Amana Colonies Golf Club, Sunnyside Country Club and Glen Oaks Country Club will host IGA Member Play Days in 2017. The IGA is pleased to organize the opportunity for our members to play these courses which are either not normally available to the public, or available for a reduced rate. The fee varies for each day but each time is less than the normal guest fee. These play days are not formal competitions and are open exclusively to IGA Members.

The first IGA Member Play Day will be held on Monday, May 22nd, at Amana Colonies Golf Club in Amana ($35 per person). Sunnyside CC ($65 per person) will host on Monday, June 5th, while Glen Oaks CC ($105 per person) will host on Monday, Oct. 16.

As in the past, golfers are encouraged to bring their own foursome as pairing requests will be honored (as nearly as possible). We have reserved a block of morning tee times at these great facilities so all play will begin from the 1st tee. Just come, have fun and whatever “games” you want to play within your group or groups is totally up to you. Each event includes golf, range balls, cart and lunch. Sign up early because once the tee time block is gone we will not allow any more entries.

An IGA Member (anyone who has a membership number through their enrollment in the GHIN Handicap Service at an IGA Member club). You can sign up to be an IGA Member online by clicking here.

As stated previously, the opportunity to play these prestigious clubs is an exclusive benefit only to IGA members. If you are not already a member, simply sign up for the GHIN Handicap Service at an IGA Member Club (your GHIN number is your membership number). A complete list of member clubs is available under the “Member Clubs” tab at the top of the page. 

For more on IGA Member Play Days visit http://iowagolf.org/iga-member-play-days/

The NCAA announced host sites for championship events in Divisions I, II and III for most sports through the 2021-22 seasons on Tuesday.  The Harvester Golf Club in Rhodes was selected as one of six sites for a DI Men’s Golf Regional in 2019.  The event will be held May 12-15, 2019 and Iowa State University will serve as the host school.

Each year the NCAA holds six regional qualifying sites to determine the 30 teams that qualify for the NCAA Championship.  In 2019, the championship will be held at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  13 teams and ten individuals not on those teams will compete at each of the six regional sites.  The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals.

Other 2019 regional sites include University of Louisville Golf Club in Louisville, KY, Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, CA, University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, GA, Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, WA and TPC Myrtle Beach in Myrtle Beach, SC.

While it was expected that the NCAA would announce championship finals sites through 2022, they only announced through 2019.

The Iowa Golf Association, during preparations for the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame induction coming in June of this year, was notified of the passing ​of Hall of Fame Member Jim English on June 26, 2016.

Jim never played in an Iowa Amateur, which explains why he never won one. Job commitments made it too difficult for English to miss three days of work. But he still did plenty of winning. English was especially dominant in one stretch that saw him win the 1950 Iowa Masters, the 1950 Trans-Mississippi, the 1951 Iowa Open and the 1951 Herman Sani Invitational. English considered the Trans-Miss his most prestigious victory as an Iowa resident. His 11-10 victory in the 36-hole championship match is the largest margin of victory in tournament history.

Jim was an insurance broker for most of his career along with being a champion amateur golfer. English moved to Kansas in 1952 and won the Kansas Amateur the only two times he competed, in 1954 and 1956. After moving to Colorado, English won five Colorado State Amateur titles, a Colorado Open and four Colorado State Senior titles. He also won the prestigious Broadmoor Invitational twice. Jim qualified for nine U.S. Opens and was the low amateur in the 1959 Open at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York, where he beat a few other amateurs named Jack Nicklaus, Charlie Coe, Billy Joe Patton and Deane Beman. Jim also played in the U.S. Amateur six times, reaching the quarterfinals in 1951.

He is in the Colorado, Nebraska ​and Iowa Golf Halls of Fame and was a long-time member and 11-time Club Champion at Columbine Country Club in Littleton, Colorado. Jim was a charter member at the TPC at Plum Creek, then a member at Lone Tree until his death. He was a parishioner of Church of the Risen Christ in Denver.

For more on English’s Iowa Golf Hall of Fame résumé visit: http://iowagolf.org/hof-english-jim/

The Iowa Golf Council (IGC), which is a partnership of the Iowa Golf Association, Iowa Section PGA and Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association, held the first-ever All Iowa Golf Day at the State Capitol on Thurs., April 13.

In an effort to bring more awareness to the economic impact of golf in the state of Iowa, the Iowa Golf Council was able to speak with many state leaders about the recently commissioned economic impact study and other ways the golf of golf impacts so many in the state of Iowa. Representatives from the John Deere Classic, Principal Charity Classic and 2017 Solheim Cup were also in attendance to meet with legislators.

After meeting with legislators, the Governor of the State of Iowa, Terry Branstad (pictured above) signed a proclamation declaring April 13th as “All Iowa Golf Day”.

More information on Economic Impact Study
The economic impact study, which was a catalyst to the creation of Iowa Golf Day, began in late 2016 using 2015 data, was completed in early 2017 and found that golf in Iowa has an economic impact of $817.5 million. The game employs 11,435 individuals amounting to $280.2 million in compensation and accounted for $72 million in state and local taxes.

The study includes not only direct operational expenditures and capital investments made by golf facilities in Iowa, but also golf-related manufacturing and retail spending, golf tourism, and new golf related construction.

Not to be overlooked – Iowa golf facilities hosted charitable events that generated $28.7 million in net proceeds and in-kind contributions for beneficiary organizations, up from $22.2 million in 2006. TEConomy’s survey found that Iowa facilities host 6 to 11 charitable events each year. These range from smaller, but highly impactful events that raise $2,000 to $10,000 per event for local fire departments, hospitals, food banks, and youth programs to major events like the Annual City of Hope Golf Outing that raised $465,000 for cancer research or the $1.4 million raised by the Principal Charity Classic for local children’s charities.

After meeting with legislators, the Governor of the State of Iowa, Terry Branstad (seated) signed a proclamation declaring April 13th as “All Iowa Golf Day”.