Bill Zinn’s association with the Northwest Amateur began as a caddie in the early 1960’s when the tournament was contested at the 9-hole south course. Zinn (left) is pictured with 2020 Northwest Amateur champion Jon Olson.

For 103 years, the Northwest Iowa Amateur has been among the most popular and prestigious golf tournaments on the Iowa Golf Association calendar. And for more than 50 years of that span, Spencer’s Bill Zinn, recipient of the 2024 George Turner Distinguished Service Award, has been an integral component of ensuring a smooth and memorable experience for the multitude of participants.

Originating in 1921, the Northwest Iowa Amateur is Iowa’s only 72-hole amateur event and currently draws 384 competitors annually with a unique mixture of the top amateur players in Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota, collegiate players as well as a large collection of casual weekend warriors.

Past champions include the greats of yesteryear such as Ed Updegraaf, John Jacobs, Jack Rule, Steve Spray, Bob Leahy, Tom Chapman, Jr., and George Turner himself, a former Spencer resident. Modern day champions include Denny Bull, Jon Brown, JD Anderson, the late Jim Currell, Sean McCarty, Mike Bender, Jason Knutzon and Ron Peterson.

Over the years, a family reunion atmosphere has been the hallmark of the Northwest Amateur. Many players have developed friendships and look forward to seeing one another at the tournament; former high school or college teammates reunite; and others use the first weekend of August to play golf in a highly competitive event while enjoying the Iowa Great Lakes. 

“The Northwest Amateur has a long and rich tradition, and Bill Zinn embodies that tradition,” Ron Peterson said. “It is a favorite among the players, and Bill’s dedication and contribution to the tournament is greatly appreciated. Thank you Bill, and congratulations on this well-deserved award.”

Bill Zinn’s association with the Northwest Amateur began as a caddie in the early 1960’s when the tournament was contested at the 9-hole south course.

“There were five to ten of us young kids who worked as caddies,” he recalled. “We’d look for and fight over the Polk County cars because those players paid ten bucks while everyone else seemed to be at five.”

Zinn’s formal association with the tournament began in 1974, working for long-time tournament directors Bob Woods and Bob Rose as the starter and announcer. In that role. He forged friendships with hundreds of golfers while also ensuring that starting times were kept on track and the three sets of 128-player shifts ran without hitches. In former years, pairings, starting times and scoreboards were all done by hand, and tee times were announced on the local radio station KICD. The advent of computers automated many of those processes, but the family atmosphere remained constant. When Bob Rose retired as tournament director, Zinn stepped into that role and served for nearly ten years until his retirement in 2023.

Open to the public

The IGA would like to announce to the public that the 2024 Annual Awards and Player of the Year Banquet is scheduled for Friday, December 6, at Terrace Hills Golf Course, in Altoona (8700 NE 46th, Ave.).

The schedule of events for the evening will be:

• 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. – Arrival and Check-in
• 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. – Social hour and food
• 6:45 – 7:00 p.m. – Awards program begins
• 9:00 p.m. – Award program ends

The cost for the evening’s event will be $40 and can be paid for via credit card over the phone or online by clicking here. You may reach out to the IGA Office at (515) 207-1062 to pay over the phone.

Note – Groups can purchase up to eight tickets at a time online. 

Deadline to register for the event is Tuesday, November 26

Read more about each IGA Annual Award winner by clicking here.

Read more about each Player of the Year by following the links below.
–Men’s Player of the Year (Open, Senior, Super Senior)
–Women’s Player of the Year (Open, Senior)
–Junior Player of the Year (Boys, Girls)

The Hoffman family celebrates the 2021 Iowa Class 4A state championship won by the West Des Moines Valley team in record-setting fashion. The Tigers set a state record of 604 and won by 62 strokes. Pictured left to right are Brett, Lisa, Paige and Hailey Hoffman.

High-Level Competition, Boatwright Internship Preps Hoffman for Career in Golf

Decades from now, when Paige Hoffman looks back on what most certainly will be an impactful career in golf administration, she will have no trouble identifying what got her start in the business.

An Iowa High School state golf champion at age 16 and an Iowa Women’s Amateur Champion at age 17, the highly decorated Hoffman is underway with her senior season at Northwest Missouri State University, an NCAA Division II school in Maryville, MO. 

Continuing a pattern of excellence at each level of competition, Hoffman has put her stamp on the Bearcat women’s golf record book. She captured the 2023 Mid-American Athletic Association (MIAA) conference tournament, qualified for the NCAA Division II national championship that year and most recently set a school record this fall by firing a 36-hole total of 138. In fact, Hoffman owns eight of the top ten lowest 36-hole scores in school history.

Now a senior at Northwest Missouri State University, Hoffman captured the 2023 MIAA Conference Tournament medalist crown and participated in the NCAA Division II national tournament.

Her playing accomplishments aside, an internship with the Iowa Golf Association during the 2023 and 2024 seasons modified her career path. Hoffman participated in the P.J. Boatwright Internship program sponsored by the United States Golf Association (USGA). Established in 1991, the Boatwright Internship is designed to provide experience to individuals who are interested in pursuing golf administration as a career while assisting state and amateur golf associations with the promotion of amateur golf. P.J. Boatwright was a long-time executive director of the USGA and came to be acknowledged as the world’s foremost expert on the rules of golf. 

During her IGA experience, Hoffman received well rounded exposure to handicapping and course rating functions, marketing, communications, rules, working with the Sani and Griffel Scholarships, member services, scoring, and tournament preparation, administration and follow up. Since 2002, more than 50 young people have served the IGA through Boatwright Internships, including all current full-time IGA staff.

