Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Lonnie Nielsen, originally from Belle Plaine, passed away on Wednesday, January 20, 2020, at the age of 67.

Nielsen is remembered for his enjoyment of music, playing cards, telling jokes, and eating ice cream. To know him was to love him. He was known for his infectious smile, quick wit, and sense of humor.

Nielsen grew up playing on sand greens in Belle Plaine and went on to attend the University of Iowa. He won several amateur events in Iowa, including the 1975 Iowa Amateur, and was named Iowa Player of the Year that year.

He turned pro in 1976 and competed for a brief time on the PGA Tour highlighted by two top ten finishes before pursuing a career as a club pro. Nielsen was a dominant player in the Western New York Section PGA winning its Section Championship nine times and the Match Play Championship 10 times from 1984 through 2002

Nielsen played the PGA Champions Tour beginning in 2006 through 2017, winning two titles and has amassed almost $5 million in winnings. Nielsen’s best year was 2008 when he finished 11th on the money list with over $1.2 million in cash.

He was inducted into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame in 2010.

Memorial Service:
Nielsen’s family plans to honor him at 9 a.m. (10 a.m. EST) on Monday, January 25th, in New York (you can find details by clicking on the obituary link below).  You can view a live stream of the service by visiting www.kaczorfunerals.com. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to PGA REACH WNY (www.westernnewyork.pga.com/foundation/donate) or the Association of Frontotemporal Degeneration (www.theaftd.org) 

Click here to view an online obituary for Nielsen.

We encourage you to share condolences and your favorite memories of Lonnie in the comments section below. We will share these memories with his wife Mary Jo and the Nielsen family.

Time sure flies – and success continues to grow.

As you may or may not know, in 2018 Iowa became the 21st state to offer Youth on Course. Youth on Course (YOC) started in 2006 by the Northern California Golf Association. At its most basic level, it is a program that subsidizes rounds of golf for juniors at participating courses. It has become very popular and, in 2014, the NCGA began expanding the program to other states and regions, spreading essentially from west to east. Recently it was announced that YOC will soon be available in all 50 states.

Many IGA Member Clubs that offer the program, from across the state, have seen tremendous success since it’s launch in 2018, including Hunters Ridge Golf Course (Marion), Jester Park (Granger) and AH Blank, Waveland Golf Course and Bright-Grandview Golf Course (Des Moines). Any junior boy or girl age 6 to 18 can join Youth on Course for a $15 yearly fee. A YOC membership allows them access to any participating Youth on Course facility (there are over 1,200 nationally) to play a round of golf for $5 or less.

“Youth on course has lowered the cost barrier for families who are interested in getting kids involved in golf,” Rocky Sposato, General Manager / COO of Terrace Hills Golf Course, Waveland Golf Course, AH Blank Golf Course and Bright-Grandview Golf Course said. “It (YOC) has made a huge impact on the future of the golf industry by making golf affordable and accessible for our future golfers.”

Youth on Course in Iowa continued to grow in 2020 as membership grew 73%, while rounds played increased by 60% across all participating facilities.

“We have a good number of kids that utilized the program and have really done the advertising and marketing for us,” Nate Severin, Club Manager and PGA Professional at Hunters Ridge said in regards to the spike of YOC rounds at his course. “I think the best way to have success with this program is making sure the kids and parents have a firm grasp of the rules of when they can/can’t play. Every professional/club manager likes to see kids getting into the game of golf. It’s nice to see parents getting behind them and introducing the sport of golf. It also gives the parents a nice discount on letting the kids tag along for a quick nine, or make it a full 18 on a nice evening.”

Jeff Chiodo, PGA Professional at Jester Park GC, also commented that developing relationships with members of YOC is important in the success of the program.

“It’s been important to us (at Jester Park) to develop those relationships and make sure they feel wanted at the course,” Chiodo said. “We like to ask them how they played after the round and about their experience. We have the Par 3 course here as well, which helps. We are able to direct kids as best we can either to the Par 3 course or the main course based on playing ability, pace of play, but also making sure they feel comfortable when they are here.”

Chiodo also mentioned he uses a variety of avenues to promote the program including through social media, email marketing, junior camps held at Jester Park GC and through his involvement with PGA Junior League.

Currently, Iowa has 30 courses throughout the state that participate in Youth on Course but would like to add more.

“We are hopeful that more courses will sign up as a participating facility,” said IGA CEO/Executive Director Chad Pitts. “The program is great because you can set certain times when YOC rounds can be played so you can drive traffic to your non-peak hours. Plus, it has been shown that roughly 50% of all YOC rounds are played with an adult who pays a full fee, so it truly does become a win-win for the course”.

If you are interested in signing up as a participating facility, please fill out this link or contact the IGA office and we can get you all the details.

For more information about Youth on Course in Iowa visit https://iowagolf.org/youth-on-course/.

Britta Snyder (pictured right), of Ames, recently competed and finished T10th place at the Women’s Orlando International Amateur (Jan 3-5). Snyder posted rounds of 72-74-71 – 217 (+1) at Orange County National Golf Center & Lodge – Panther Lake.

