Career Highlights

Oversaw complete redesign of Otter Creek Golf Course in Ankeny
Iowa GCSA Board of Directors 1988-90, 1995-99 (President 1998)
GCSAA Chapter Delegate 1998-2003
DMACC Horticulture Advisory Committee 1986-90
USGA Green Section Committee Member 2001-05
Iowa GCSA Distinguished Service Award 2003
Iowa GCSA Superintendent of the Year 2004
Iowa Turfgrass Institute Board of Trustees 2004-2016  (President 2006) (Secretary/Treasurer 2014)
Iowa Turfgrass Institute Meritorious Service Award 2017

When Doug Snook came to the Sheldon Country Club as the pro and superintendent in 1974, one of the first people he hired was Tom Verrips.

“It didn’t take me long to realize that this farm kid had skills,” Snook reflected.

Those skills were put to use for more than four decades. And now Verrips will be joining Snook in the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame.

After stops at Sheldon, Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo (1975-1977) and Hampton Country Club (1977-1984), Verrips took the job at Otter Creek in Ankeny in 1984 and was there until he retired in 2014. His time at Otter Creek included a complete makeover of the facility in 2008 – a new 18-hole layout, clubhouse and driving range.

Verrips worked side-by-side on the Otter Creek rebuild with golf course architect Paul W. Miller.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Tom on multiple golf course improvement projects for the City of Ankeny,” Miller said. “During almost 25 years of working together I found Tom to be the consummate professional who contributed greatly to the game of golf in Iowa.”

Otter Creek was named the Iowa Golf Association’s 2016 18-hole course of the year.

“Tom’s dedication to the profession showed not only for the outstanding job he did at Otter Creek, transforming it into one of the top public courses, but also his involvement in the Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association,” Snook said.

Verrips has served the Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association in a variety of ways. He was named Iowa GCSA Superintendent of the Year in 2004, and received that organization’s Distinguished Service Award in 2003. The Iowa Turfgrass Institute presented Tom with their Meritorious Service Award in 2017.

Verrips also served two tours of duty on the Iowa GCSA board of directors, and was the president in 1998. He was a GCSAA chapter delegate for five years, was on the USGA Green Section Committee for five years and served the lowa Turfgrass Institute for 13 years including a stint as president in 2006.

“I had the honor to serve with Tom on some of these boards, and the biggest thing that stood out to me is he was never a “yes man,” said Rick Tegtmeier, retired director of grounds at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club and a member of the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame. “Tom always voted his mind and the integrity he stood for. He never wavered even if it was against the status quo. Tom’s leadership and contributions are well documented by the awards he has received over the years from various organizations.”

During his career, Verrips was always quick to help a fellow superintendent deal with any challenge that popped up.

“He was always the calming, reassuring voice that I needed,” said John Ausen, the retired superintendent at Hyperion Field Club in Johnston and another Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member.

Ausen added, “Small organizations such as the Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association cannot be successful without the help of members like Tom Verrips. When you step on an Iowa golf course you probably won’t think of Tom. But at some point, Tom was involved in a decision that made the golf course better.”