The Amana Golf Course is one of many beautiful settings in Iowa / Gazette archive photo

Great golf opportunities
part of Iowa’s allure

By Donna Wolmutt

It’s fair to say that Iowa loves the game of golf.  And why not? Lush fairways, smooth greens and warm summer days abound in the Hawkeye state, making it a state-of-the-art state for golfers.

According to golflink.com, there are 438 golf courses in Iowa. Cedar Rapids in the eastern part of the state, Des Moines in the middle, and Sioux City in the west rank as the top three golf destinations in the state.

Iowa took the national spotlight in 2007, when Cedar Rapids’ own Zach Johnson won the Masters Tournament in Augusta, GA., beating out Tiger Woods and other better known names in golf.  Johnson learned the game on golf courses in his home town of Cedar Rapids.  Today, the street leading into his home course there, Elmcrest Country Club, is officially known as Zach Johnson Drive.

Iowa boasts the third highest number of holes per capita in the nation, making the game of golf more than just an enjoyable pastime in Iowa. It’s a key industry, contributing to the vitality of Iowa’s economy.

A report on Iowa’s Golf Economy states that when the total economic impact of Iowa’s golf-related activities was calculated in 2006 the golf industry generated some $769.6 million of direct, indirect, and induced economic output, $230.7 million of wage income and 10,396 jobs.

Iowa hosts one premier golf tournament each year: the Principal Charity Classic, a PGA Tour Champions event held at Glen Oaks Country Club in Des Moines. Another major event is the John Deere Classic, which raised a record $3.9 million  in 2006 for hundreds of Iowa-based charities and local arms of national charities. The amount of charitable giving attributed to the game of golf in Iowa was $22.2 million in 2006.

Scores of other charitable golf events and tournaments hosted on Iowa’s emerald golf courses each year, benefit myriad organizations, from the American Cancer Society to the United Way, and everything in between.

Learn more:

• Iowa Golf Association
• Iowa PGA
• Iowa Women’s Golf Association
• Search our iGuide for courses near you.