Bill Byers was the best friend of golf courses at Des Moines Golf and Country Club for 48 years. When the club moved to its current site – construction on the two courses started in 1966 – Byers took a 450-acre piece of bare ground and turned it into a challenging test considered good enough to host the 1999 U.S. Senior Open and later the 2017 Solheim Cup. His passion for taking care of the 36-hole facility, and the unpredictable challenges that Mother Nature provided, has been recognized by a long list of achievements.

Byers was named the Iowa Golf Course Superintendents’ Association superintendent of the year in 1969 and 1982. He was also presented with that organization’s distinguished service award in 1998. The Iowa Turfgrass Institute presented Byers with its Meritorious Service Award in 1994.

“The manner in which Bill Byers has distinguished himself makes him an ideal candidate for induction into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame,” said Jeff Wendel, CGCS, of Ankeny. A Certified Golf Course Superintendent since 1976, Byers is a former board member of both the Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Iowa Turfgrass Institute. “Bill has been a mentor, an innovator and a consummate professional throughout his career,” said John Newton, CGCS, of Veenker Memorial in Ames. He has shared his expertise with operations of every size and has made course conditions and consequently Iowa Golf better through that generosity.” Mr. Byers was 74 when he passed away on March 3, 2016.

Career Highlights

• 1969, 1982 Iowa GCSA Superintendent of the Year
• 1998 Iowa GCSA Distinguished Service Award
• 1994 Iowa Turfgrass Institute Meritorious Service Award