Bella Pettersen Overcomes Adversity on Her Way to the Summit of Girls Golf in Iowa

Bella was all smiles after capturing the Iowa Junior Girls 2022 Championship by 11 strokes.

For North Liberty golfer extraordinaire Bella Pettersen (right), the challenges of playing at a high-level begin far before she reaches the golf course. The 2022 Iowa Golf Association Junior Girls Player of the Year is afflicted with a rare condition called juvenile enthesitis arthritis.

The disease, which first struck the 17-year-old in middle school, causes inflammation of joints which leads to pain, swelling, stiffness and loss of motion in the areas where tendons and ligaments connect to bone.

“The condition affects your walking, sitting and standing, and that’s before you try to swing a golf club,” said Pettersen, during a recent telephone interview with Up and Down the Iowa Golf Scene.

“I’ve tried just about everything – from taking three baths a day, to every medication possible, cortisone shots, using a trainer, to even a chemotherapy drug used by cancer patients,” she said.

Pettersen is currently taking an infusion to provide some relief to the condition that impacts her ability to practice or even walk the golf course. Later this year, Pettersen is scheduled for a special surgical procedure on her hips that is being counted on to alleviate the chronic condition and allow full pursuit of future golf dreams.Physical ailments aside, Pettersen is focused this spring on setting new goals and achieving new heights to add to an already well decorated golf resume. Two years ago, Bella burst onto the Iowa girls prep golf scene when the Mike and Debbie Pettersen family relocated to North Liberty from Fountain Hills, AZ. As a freshman at Iowa City Liberty, she won nearly every event, earned Mississippi Valley Conference player of the year honors and qualified for the Class 4A state tournament at Otter Creek in Ankeny, where a pair of 71’s parlayed into a third-place finish in the medalist standings. Last spring, she was equally dominating, repeating as conference player of the year and shot a 36-hole score of 149 to again finish third in the state meet medalist race.

“I love winning,” said Pettersen, who was introduced to the game by her older sister, Madasyn and started playing golf at age three.

She played in her first tournament, the Girls Classic in Rockford, IL, before she reached the age of five. That tournament, a four-hole event, would be the launch of a junior golf career that has spanned three states and competition at the local, state, regional and national levels. The well-seasoned high school prep has competed and won titles sponsored by the Illinois Junior Golf Association, Junior Golf Association of Arizona, Iowa PGA Section and the Iowa Golf Association. But her biggest thrill to date came last summer at the American Junior Golf Association’s (AJGA) Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Junior Championship played at Buffalo Ridge Golf Course in Hollister, MO. Pettersen fired a 72 to win the qualifier and gain entry into the tournament, where rounds of 76-75-70 gave her a 54-hole of 221 and earned a fourth-place finish on a national stage.

“It was a great thrill to play so well in such a big event,” said Pettersen, who noted that her arthritis was kept in check to play four straight days of competition on a challenging course.

That tournament capped off a remarkable 2022 season for Pettersen, whose standout performance earned her the Iowa Golf Association’s Girls’ Player of the Year honors. Bella captured the Iowa Junior Girls’ Amateur championship in runaway fashion with an 11-stroke victory by shooting a 54-hole total of 223 at Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City. She teamed up with Addison Berg of Swisher to capture the IGA’s Four-Ball title in dominating fashion at Veenker in Ames. Pettersen also finished third in the Iowa Girls’ Junior PGA tournament and seventh in the Iowa Women’s Amateur.

Sisters Madasyn and Bella Pettersen have both battled Juvenile Arthritis throughout their golf careers.

“I’m competitive by nature,” said Bella, who combines hard work, grit, determination and desire as attributes to fuel her performance on the course and as she battles her condition. “I’m driven to succeed but have to balance my health with my golf. I can’t beat balls on the range like other players but that’s allowed me to put tons of work on my short game. “

Bella also draws inspiration from her older sister, Madasyn, whose promising golf career was cut short by a similar arthritis condition. Madasyn was a junior girls’ golf prodigy in Illinois, becoming the youngest player to win the Illinois Women’s Open in 2015 at age 15. She also became the youngest player to qualify for that tournament at age 10, holds the record for most Illinois Junior Golf Association championships with 15 and at one time was ranked 50th worldwide as a junior player. As her condition worsened, Madasyn’s Division I golf career was curtailed. Today, she is a process engineer for the Iowa City-based pulp and paper manufacturer Loparex.

