Month: April 2020

Donate to Youth on Course through Birdies for Charity

April 22, 20200 commentsNews

Donate thru Birdies for Charity to increase your gift by 10%

CLICK HERE TO MAKE A DONATION (but please read below first)

We are excited to announce that the Iowa Youth on Course program is now one of the charities available to donate to through the Principal Charity Classic Birdies for Charity program.  Many of you have supported our Youth On Course program with donations in the past and we are hopeful that you will continue to support that program in 2020.  The best part is, doing it through BFC will result in a 10% increase to your donation.

Any donation that is made through BFC is increased by 10% through a matching fund. That means your $50 donation turns into a $55 donation or your $100 becomes $110.

NOTE: you will have two options when donating. You can give a flat donation (most people do this) or you can pledge a certain amount per birdie made during the PCC (typically there are between 700-900 birdies made in a year).

Finally, a few items for you to be aware of as you donate through the PCC-BFC portal:

  • If you have never donated to the program, you will set up a profile with a username and password first, then you will be able to proceed with your donation.
  • During the profile set up, you do not need to worry about the “Organization” field unless you wish to identify your business entity as a donor.
  • On the page when you input your gift amount be sure to select “Iowa Golf Association Foundation-Youth on Course” as your charity from the drop-down. The link we have included in this email should self-populate that, but please make sure.
  • Upon completing your donation, you will receive an email that will serve as your tax receipt letter from the Birdies for Charity program.
  • GO TO THIS LINK to get started and make a donation.

 

RATHER PAY WITH A CHECK? You can and the 10% match will still happen.  Here are the details:

  • Make the check out to: “Principal Charity Classic” but include “IGAF-Youth on Course” in the memo line.
  • Please also include a note that says  your donation is for the IGAF-Youth on Course charity.  There are many different charities that utilize this program so please be sure you identify us!
  • Send to:
    • Principal Charity Classic
      Attn: Birdies For Charity
      PO Box 93905
      Des Moines, IA 50393

Thank you very much for your consideration in donating.  If you have any questions at all please contact Chad Pitts at the IGA ([email protected]).

 

Boone’s Jim Curell passes away

April 20, 202033 commentsNews, Uncategorized

Schroeder-Stark-Welin Funeral Home in Boone will be live streaming Jim Curell’s service on Friday, April 24, at 10 a.m. This can be viewed from their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/SchroederStarkWelin/

 

Jim Curell, 67, of Boone, passed away Sunday afternoon, April 19, 2020. Curell, affectionately known as ‘The Legend’, was a household name on the Iowa golf scene for over 50 years.

Curell was described recently by Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Rick Brown as being a gentleman golfer in the truest sense of the word.  He had a homemade swing that produced outstanding results.  He was  a three-time winner of the Lake Creek Amateur (1979, 1981, 1999), twice a champion at the Northwest Amateur ((1982, 1988) and low amateur at the Iowa Open (1992). Curell also was victorious at the 1980 Tournament of Champions and 1987 Iowa Mid-Amateur. Curell earned IGA Player of the Year honors in 1979.

Once Curell entered the Senior Division, he was still a force to be reckoned with – winning the 2005 IGA Four-Ball Senior Division with partner Bruce Gervais, 2011 Senior Match Play and was the 2014 Iowa Masters Senior Division champion. Curell was the IGA Senior Player of the Year in 2010 & 2011 and twice qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur (2010, 2011).

In addition to his wonderful playing record, Curell gave back to the game that had given him so much.  Upon his retirement from Redeker’s Furniture in Boone, he began helping maintain the grounds at his home course, Honey Creek.  He also served in a volunteer capacity on the committee that administers the Iowa Masters at Veenker each year.

Curell will be remembered by all golfers as having a true passion for the game of golf and as one of the most respected players to play on the IGA circuit. Our sympathies go out to Curell’s wife, Kim; sons, Andy and Ryan and grandchildren, Alex, Josie, & Will.

A small, private service will be held for family on Friday, April 24, at Schroeder-Stark-Welin in Boone. A memorial celebration of Jim’s life will be announced for a later date this summer. Memorials may be made to the family and will be used to memorialize Jim with a stone bench to be placed at Honey Creek. You can view Curell’s obituary by clicking here.

We encourage you to share your favorite memories of “The Legend” in the comments section below.  We will share these memories with Kim and all of Jim’s family. 

2020 Hall of Fame Induction Rescheduled to Sept 10

April 20, 20200 commentsNews, Uncategorized
The 2020 Iowa Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines on Thursday, September 10th.

The induction ceremony for the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame “Class of 2020” has been set for Thursday, September 10th.

The new date for the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2020 Induction Ceremony has been set.  Beth Bader, John Benda and Judd Gibb will join the Hall of Fame on Thursday, September 10th during a ceremony held at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines. The ceremony was originally scheduled for April 16th but was postponed due to concerns about the coronavirus with travel and congregating in large groups. 

The induction of the three will bring the total number in the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame to 86. Read about the accomplishments of the three inductees by clicking the link at the bottom of this page.

Tickets to the September 10th ceremony are $50.  Food will be served prior to the induction ceremony taking place. You can sign up to attend by clicking here or you can call the IGA office at 515-207-1062.

