Kirke Dorweiler (at left) of West Des Moines will receive one of the USGA’s highest honors.

Dorweiler is in his 25th year as a volunteer committee member of the USGA, which qualifies him as a recipient of the prestigious Ike Granger Award.  Dorweiler’s 25 years have all been in service of the Junior Championship Committee (U.S. Junior Amateur).  He will receive the award at the USGA Annual Meeting in Miami, Florida on Saturday, February 3rd.

Established in 1995 as part of the USGA’s Centennial Celebration, the Isaac B. Grainger Award recognizes volunteers who have provided 25 years of service to the Association. Grainger served as USGA president from 1954-1955 and led the USGA effort to develop the first unified code of the Rules of Golf with The R&A in 1951.

Honorees include:

Craig Ammerman, of Tequesta, Fla.; Lee Coble, of Richmond, Va.; Richard Coon, of Amarillo, Texas; Kirke Doreweiler, of Scottsdale, Ariz. & West Des Moines, IA; Sheri Erskine, of San Ramon, Calif.; Sarah M. Haas, of Carterville, Ill.; John A. Hendry, of Lafayette, La.; Fay Ann Kikta, of Titusville, Fla.; Jeffrey S. Kuhn, of Houston, Texas; James M. Litvack, of Princeton, N.J.; Robert Markionni, of Lemont, Ill.; Martha Jett McAlister, of Hot Springs Village, Ark.; Mary Bea Porter-King, of Lihue, Hawaii; John T. Reis, of Paradise Valley, Ariz.; William K. Smith, of Baltimore, Md.; Rick Soskin, of Minnetonka, Minn.; Stephen L. Stine, of Sheridan, Wyo.; Judith L. Stine, of Sheridan, Wyo.; Mary Swingle, of Anthem, Ariz.; Sally Tomlinson, of Walnut Creek, Calif.; J. Daniel Walsh, of Stony Brook, N.Y.; Henri Wolbrette III, of Metairie, La.; and John S. Zoller, of Portland, Ore.

The last Iowa Golf Summit was held in 2016. Tradition has become to hold the summit every two years.

sponsored by Standard Golf and Miller & Son’s Golf Cars

3^rd Summit will feature keynote speaker “MindGym”

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE SUMMIT

On Monday, March 5^th, individuals involved in the golf business in Iowa will gather to hear from industry leaders while also networking and sharing ideas at the Iowa Golf Summit. This is the 3^rd summit co-conducted by the Iowa Golf Association, Iowa Section PGA and Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association. The Iowa Golf Summit is sponsored by Standard Golf (Cedar Falls) and Miller & Son’s Golf Cars (Britt, Ames).

Andre O’Brien of MindGym will be the keynote speaker. MindGym is a global company that specializes in “psychological-based organizational transformation”. Andre will focus his talk on “transforming leadership and becoming a real team” in a fun and entertaining way.  It will no doubt be of great value to you and your team at your golf facility.

Thomas Pagel, Senior Director of Rules at the USGA, will be on hand to discuss what will be the newly released final code of the 2019 Rules of Golf – i.e. the Rules Modernization project. The final code will be announced on March 1^st, four days prior to the summit, so the timing works out great for us to have Thomas speak.

In addition, Mischia Wright of the GCSAA will be on hand to discuss their “Rounds 4 Research” program and J.D. Drimel of the PGA of America will discuss how to best utilize the PGA Career Services to your benefit.

Who should attend?

If you are a decision-maker at your club, employee at a course, or involved in the golf industry in some way, you should seriously consider attending the Iowa Golf Summit. Board and committee members, Golf Professionals, Superintendents, Managers & department heads as well as Golf Sales Reps, Golf Coaches and anyone with ties to the golf industry will realize great value.

Cost?

The fee to attend is $60 per person, which includes breakfast, lunch and beverages throughout the day.

Place?

The Iowa Golf Summit will be held at the Prairie Meadows Event Center in Altoona, Iowa.  Special hotel rates have been set and are the following:

You must make your room reservations on or before February 7th.

King:                           $110.00
Double Queen:            $110.00
Junior King Suite:       $130.00
King Suite:                  $150.00
Executive King Suite: $170.00

Reservations for the Event can be made at www.prairiemeadows.com using group code 03132018IOW.  Again, this room block rate expires after February 7th.

