Career Highlights

• Iowa Golf Prodigy: Burst onto the Iowa golf scene in 1929 at just 19 years old, winning the Iowa Open and establishing himself as one of the state’s premier golfers.
• Dominant Competitive Career: Won three Iowa Amateur Championships, two Iowa Open titles and three Des Moines City Championships during a remarkable stretch of success.
• Three-Time Iowa Amateur Champion:
  -1932: Defeated Pete Jordan of Des Moines, 4 and 3, at Sioux City Golf and Country Club to claim his first title.
  -1934: Defeated John Vavra of Cedar Rapids, 13 and 12, at Hyperion Field Club in the most lopsided championship match in Iowa Amateur history.
  -1938: Captured his third title with a 7-and-6 victory over Fred Denman at Des Moines Golf and Country Club.
• Two-Time Iowa Open Champion:
  -1929: Won at Wakonda Club with a wire-to-wire performance, establishing a course record of 68 in the opening round and finishing at 297, two shots ahead of the field.
  -1933: Won at Des Moines Golf and Country Club with a score of 282, earning an eight-shot victory over Pat Willcox.
• Three-Time Des Moines City Champion: Won the city title in 1932, 1933 and 1935.
• Highly Regarded by His Peers: Host professional Mike Shearman praised Miller as one of the finest amateurs in the game, comparing his ability favorably with Rudy Knepper, a three-time Iowa Amateur champion and accomplished national competitor.
• National Championship Experience:
  -Competed in the U.S. Amateur in 1933 and 1935.
  -Qualified as medalist at the 1935 Trans-Mississippi Amateur.
  -Finished runner-up to future U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur champion Johnny Goodman in the 1931 National Junior Chamber of Commerce Open.
• Military Service in World War II: Served with the 17th Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge. He was discharged in February 1946 as a first lieutenant, having earned three battle stars and the Purple Heart with cluster.

Denmar Miller broke onto the Iowa golf scene in 1929, when he won the Iowa Open at 19 years of age. He was a dominant presence for the next decade, winning three Iowa Amateurs, two Iowa Opens and three Des Moines City crowns.

His first serious title run came in 1928 at Hyperion, his home course. He had the 36-hole lead, and shot 69-73 the final two rounds. But he finished third, three shots behind Art Bartlett, who closed with a 67, and Bob McCrary, who posted a final-round 65.

Miller broke through in 1929 at the Wakonda Club. The Drake junior established a new course record in the first round, shooting 68 when Wakonda’s par was 73. He led wire-to-wire and shot 297, two shots clear of the field.

Miller, who left Hyperion and joined the Des Moines Golf and Country Club in 1929, used that home-course advantage again when he won his second Iowa Open in 1933. His 282 score gave him an eight-shot victory over Pat Willcox.

That triumph came a year after Denmar won his first Iowa Amateur at the Sioux City Golf and Country Club. Miller defeated Pete Jordan of Des Moines in the championship match, 4 and 3. His play left an impression on host pro Mike Shearman, who had played a vital role in Rudy Knepper’s golf game.

“That boy Denmar Miller is one of the finest amateurs in the game today,” Shearman told Bert McGrane of the Des Moines Register. “Miller has everything. His drives are 20 yards longer than the average good driver and that makes his other shots correspondingly easier. He has all the shots and a fine temperament.”

Knepper, also a three-time Iowa Amateur champion and Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member, won the 1922 Trans-Miss, was a runner-up in the 1921 Western Amateur and reached the semifinals of the 1922 U.S. Amateur. Knepper was an alternate on the 1922 Walker Cup team and then made the team in 1923, but Princeton wouldn’t give him a waiver to compete.

Asked how Miller compared to Knepper, Shearman said, “Denmar is just as good today as Rudy ever dared to be.”

Miller’s dominance was on his display again in his final two Iowa Amateur triumphs. He returned to Hyperion in 1934 to beat John Vavra of Cedar Rapids, 13 and 12. It was the most one-sided championship match ever. Miller was 9 up after the first 18 holes.

Miller’s final title, also at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club in 1938, came in a decisive 7 and 6 victory over Fred Denman of Des Moines. He also won Des Moines City titles in 1932, 1933 and 1935.

Denmar played in his first U.S. Amateur in 1933, at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati. Miller drew Lawson Little in the first round and lost, 4 and 3. Lawson went on to win the U.S.Amateur and British Amateurs in both 1934 and 1935. Miller lost in the second round of the 1935 U.S. Amateur.

Miller was qualifying medalist at the 1935 Trans-Miss, but lost his first match. He finished second to future U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur champ Johnny Goodman in the 1931 National Junior Chamber of Commerce Open. Goodman beat him in the second round of the Trans-Miss later that year.

Denmar didn’t defend his Iowa Amateur title in 1939, citing “impending business.” With a law degree in hand, he was working for his father’s firm. He also worked as a city prosecutor in Municipal Court for two years before serving his country in World War II. He was with the 17th Airborne Division, and was in the “Battle of the Bulge.” Denmar was discharged in February of 1946 with the rank of first lieutenant and earned three battle stars and the purple heart with cluster.

He returned to law work and held two part-time jobs, serving as head of the county real estate department then as county budget director. Miller retired from a 43-year law career in 1974. He passed away from cancer in February of 1978.