to win the
Iowa Mid-Amateur and nearly capture the Player of
the Year award from Elliott. If we had a “Comeback
Player of the Year” award, Brown would no doubt
be my choice!
Many of our championships saw new faces emerge
victorious. Julie Buermann captured the Women’s
Match Play for the first time and Jessie Sindlinger
won her first Iowa Women’s Amateur after coming
so close the past few years. On the men’s side,
Dusty Drenth ‘dusted’ the field at the Match Play,
showing he will be a force in the coming years. And
it’s always great to see the “up-and-comers” at the
Junior Amateurs. This year Lucas Scherf and Karli
Kerrigan showed off their potential in winning the
boys and girls crown, respectively.
Congratulations to all of our champions, Players
of the Year and Leahy medal winners on your
accomplishments in 2016. You can read all about
these terrific players elsewhere in this yearbook.
A big reason we are able to get so much done with
such a small staff is the work of our volunteers. We
have continued to add solid, qualified rules officials
to our base of volunteers and they help us out
tremendously. A great example of the enthusiasm
of this group was at our U.S. Senior Amateur
qualifier in Iowa City. We only had to send one staff
person, yet we had a volunteer official with nearly
every group, providing a great experience for the
players.
As a way to keep our officials more engaged
throughout the offseason, our staff started to hold
a series of web conferences to discuss the rules.
We started this in November and it has been a hit
so far. A mix of staff and volunteers get together in
a “virtual conference room” and discuss rules for
about an hour every two to three weeks. It gives
our staff a contact with our volunteers throughout
the winter but also gives everyone a chance to stay
fresh on the rules. This will no doubt help better
Jessie Sindlinger,
92nd Iowa Women’s
Amateur champion
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