Dedication set for Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Steve Spray
Indianola Country Club, located at 1610 Country Club Road in Indianola, will host a ceremony Monday, October 11, at 10:30 a.m., to dedicate “Steve Spray Lane” and to commemorate Iowa Golf Hall of Fame Steve Spray’s life and golf career. The public is invited to join friends, family, and admirers for this event.
Earlier this year the entrance drive lane was named in Spray’s honor. A large street sign graces the entrance. Spray grew up in Indianola in the 1950s. He learned to play golf at the then-small, 27 acre Indianola Country Club.
Spray was an accomplished golfer. During his high school years, he won the 1958 Iowa Junior Amateur Championship and the Western junior Championship in 1959. As a collegiate golfer at Eastern New Mexico University he won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championship in 1962 and ’63. He also won the Iowa Amateur Championship in 1963 and the Iowa Open in ’64.
Spray turned professional in 1964, joining the PGA Tour in 1965. He went on to tie for 5th in the U.S. Open in 1968 where he tied the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus for a record low final round of 65. That record held until Johnny Miller shot a 63 in 1973. Spray shot a blistering 30 on the back 9, also a record that stood for 27 years.
He won the San Francisco Open Invitational in 1969 after competing in the Masters in 1968.
After leaving the tour Spray became the head golf professional at St Louis Country Club, a position he held for more than 30 years. During his career he was awarded many honors including being a Hall of Fame member in Iowa, Eastern New Mexico University, and the Gateway Section PGA.
Following retirement, Spray was a founding member of Accelerated Golf Tour in Missouri. He was dedicated to promoting golf, especially for advanced younger players, giving them opportunities to be exposed to college coaches and supporting scholarships for them.
At the dedication, people will gather at the entrance to the Club to recognize and remember Steve Spray. After the brief ceremony, lunch will be served in the club house. Following lunch the assembled PGA Professionals and others will play the course where Steve honed his game.
Spray was inducted into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame in 2009.