Looking ahead to the 2023 season, Bella has higher aspirations.

“I exceeded all of my goals in 2022 and will be setting them higher this year,” she said.

Looking down the road further, Bella would like to play Division I golf and a dream goal would be playing professionally. For now, she’s enjoying high school, taking college-level courses at Kirkwood Community College, working part-time at Plato’s Closet in Coralville and plans for a career as an anesthesiologist. She also offers the following advice for those who are battling disabilities and other conditions.

“You have to learn that it’s ok not to be ok,” she said. “Find something you love, work hard and stay with it. You can still do amazing things.”

North Liberty’s Bella Pettersen burst upon the Iowa Girls Golf scene in 2021 and is now setting higher goals after being named the IGA’s Girls Player of the Year in 2022.

“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

The Iowa Golf Association was informed that volunteer IGA Course Rater and tournament player Jane Suiter passed away on Tuesday, January 24.

Jane was born on June 21, 1948, in Waterloo, Iowa, the daughter of Alfred and Luella (Austin) Schneider. She was a 1966 graduate of Don Bosco High School in Gilbertville, Iowa, and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree from Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, and master’s degree from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Jane enjoyed playing golf, and even had a hole-in-one at St. Andrews Golf Course on Sept. 7, 2021. Suiter volunteered as a Course Rater for the IGA for several years.

Family will greet friends and family from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Marion. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marion.

Click here to read Suiter’s full obituary

The Iowa Golf Hall of Fame will add four members in 2023, bringing the total number in the Hall of Fame to 96. Those four include Joe Palmer, Jim Curell, Doug Dunakey and Kevin Beard. Read more about each inductee below.

Joe Palmer

A fierce competitor and unmatched drive to win are two ways of describing Joe Palmer, of Norwalk.

“Joe has been and continues to be one of the best competitors within the game of golf I have ever seen in the state of Iowa,” Jon Olson, owner of 13 IGA Point Event victories, said of Palmer. “His attitude, desire and perseverance in any round he competes is truly inspiring. He has made myself – and anyone who is attentive to his game – a better player; Joe simply never gives up.”

Palmer’s record speaks for itself.  He is a winner of four ‘Open Division’ IGA point events, which includes the 2004 IGA Four-Ball, 2004 Iowa Mid-Amateur and a pair of IGA Match Play titles, his second coming in a remarkable run in 2021 to win the event as a Senior.

Palmer’s dominance on the course really took off when he turned 50 – collecting  27 victories within the Senior Division, which includes five IGA Senior Match Play victories and four Iowa Senior Amateur wins. Palmer also has three Senior Division wins each in the Iowa Mid-Amateur, IGA Four-Ball, Herman Sani Tournament, Fort Dodge Amateur, Iowa Open, and Iowa Masters.

“Joe has been a stalwart on the Iowa Amateur golf scene for decades and has the game that just keeps getting better over time, a rare feat for most accomplished players,” Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Ken Schall said. “Joe is still competitive among the younger competitors around the state, as evidenced by winning the IGA Match Play and the Iowa Senior Match Play title (his 5th) in the same year.  His ball striking ability would compare to nearly any senior player, even at the highest level, professional or amateur.”

Palmer has also competed in six USGA Championships and looks to add to that number in the future.

Jim Curell

Jim Curell, affectionately known as ‘The Legend’, was a household name on the Iowa golf scene for over 50 years.

Curell, of Boone, who passed away in April of 2020, was described 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 graduated to 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). Curell made an astonishing 18 career hole in ones, including one to end a match against Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Jon Brown in the 2008 IGA Match Play Championship at Lake Panorama.