The Women’s Orlando International Amateur championship is an annual golf tournament gathering high-level amateur golfers – most of whom are current collegiate players – from the United States of America and abroad. The tournament was played in Orlando, Florida, and included a large field of female golfers who competed over a 54-hole stroke play championship, playing 18 holes per day.

Snyder is currently a freshman on the Baylor University women’s golf team.

Click here to view results

The Iowa Golf Association is excited to announce Ben Larson (right) as the IGA’s Director of Competitions. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, Larson will take the lead on the administration of IGA Championships, USGA Qualifiers, and taking the lead on support for the rules of golf and the USGA Tournament Management software (Golf Genius).

He has spent the past 7 years as the Director of Competitions for the South Dakota Golf Association, where he administered their men’s and women’s state championships, as well as USGA qualifiers. He was the main support person for USGA TM-Golf Genius for the SDGA member clubs and he has attained an expert rating from the USGA based on his rules of golf exam scores. He has been invited to serve as a rules official at USGA championships in the past.

Ben grew up in Webster City, Iowa, and commented that he looks forward to getting closer to his family.

“I am really excited, being from Iowa, to come back and work with a great team that is in place already at the IGA,” Larson said. “I look forward to helping continue the progress the IGA is making in the game of golf. It will be good to get back home near family and friends.”

Prior to joining the SDGA, Ben spent 6 1/2 years as a rules official/tournament director for the NGA Professional Golf Tour (formerly known as The Hooters Tour). He is a member of the PGA of America, gaining his Class A status in 2005.

“My major emphasis (in South Dakota) was on tournament golf, which I enjoy and look forward to continuing to do in Iowa,” Larson said. “I also enjoy the rules side of golf, which may not be exciting to everyone, but it is something I like.”

The addition of Larson was brought about with the retirement of IGA stalwart Bill Dickens. Dickens was the Executive Director of the IGA from 2001 -2015 and Senior Director of Administration from 2016-2020.

As part of this transition process with Bill’s retirement and the hiring of Larson as the Director of Competitions, we are shifting roles around amongst the current staff. Chad Pitts, Katelynn Hogenson, and Nate McCoy will all have title changes, along with new or additional responsibilities. Clint Brown’s title will remain the same, but he will take on a slightly different role as well.

Pitts’ title changes slightly to CEO/Executive Director of the IGA and the IGA Foundation. He will continue to oversee the entire staff and will take over many of the Foundation duties handled by Dickens the past few years.

Hogenson is being promoted to Chief Operating Officer of the IGA. As COO, Katelynn will be taking over much of the day-to-day bookkeeping, as well as providing additional oversight and guidance to other staff. Hogenson will shift her responsibilities for oversight of GHIN to McCoy.

McCoy is the new Director of Handicapping and Course Rating. He remains in charge of the course rating program for the IGA but will add responsibility for GHIN support to our member clubs and courses. He will have less focus on events, although you will still see him at plenty of tournaments.

Brown remains the Director of Communications and Marketing and he will still be in charge of all IGA communications, including the website, social media, and advertising & sponsorship sales. However, he will assist Pitts with IGA Foundation related activities when needed.

In general, it is a big carousel of duties being shifted around. However, even though we have specific job descriptions we are a small team, so everyone will still have a hand in nearly all we do. Most notably, you will continue to see most of the staff at all major IGA championships.

We are excited about the addition of Ben to the staff. You will see he brings loads of positive energy and experience.

The Iowa Golf Association has made the difficult decision to postpone the 2020 Annual Awards Banquet, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, December 12th at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines.

Due to the rising COVID-19 case numbers in Iowa we feel it is in the best interest of all to postpone until spring.  The most recent proclamation from Governor Kim Reynolds has solidified that decision.  We have secured a new date of Friday, March 26th, 2021 with Glen Oaks Country Club to host.

We discussed many different options to safely hold this event, including severely limiting the number of attendees, removing the social hour and even going to an all-virtual ceremony.  We feel strongly that hosting this event with family and friends of those being honored is important and we want to make every attempt to make that possible in a safe manner.  Perhaps by postponing a few months, we can do that.

Please mark your calendars for Friday, March 26, 2021.  A schedule will be finalized after the first of the year. At that point we will open registration to the event for the general public. Be sure to watch for updates as they become available.

Today (Nov. 15) marks the start of the IGA inactive season. From November 15th – March 31st scores made on golf courses in the IGA region are not acceptable for score posting purposes.

Why have an inactive season you might ask?

Reason – Course Ratings are done using mid-season conditions so things like grass height, green speed, roll, etc. are all evaluated based on how they would play in June thru August when most rounds are posted. So even though you might be able to fit that mid-February round in (let’s cross our fingers for a mild winter!), I think it’s safe to say the challenges of the course conditions and obstacles are drastically different from those in the heat of the summer.

Planning a winter golf trip? You can visit the USGA’s national active/inactive schedule here to see if you’re playing in a region that requires you to post.

Really wanting to geek out? Take this 5-question quiz to test your active season knowledge.