“My Boatwright Internship with the Iowa Golf Association was a fantastic experience,” Hoffman told Up and Down the Iowa Golf Scene during a recent interview. “It really put my life and career plans on a different trajectory. I always enjoyed golf before, but this has sparked a new level of passion I’d not had before. So much of that is due to the leadership and guidance of the IGA staff, they are an incredibly fun group of people who are eager to teach you. It was impossible not to have a good day working at the IGA.”

The pace during the summer is frantic as this past season the IGA staff worked through 33 championships and qualifiers in a span of just 62 days. 

“As a player, you don’t really have any idea about all the logistics necessary to conduct a smooth-running tournament,” Hoffman remarked. “You have to prepare, problem solve, multi-task and be ready for sudden change. There may be ten things going on at once.” 

Providing students with a well-rounded experience has been a point of emphasis for the Boatwright Internship program, says Chad Pitts, Executive Director of the IGA, who himself went through the program more than 20 years ago. 

“We’ve had more than 50 Boatwright Interns at the IGA since 2002 and collectively they’ve added excellent value over the years,” PItts said. “Interns get a first-hand look at what is needed to run an effective golf tournament and golf association.”

A data science major, Hoffman will graduate from Northwest Missouri in the spring of 2025 and has her sights set on a golf administration career with the USGA or allied golf associations. 

Motivated with the promise of M&M’s, Paige Hoffman molded her golf swing at a young age by joining her father Brett to the Longview Golf Center.

The daughter of Brett and Lisa Hoffman of West Des Moines, Paige’s introduction to the game started at age five. 

“Dad would go to the old Longview Golf Dome in Urbandale during the winter to work on his swing, and I’d tag along because of the promise of M&M’s,” she noted. 

Hoffman started competing in Iowa PGA junior events at the age of ten. A multi-sport athlete in middle school, golf became the focus when she received an invitation to compete in the prestigious Junior Girls Four-State event in Wichita, KS., and later qualified for a national Optimist junior tournament at PGA National in Florida. Hoffman was a prep standout for Coach Kelli Moore at West Des Moines Valley, leading the Tigers to state championships in 2019 and 2021 and runner-up finish in 2018. 

Individually, Hoffman captured state medalist honors during her 2019 sophomore campaign, firing a sizzling five-under par 137 at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames, nipping Bettendorf’s Shannyn Vogler by a single shot. Hoffman fired a 36-hole total of 143 as a senior, good for fourth in the medalist standings as the Tigers set a state team record of 604 and won by a whopping 62 strokes.

Another crown jewel achievement of Hoffman’s young golf career followed a few months after her state high school title at the 95th Iowa Women’s Amateur Championship in 2019. The unassuming Hoffman, a newly minted 17-year-old, fired rounds of 71-71-68 at Otter Creek in Ankeny, and her three-under par 210 captured the title by four shots. She was among the youngest players to ever win the Iowa Women’s Amateur. 

A desire to play Division I golf resulted in a one-year stopover at the University of South Dakota, but Hoffman’s collegiate career mushroomed after a transfer to Northwest Missouri. 

In 2023, Hoffman captured medalist honors at the MIAA Conference Tournament, shot a 54-hole total of 216 to tie for third at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional, and shot a three-round total of 232 at the Division II national tournament in Eureka, MO. She was named to the all-conference and all-region teams. Hoffman set a school record 36-hole total of 138 (70-68) this fall at the Grace Shin Regional Preview in Edmond, OK, winning medalist honors after a five-hole playoff. The Bearcats set a team record of 587 strokes in the event. A week earlier, Hoffman shot a 143 at the Mustang Invite hosted by Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, MN.

As her collegiate career draws to a close next spring, Hoffman has more goals to achieve. She would like to help her team qualify for regionals for the first time in program history before moving on with a career in golf administration. 

“Through tournament and internship experiences, Iowa women’s golf has taught me how to be a stronger competitor, better communicator and a more well-rounded person,” she said.

She offers the following advice to junior players.

“Practice consistently, analyze your game to work on the areas that need improvement and always, always work on your short game,” she said. “Treasure the memories, enjoy the game and keep it fun.”

“Up and Down” the Iowa Golf Scene

A regular feature column written by IGA Foundation board member Mark Gambaiana, Up and Down the Iowa Golf Scene is designed to take the reader beyond the headlines and scoreboards to share stories of those who help make Iowa golf so rich and rewarding. Profiles will spotlight those who advance the game through volunteerism, service, extraordinary achievement, competition, human interest and the many other dimensions of golf in Iowa.

Click the links below to read previous Up and Down features
– IGA Rules Official Sean Flanders
– R&A, USGA Champion Gene Elliott
– Nervig Reflects on Decades of Service to The Iowa Masters
– Arseneault Finds Fulfillment in Life’s Next Chapter After Competitive Golf
– Ivan Miller remembers the days of the Minnows
– Kinney adjusts to life on tour
– Standard Golf’s roots run deep
– Pettersen sets sights high
– McCoy, Norton Put Iowa Stamp on Florida Senior Golf
– Moreland Reflects on his Extraordinary Club Pro, Playing Career
– From Sibley to the LPGA Tour – Barb Thomas Whitehead Fulfills Her Dream
– At 88 Years Young, Cleo Brown Remains a Fixture at the Principal Charity Classic, IGA Events
– Love of the Game, Service to Others Propel Charlie Taylor to IGA’s 2023 George Turner Award
– The Calling Card for Ottumwa’s Matthew Walker in Quest to Reach Golf’s Highest Level
– Following the Rules Leads Katelynn Hogenson Down a Path Through Magnolia Lane
– State Golf Champions Gather, Reminisce, 50 Years after Surprise Title