“For over four decades he set the standard on how to play the game both as a competitor and a gentleman,” Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Dave Sergeant said.

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.

“He will be missed, but never forgotten,” Sergeant said.

Doug Dunakey

Doug Dunakey, originally from Waterloo, began turning heads on the golf course at an early age.  One of the first came at his hometown’s biggest event.

Dunakey, then 13 years-old, opened with a first round 69 at the Waterloo Open which earned him a final round pairing with former Masters champion Bob Goalby. Following wins at the Iowa Junior Amateur (1981), IGA Match Play (1985) and Iowa Amateur (1987) Dunakey turned professional and eventually made his way onto the PGA Tour.

Dunakey made 96 starts on the PGA Tour, including a third place finish at the 1999 Honda Classic and three top 10’s. He also made 72 starts on the (then) Nike Tour, which included a win at the 1998 Nike Cleveland Open.  That win came one week after shooting 59 in the Nike Miami Valley Open.

Dunakey, who was a three-time All-American and team National Champion at California State University-Stanislaus, is remembered by many who grew up with him or played against him over the years as a great competitor.

“At a young age, he was a competitor that just hit his next shot without any dramatics – just getting the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible for that day,” IGA Board Member Tom Christensen said. “He cared about the game and those that he played with.”

Kevin Beard

Ankeny’s Kevin Beard not only was a familiar face at Otter Creek Golf Course (1990-2017) and Ankeny Country Club (1991-1993) for over 25 years, Beard also helped shape countless junior golfers into some of the state’s best.

Beard’s ‘Operation State Champ’ program for junior golfers began in 1997 and was designed to improve the performance of golfers in the area to the point that they would be able to qualify and compete for a state championship. The program involved both summer and winter golf activities, with indoor practice throughout the winter as the biggest change in their practice routine.

The ‘Winter Program’ started with 12 players, all from Ankeny, housed in the old clubhouse at Otter Creek GC. Within three years word had spread and the program had over 60 juniors from numerous high schools and junior highs across central Iowa.

The program had to move to a bigger building as the demand grew. Beard then transformed an old fire station that would become home to the program for the next 10 years. Within a few more years, the number of students grew to over 200 in the winter, with the summer junior program introducing golf to nearly 300 kids each year. At one point a total of 28 schools were represented from as far away as Carroll and Pella.

Beard’s involvement in the program ceased in 2009, due to his focus shifting to the ‘new’ golf course and clubhouse at Otter Creek GC, which he also served as General Manager of at that time. There was no official count, but Beard and his program are credited with helping over 400 players appear at the state tournament – including those who have gone on to become PGA Professionals with their own junior golf programs.

“Kevin instilled character and integrity when teaching our youth what golf teaches us about life,” Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Jeff Smith said. “He grew the game through ways that are now being adopted 25 years later.”

Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member J.D. Turner also commented on Beard’s energy with junior golfers.

“His creativity and teaching prowess with juniors is remarkable,” Turner said. “All of his students learned about the game, which teaches honor, friendship and life-long positive experiences. He touched the lives of so many in Iowa through golf.”

The Iowa Golf Association is thrilled to welcome these four new members to the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame. Details including location of the 2023 Iowa Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be announced soon and will be posted online for the public to attend and register for.

Standard Golf Capitalizes on its Iowa Heritage to Become a Leading Global Golf Provider

Cedar Falls-based Standard Golf Company features a success story that only those with Iowa roots can fully appreciate. In 1910, Standard Manufacturing Company launched a business producing steel farm gates and a range of related agricultural products, including automatic hog waterers. Today, more than 110 years later, the company has transformed into the world’s most complete manufacturer and distributor of golf course accessories, offering more than 4,000 unique and innovative products for golf courses across six continents. 

“We manufacture, sell and distribute anything and everything that a golf course superintendent needs to get their courses ready for play,” said Matt Pauli, Standard’s Vice President and Director of Marketing. “And our roots are clearly deep within Iowa’s agriculture heritage and closely aligned with the customs, traditions, and work ethic of everyday Iowans. The basic mold used in the classic golf ball washer was the same mold we used decades ago to make the hog waterer for farmers.”

