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The Iowa PGA Section is Creating a Positive Impact on Local Communities, One Golfer at a Time
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Committed to growing the game for more than 40 years, the Iowa PGA Section has been a pioneer in developing several successful player development programs that are now flourishing nationally. Some of the programs have new names, but they took root years ago in the Hawkeye State.
Over the years, as new leaders have emerged, the Iowa PGA Section has continued its legacy of growing the game by continuing its proven player development programs while also introducing new ones as the popularity of golf swells. For its exemplary contributions and achievements in player development, the Iowa Section is the 2024 recipient of the Herb Graffis Award for growing the game.
Former Iowa Section President Tom McCann and fellow officers Larry Gladson and Ross deBuhr introduced a Drive, Chip and Putt competition for youths in 1999. Patterned after football’s highly popular Punt, Pass and Kick, the golf version focused on the fundamentals of driving, chipping and putting with an emphasis on fun and attracting more youths to the game. In its heyday before the national Drive, Chip and Putt competition took root, the Iowa PGA had more than 1,500 participants.
The competitors who qualified through regional events advanced to the finals at TPC Deere Run on Wednesday of John Deere Classic week. The champions in each age group were often greeted by Zach Johnson at the awards ceremony. Today, the competition has been rebranded as the Iowa PGA Skills Challenge.
The competitors who qualified through regional events advanced to the finals at TPC Deere Run on Wednesday of John Deere Classic week. The champions in each age group were often greeted by Zach Johnson at the awards ceremony. Today, the competition has been rebranded as the Iowa PGA Skills Challenge.
Drive, Chip and Putt has been an integral part of the Iowa PGA for decades.
“The Iowa PGA Section has had Drive, Chip and Putt for several years; we just weren’t smart enough to trademark the name,” chuckles Section Executive Director Greg Mason, PGA. “It was a way to get junior golfers in the Section involved in golf. It’s great to see it achieve such popularity nationally.”
The pioneering Iowa PGA Section, in conjunction with the Iowa Veterans Administration and Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, introduced its GIVE — Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere — Foundation and programming in 2007 to assist Veterans through the therapeutic powers of golf. Starting with the first class of 20 in 2007, more than 2,300 Veterans have now been introduced to golf through GIVE programs, while more than 40 PGA Professionals (many who served in the military) from the Iowa Section have donated their time to teach and lead clinics.
The Iowa PGA’s GIVE program was used as the model for the PGA of America’s HOPE program under PGA REACH and now involves more than 100,000 Veterans nationwide.
“Our past officers and board members in the Iowa PGA Section have always had great vision and have maintained a commitment to growing the game over the years through many diverse programs,” notes Erin Strieck, Iowa PGA Section President and Head Professional and Director of Golf at Pinnacle Country Club in Milan, Illinois. “Our current leadership follows many of the same principles that led our former leadership to endorse ongoing growth of the game programs and create new ones.”
The Iowa PGA Section is one of the smallest Sections in the country, with nearly 200 PGA Golf Professionals actively working and 58 Life Members. Yet, Iowa consistently has one of the highest per-capita participation rates in national and regional PGA of America programs at its 120 facilities where PGA Members or Associates are employed.
The Iowa Section’s rich history of hosting player development program includes its 43-year-old Junior Academy, 26 years of the Iowa Junior Tour, 20 years of the Pee Wee Tour, 16 years of the GIVE program for Veterans (2007), 12 years of Swing With Kids, and the Drive, Chip and Putt program that has been rebranded in Iowa as the Iowa PGA Skills Challenge that dates to 1999.
PGA Jr. League also has taken off in the Iowa PGA Section since 2017, with 40 of Iowa’s 86 green grass facilities hosting programs. In 2023, there were more than 750 players with 71 teams at the 40 host Iowa facilities.
Golf in Schools has a huge impact on local communities, thanks to the Iowa PGA.
The Iowa PGA Section continues to support the national Drive, Chip and Putt competition in concert with the PGA of America, Augusta National and USGA, conducting 23 local qualifiers each year. How has the Iowa PGA Section been so successful in continuing to develop programs that grow the game for all ages and skill levels?
“The Iowa PGA does a nice job of R&D – researching and duplicating other great ideas and then adapting it to our golf customers,” explains Mason. “We’ve taken the successful aspects of other programs and adapted them to Iowa.”
