MARK EGLY
Des Moines | Inducted 2022 | Category: Golf Professional / Teacher
Mark Egly has been teaching and, more importantly, introducing golfers to the game for over 40 years.
It would be very difficult to put a number on the golfers that Egly has helped and influenced in his teaching. Egly has been named Iowa PGA Teacher of the year seven times, including 2021. He has received countless awards from Golf Range Magazine and Golf Digest for his teaching accomplishments.
Egly is also an accomplished player in his own right, having won the 1988 Iowa PGA Match Play Championship, 1990 Iowa Open Championship, and numerous Iowa PGA events when he was coming up as a player. After suffering from an injury in a car accident, Mark has devoted himself to helping others throughout his teaching career.
“I have known Mark for over 30 years, and rarely have I seen anyone with his passion for teaching the game,” Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Ken Schall said. “I traveled with Mark often in our younger years playing in mini-tour events and state opens. He was always a force to be reckoned with. What I am most impressed with is his positive influence with junior golfers. Mark has donated his practice facility and his time to the First Tee of Central Iowa for many years now.”
Egly’s teaching resume can be stacked up against anyone – as he was the lead instructor at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in 1979, Willow Creek Golf Course from 1980-84 and Des Moines Driving Range from 1994 to present day, taking ownership in 2002.
“Mark has taught thousands of golf lessons and has become renowned for helping high school golfers, many times at little or no charge,” Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Jeff Smith said. “Over the past 20 years Mark has been recognized for nearly 40 awards.”
Egly’s lessons don’t just end with the fundamentals of golf.
“More importantly, Mark’s legacy leaves an impression on the lives of others and encourages them to do the same,” former student Victoria Grasso said. ”Mark is one of the reasons why I have chosen to pursue a career in coaching women’s college golf, as I desire to help make a difference in the lives of others just as Mark has done for every person that he has taught.”
The PGA of America named Egly the winner of the 2024 Deacon Palmer Award, presented annually to a PGA Professional “who personally displays outstanding integrity, character and leadership, in an effort to overcome a major obstacle in their life.”
Career Highlights
- Named Iowa PGA Teacher of the year seven times, including 2021
- Has received countless awards from Golf Range Magazine and Golf Digest for his teaching accomplishments
- Won the 1988 Iowa PGA Match Play Championship, 1990 Iowa Open Championship, and numerous Iowa PGA events when he was coming up as a player
- After suffering from an injury in a car accident, Mark has since changed to help golf games of others throughout his teaching career
- Lead instructor at Des Moines Golf & Country Club in 1979, Willow Creek Golf Course from 1980-84 and Des Moines Driving Range from 1994 to present day, taking ownership in 2002.
- Presented Deacon Palmer Award by the PGA of America in 2024.