Rick Brown came to the Des Moines Register in 1978. As a fantastic sports writer and columnist, a majority of his time covering college football and college basketball, he also had a terrific knack for covering golf. Brown did it enthusiastically on both the amateur and professional side of golf throughout his career – including covering the careers of Iowa Golf Hall of Fame members Zach Johnson, Gene Elliott and Mike McCoy just to name a few.

His love for the game started when his parents joined the Fort Dodge Country Club when Rick was 13 years old. Brown worked for the FDCC pro W.E. “Bill” Hird, a man he looked up to with a sweet swing he tried to emulate. On the days he didn’t work, he’d join his friends for multiple trips around the Fort Dodge Country Club course. He’d also caddy for his idol, Iowa Golf Hall of Famer Tom Chapman Jr., at the Fort Dodge Amateur. His pay would be golf balls and Tom’s used golf gloves.

An 11-time Iowa Sportswriter of the Year winner, Brown retired from The Register in December of 2015. Over the years Brown has dutifully updated, maintained and added to ‘The Book’ – which is a large binder started by Bert McGrane that has newspaper clippings, scores, photos and other information from IGA championship and point events dating back several decades – sometimes dedicating hours searching through microfiche for old stories and information to add.

“Rick has done a tremendous job documenting and compiling the history of IGA Championships and Point Events throughout the years,” IGA Executive Director Chad Pitts said. “It’s always neat to see the stat or fact that Rick will come up with as it relates to the current year’s Iowa Amateur – that type of info always seems to be on the tip of his tongue.”

Mike Green, the former Director of Athletic Communications at Iowa State University also echoes Pitts’ comments.

“Rick has been one of Iowa golf’s greatest ambassadors,” Green said. “Simply put he is the Grantland Rice of Iowa Golf. If Rick called to do a story, you felt pretty special.”

Career Highlights

• 11-time Iowa Sportswriter of the Year winner
• Author of “Golden Harvest – Iowa’s Rich Harvest History” – a 450+ page narrative on the history of the game in Iowa
• Recipient of the George Turner Distinguished Service Award, 2022
• Kinnick Stadium Media Wall of Fame, 2017
• Voting member of the IGA’s Iowa Golf Hall of Fame Committee