Are Education Points available?

Yes. PGA pros who attend the entire session will receive 6 MSR education points.  Members of the GCSA who attend  will also receive education points.  Once we know the total points available, we will post it here.

How do I sign up?

You can register online by clicking here.  You can also call the IGA office at 515-207-1062 to get signed up.

Schedule of Events

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. –  Hot Breakfast

9:00 – 9:30 a.m. –  Presenting Sponsors Showcase (Standard Golf, Miller & Sons Golf Cars)

9:30 – 10:15 a.m. –  Rounds 4 Research – What can you do to help? – Mischia Wright, GCSAA

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. –  Break/Network

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. –  MIND GYM (Keynote)

11:30 – 1:00 p.m. –  Lunch & Networking

1:00 – 1:30 – IGA, Iowa PGA, Iowa GCSA Updates

1:30  – 2:45 p.m. – 2019 Rules of Golf Changes – Thomas Pagel, USGA

2:45 – 3:30 p.m. –  PGA Career Services – How we can help you! – J.D. Drimel, PGA

New USGA Regional Golf Association Alliance Created
to Support and Stimulate Grassroots Community Golf Programs

The Iowa Golf Association (IGA) is excited to announce that it will enter into a new relationship with the United States Golf Association (USGA) to enhance the golfer experience at the state and local levels in the United States. A total of 59 regional golf associations have entered into a similar agreement to become Allied Golf Associations (AGA) across the country.

As part of the agreement the IGA will have jurisdiction over all of the State of Iowa and Rock Island County in Illinois (county encompassing the Quad Cities).

“We are excited about the enhanced partnership we now have with the USGA,” IGA Executive Director Chad Pitts said. “The IGA has always had USGA licenses for handicapping and course rating, plus we ran their qualifying events, but this really formalizes that whole process in a way that was never done before. We are thrilled to be selected as one of the Allied Golf Associations of the USGA. We look forward to providing even more support to our member clubs in relation to USGA programs and services, as well as continuing to administer and enhance our own IGA offerings. We think this is going to be a true win-win for both the IGA and the USGA.”

These AGAs, supported by the USGA’s five existing regional affairs offices, will administer the USGA Handicap and Course Rating Systems within defined geographic areas across the country. In addition, they will serve as the community’s primary resource for USGA services such as championship qualifiers, governance, golf facility support and programs that help grow and improve the long-term health of the game.

Golfers can find an Allied Golf Association in their area by clicking here: http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/about/allied-golf-associations.html

“Regional golf associations are the lifeblood of the golf community and the USGA,” said Mike Davis, USGA CEO. “We felt that now was the best time to formalize this new alliance, in the spirit of working together on grassroots programs, improving how we serve golfers and providing a healthy foundation from which the entire golf community can grow.”

Newly recognized AGAs were identified through a nearly year-long discovery process that encouraged collaboration among existing golf organizations within each state and region, sharing best practices and leveraging programs that have made a positive impact.

The resulting relationship will enable AGAs to provide a variety of competitive playing opportunities that engage more golfers of all levels within their region. The AGAs will also serve as local experts for education on topics such as modernizing golf’s rules, the new World Handicap System and related governance functions.

Each AGA will also have direct access to USGA research, funding for programs such as USGA P.J. Boatwright Internships, data and technology, additional expertise to better serve the health of golf facilities and support of national grow-the-game initiatives including PLAY9.

One of the alliance’s most significant benefits to golfers will be the centralized computation of USGA Handicap Indexes in the United States to improve efficiency, consistency and governance oversight. The move to a more modernized, digital platform will also empower Allied Golf Associations to more deeply engage golfers within their community through rich, real-time player data.

An AGA Council has been formed to share information, help ongoing service delivery and provide continuous feedback directly to the USGA to better serve golfers and golf clubs. The 12-member council consists of AGA executive directors who will represent regions and markets throughout the United States.

The alliance marks the latest step by the USGA to more deeply engage the local and regional golf community. It complements the USGA’s existing presence in all five major golf regions in the United States – Northeast, Great Lakes, Southeast, Central and West – where dedicated Regional Affairs directors currently serve in residence.

In addition to its five Regional Affairs directors, the USGA also supports golf clubs and facilities through the USGA Green Section, providing agronomic expertise through 13 regional offices.