Pauli, a Michigan native, joined Standard Golf in 2014 following a 15-year career in sales and marketing in the Chicago area. He met his wife, Lory, a Denver, IA native in downtown Chicago as they were watching their respective alma maters, the University of Michigan, and the University of Iowa, play football.

Hundreds of thousands of golfers use Standard’s products multiple times over the course of a round of golf – and likely do not even know it. “The average golfer probably doesn’t realize the depth and breadth of our products – but the superintendents, PGA professionals, driving range owners, general managers, customers and others responsible for equipping a course sure do,” Pauli stated. 

Standard Golf’s catalog of products includes its bread-and-butter staples such as ball washers, bunker rakes, club washers, cups, driving range products, flags and flagsticks, signs, tee markers and yardage markers. The lineup also includes divot mix caddies and storage, fixtures and benches, hole cutters and shells, marking paint, rope and chain stakes, spike cleaners, trash containers, and water stations, among many others. 

Each major accessory is offered with multiple styles, colors and options, designed to suit various needs and budgets. For example, Standard features six styles of bunker rakes along with various handle lengths and material to include wood, aluminum, and composite. The result is what manufacturers label as SKU’s (stock keeping units) that compound across the product line to total more than 4000 accessories, course maintenance tools, customized products and parts.

Standard’s pedigree in the business is well documented. The company provides flags for three of the four major championships, for the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup, as well as for the vast majority of the United States Golf Association’s nearly 100 championships. And it has a core business remains the golf course superintendent and local golf course.

“We provide products to courses in all 50 states, 206 countries and across six continents,” said Pauli. “We have 250 distributors and added a warehouse in The Netherlands so we can deliver products to customers in Europe within five days.”

The proud Iowa company was founded in 1910 by Walter K. Voorhees and a handful of local Cedar Falls businessmen. About 15 years later, golf equipment was added to the product line and this formula continued for decades. In 1971, the agricultural and miscellaneous lines of business were sold, transitioning to a sole focus on golf. Robert Voorhees and Maynard Voorhees (sons of Walter) assumed control of the company as the second generation, followed by Robert’s son, Peter Voorhees, who served as President until 2018, when the three-generation family business was sold to employees, making it a 100 percent employee-owned firm. Peter Voorhees continues service as chairman of the board, and Scott Hottle assumed the role of President. One of the core tenants of the company is being a good corporate citizen. Standard Golf and the Vorhees Family Foundation made a generous commitment to the Golf House Iowa project. 

Innovation, old fashioned work ethic and nimble manufacturing capabilities are characteristics that have served the company well throughout periodic challenges. In 1992, a fire destroyed the original building on East Fourth Street in Cedar Falls. Six months later, a new 75,000 square foot facility opened in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park, where it operates today. In 2020, the industry was turned upside down with the global pandemic.

“I remember attending the 2020 PGA Show in Orlando, and just a few weeks later, Covid-19 exploded, and everything came to a grinding halt,” Pauli said. “We had virtually no sales for about three months. But then our engineers, product developers and staff came together and developed the no touch golf products that hit the market within a few months and helped courses stay open. In fact, golf got a huge shot in the arm during the pandemic, things quickly rebounded and so many new people were introduced to the game.”

The National Golf Foundation estimates there are 25 million “traditional” golfers playing at least nine holes in 2022, and some 40 million when the off-course playing – simulators, public driving ranges – are factored in. A record 529 million rounds were played in 2021, a five percent boost from the Covid surge of the previous year. that some 33 million rounds were played in 2021, up appreciably from 2019 and 2020 figures. Pauli and those interested in growing the golfing public hope that many of the new golfers remain interested in the game. 

As for the future, Pauli maintains that Standard is well positioned to again adapt to changes and provide new and innovative products for its customers. “We’ll continue to find new ways to assist golf course superintendents and driving range operators to make their work easier and the enhance the experience of all golfers.”