The general schedule is as follows:

  • Thursday, September 10th
  • Wakonda Club (3915 Fleur Drive, Des Moines, IA 50321)
  • 6:00 p.m. to approx 7:30 p.m. – Social hour and dinner
  • 7:30 to approx 9:00 p.m. – Induction ceremony
  • 9:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. – Mingle and take photos

Click here to read about Beth, John and Judd’s various accomplishments.

SIGN UP TO ATTEND THE CEREMONY

Plans for Copper Creek Golf Course include enclosed driving range

April 16, 20200 commentsNews

Kenneth Hodges, who through Copper Creek Club LLC bought the Pleasant Hill golf course in March, said he is talking with TopTracer Range about installing its technology at the driving range and enclosing the bays, a move that would allow the range to be operational much of the year. TopTracer Range is owned by Top Golf Entertainment, the popular indoor golf venue.

Hodges said he’s planning to construct a building that would be about 200 feet long and 14 feet tall and would include 20 bays with garage-like doors that open to the range. The bays would be heated in cool months and air-conditioned in the summer, he said. Patrons would be able to order dinner and drinks from the clubhouse that would be delivered to the range.

Click here to read more from the Des Moines Business Record

IGA postpones events until May 28th

April 15, 20200 commentsChampionships, IGA Four-Ball, IGA Senior Match Play, Iowa Mid-Am

IGA postpones Mid-Amateur, Women’s Mid-Am series, Four-Ball events

The Classic also postponed

APRIL 15, 2020 – The IGA Executive Committee, upon recommendations from the Rules & Competitions Committee, recently determined to postpone the first three IGA events on the calendar – the Iowa Mid-Amateur Championship, the first Women’s Mid-Amateur Series, and the IGA Four-Ball Championship.  In addition, officials at Elmwood CC have determined to postpone The Classic, the first sanctioned point event of the year.

The IGA Senior Match Play, scheduled for May 28th thru 30th, was discussed but it was determined not to postpone this event at this time.  The committee will meet again on or around May 1st to determine if that event should be postponed.  This essentially means that IGA events have been postponed until May 28th.

The new dates for the postponed events are as follows:

  • Women’s Mid-Amateur Series event #1 (Irv Warren GC, Waterloo) – Sat, June 6th
  • IGA Four-Ball (Whispering Creek GC, Sioux City) – Wed, Thurs, Aug 19-20
  • Iowa Mid-Amateur (Sunnyside CC, Waterloo) – Thurs, Fri, Sept 3-4
  • The Classic (Elmwood CC, Marshalltown) – Sat, Sun, Sept 19-20

We are grateful for these host clubs and courses and their willingness to work with us to establish new dates for these championships.  They are tremendous supporters of our events and they have been wonderful to work with during these unusual times.

Anyone who has already entered any of these events and has determined that the new dates would not work for them will be issued a full refund.  Please email Nate McCoy at [email protected].  If you can still play or are not sure yet if you can still play on the new dates, we ask that you remain in the field until you determine for certain that you cannot play, at which point a full refund will be issued.

For those that have not yet entered, entries are open for all of these events.  We encourage you to get signed up to play at (click here to do so).

Finally, we hope that all of you and your families are doing well and staying healthy.  We very much look forward to seeing everyone on the golf course this summer.

Be part of selecting ‘Iowa’s Favorite 18’

April 8, 20200 commentsNews

Now is your chance to be part of selecting “Iowa’s Favorite 18” – Over the next few weeks we will be asking you to identify your favorite hole(s) (1-18) one by one in Iowa on the IGA’s Twitter feed @IowaGolfAssn (click here to visit).  The idea being that we determine the favorite first hole at a course in Iowa, favorite second hole and so on.

Top choices for each hole will then be voted on in a poll to determine “Iowa’s Favorite 18”. While we will not have any restrictions on nominations, we may use our discretion to ‘share the wealth’ of courses around the state. Don’t hesitate – visit, nominate and vote!

As the 18 holes are chosen, we will compile the list and produce the stats below. It will be interesting to see what yardage and par “Iowa Favorite 18” plays to!

 

Iowa’s Favorite 18
#1 –  Cedar Rapids Country Club – Par 4 – 342 yards
#2 – The Harvester Club – Par 4 – 360 yards
#3 – The Harvester Club – Par 3 – 195 yards
#4 – Tournament Club of Iowa – Par 5 – 593 yards
#5 – Tournament Club of Iowa – Par 3 – 185 yards
#6 – The Harvester Club – Par 5 – 560 yards
#7 – Veenker Memorial Golf Course – Par 5 – 590 yards
#8 – Echo Valley Country Club (Ridge) – Par 4 – 418 yards
#9 – Davenport Country Club – Par 5 – 523 yards
FRONT NINE – 3,766 yards – Par 38

#10 – Hyperion Field Club – Par 4 – 342 yards
#11 – The Ridge Golf Club – Par 4 – 465 yards
#12 – Blue Top Ridge at Riverside Casino and Golf Resort – Par 5 – 552 yards
#13 – Finkbine Golf Course – Par 3 – 182 yards
#14 – The Ridge Golf Club – Par 5 – 542 yards
#15 – Lake Panorama National Resort – Par 4 – 389 yards
#16 – Elmcrest Country Club – Par 4 – 437 yards
#17 – Wakonda Club – Par 3 – 188 yards
#18 – Spirit Hollow Golf Course – Par 5 – 579 yards
BACK NINE – 3,676 yards  – Par 37
TOTAL – 7,442 yards – Par 75

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