Today Standard Golf Golf has transformed into the world’s most complete manufacturer and distributor of golf course accessories, offering more than 4,000 unique and innovative products for golf courses across six continents.

“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

Rick Brown ponders the action in one of the hundreds of Iowa Golf Association tournaments over his 37-year career as a sports writer with The Des Moines Register.

A passion for the game. An appreciation and deep understanding of what it takes to play at a high level. A life-long love affair for the game. An ambassador for Iowa golf. Long-time Des Moines Register sportswriter/columnist and Iowa golf envoy Rick Brown embodies these qualities – and captures the spirit and essence of such by being honored with the Iowa Golf Association’s 2022 George Turner Distinguished Service Award.

For nearly 40 years, Brown served as Iowa’s foremost golf writer, columnist and historian in his role at the Register. The position took Brown to the pinnacle of golf’s professional events, covering nearly two dozen majors and three Ryder Cup contests, including the 2006 staging at the K Club in Klidare, Ireland, featuring the debut of Iowa native Zach Johnson. Two years later, Brown covered the 2008 Masters Tournament where Johnson was the defending champion.

“The entire Augusta experience was just awe-inspiring,” Brown said. “I grew up watching The Masters and dreaming of going down Magnolia Lane. To actually be there was surreal – I felt as though I was walking on air the entire week. And to see this kid (Johnson) from Cedar Rapids and Drake University compete against the best players in the world was phenomenal.” 

But Brown also relished his assignments covering Iowa’s major tournaments, such at The Fort Dodge Amateur, The Northwest Amateur, Herman Sani, The Iowa Masters and Iowa Amateur, among others.

“To be honest, I enjoyed covering Iowa’s tournaments just as much as the PGA Tour,” Brown stated. “I’ve always admired and respected Iowa’s top amateurs as they competed with their heart and soul. There’s nothing like being there on the final round of the tournament with the title on the line.”

Brown’s contributions to the IGA are extensive. In 2019, following a year of meticulous research, the book “Golden Harvest – Iowa’s Rich Golf History” was released. A 450-page treasure trove, the book traces the more than a century of the game’s history in Iowa, sharing remarkable stories and achievements.

“We owe Rick a debt of gratitude for the painstaking research he invested to tell our Iowa golf story,” noted Mike McCoy, Iowa’s most decorated amateur golfer.

Brown currently serves on the IGA’s Hall of Fame selection committee, communications committee and has written several stories for the website. 

Rick Brown poses with Iowa native Zach Johnson and the Claret Jug, symbolic of Johnson’s triumph in the 2015 Open Championship. Brown will receive the 2022 George Turner Distinguished Service Award at the IGA’s annual awards banquet December 8 at Terrace Hills Golf Course in Altoona.

Brown retired in 2015 following a 37-year work career spent entirely at the Register. He was named Iowa Sportswriter of the Year 11 times as selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and won six first-place writing awards from the Iowa Associated Press Managing Editors. He was inducted into the University of Iowa’s Kinnick Wall of Fame in 2016 and enshrined into the Iowa Golf Association’s Hall of Fame in 2017. 

A native of Fort Dodge, Brown’s career path may have been predestined. His late father, Bob Brown, served as sports editor of The Fort Dodge Messenger for many years. As a youngster, he would listen to athletic contests on the radio and keep a box score as the game was broadcast. As a high schooler, he worked the Messenger sports desk on Friday nights taking phone calls from coaches and writing capsule summaries of area football and basketball games. He spent two years at Iowa Central Community College before receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism from the University of Iowa. A 37-year career at The Des Moines Register began in 1978. Brown will be recognized during a ceremony on Thursday, December 8, at Terrace Hills Golf Course in Altoona.

“Golf has been such a wonderful element of my life for so many decades,” Brown said.

Decorated Iowa golf sportswriter Rick Brown poses on the Hogan Bridge with the backdrop of Augusta National’s iconic 12th hole in the background. Brown was among a select group of golf writers who received the honor of playing Augusta National the day following the 2008 Masters Tournament.