Buena Vista University Golf Course at Lake Creek Brings Back Amateur

April 28, 2020

After a seven-year hiatus, the Lake Creek Amateur returns to the Iowa Golf Association tournament circuit on May 30-31, a time that promises excitement on some of Northwest Iowa’s truest greens and lushest fairways.

The Amateur was a staple on the Iowa Golf Association calendar from 1973 to 2013, and since 1975 one of the eight point-events that determined the prestigious Iowa Amateur of the Year. (The 1975 winner, Lon Nielsen, is a two-time Senior PGA tournament winner and a member of the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame.)

IGA Executive Director Chad Pitts is thrilled that Buena Vista University Golf Course at Lake Creek is back to host this marquee event.

“It’s awesome to have Lake Creek back on the schedule,” says Pitts. “The IGA has enjoyed a great relationship with one of Northwest Iowa’s finest courses for decades. Having ‘The Amateur’ back will no doubt give golfers a great test early in the season at a place that’s always been an incredibly accommodating host for our staff, for Midwest golfers, fans, and members of the Storm Lake-area community.”

“We’re really excited to show some of the changes we’ve made that have only helped take a strong golf course to the next level.”

Joe Powell, General Manager of Buena Vista University Golf Course at Lake Creek

And while the 2020 Lake Creek Amateur won’t officially help determine Iowa’s Amateur of the Year, local organizers are hoping this first year back will reestablish the golf course’s presence as a regular featured attraction on the IGA slate.

“It’s an awesome showcase for us and the chance for golf enthusiasts in the area to host some of the best golfers in the Midwest,” says Joe Powell, general manager serving Buena Vista Golf Course at Lake Creek. “We’re really excited to show some of the changes we’ve made that have only helped take a strong golf course to the next level.”

The main alteration golfers note involves the two nine-hole layouts. The former back nine has become the front nine, and vice versa. So, golfers now finish their round on No. 18, whose green stands mere feet from main clubhouse entrance.

“Having our finishing hole adjacent to the clubhouse makes perfect sense,” says Mike Wilson, board president. “The proximity allows for golfers to go immediately from the course to the clubhouse and bar/restaurant to socialize and talk over the round while watching other golfers finish.”

A marketing agreement with Buena Vista University has resulted in a host of updates in signage and more. Powell, who coaches the men’s golf team at BVU, provides several BVU students valuable business and marketing experience as they serve as interns and part-time employees.

The course opened for good during the third weekend of April, once the season’s last measurable snow melted away to replenish the soil. Superintendent Bob Leinbaugh, a veteran of 30 years on local courses, and a Lake Creek fixture since 1995, has his crew painstakingly manicuring greens, collars, tees, and fairways.

Wilson notes that BVU Golf Course at Lake Creek officials are having patrons observe social distancing measures in attempts to mitigate any spread of Covid-19. There are no rakes in the sand traps yet, nor ball washers on the tee boxes. A piece of foam placed in each hole prevents the ball from disappearing into the cup. Golfers are limited to one cart (each cart is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after use) and are asked to always remain 10 feet apart from one another. Those mitigation efforts will remain in place for the foreseeable future as course leaders heed the advice of local, state, and national leaders.

“We recognize that this is unchartered territory for the course and for our country as a whole,” Wilson says. “We’re simply trying to provide people with a healthy recreational outlet as the temperatures warm and spring returns to Northwest Iowa.”

And while a formal 50th anniversary celebration won’t take place until 2022, Wilson notes that 50 years ago this fall, the articles of incorporation were adopted, which ultimately turned a 151-acre tract of land into an 18-hole championship layout that surrounds an entire housing subdivision.

Competition in the 2020 Lake Creek Amateur begins at 8 a.m. May 30.

After a day of stroke play on Saturday, the field will be cut in half. The upper half, deemed the championship flight, will then compete on Sunday, as will the first flight. A separate senior’s division for those golfers 55 and older will also be featured.

The cost to play is $80, which includes golf on both days, plus sessions on the practice range each morning. Place-winners in each flight will receive pre-paid Visa gift cards as prizes.

For information, call Buena Vista Golf Course at Lake Creek at 712.732.1548 or see www.lakecreekgolf.com

Here is a list of past Lake Creek Amateur winners:

2013 – Matt Weeks, Spirit Lake (213)
2012 – Gene Elliott, West Des Moines (207)
2011 – Kirby Pettitt, Carroll (206)
2010 – Justin Schulte, West Des Moines (207)
2009 – J.D. Anderson, West Des Moines (209)
2008 – Jon Brown, Urbandale (205)
2007 – Kyle Ritchie, Corning (211)
2006 – J.D. Anderson, West Des Moines (204)
2005 – Mike McCoy, West Des Moines (209)
2004 – Scott Quandt, Mt. Carmel (204)
2003 – Ron Peterson, Urbandale (141)
2002 – Ron Peterson, Urbandale (210)
2001 – Kevin Johnson, Urbandale (215)
2000 – Steve Smith, Johnston (207)
1999 – Jim Curell, Boone (205)
1998 – Jason Knutzon, Ames (207)
1997 – Nate Dunn, Manchester (67)
1996 – Ben Pettitt, Carroll (206)
1995 – Mike McCoy, Des Moines (172)
1994 – Mike McCoy, Des Moines (206)
1993 – Jon Brown, Urbandale (209)
1992 – Mike McCoy, Des Moines (206)
1991 – Jay Horton, Ames (207)
1990 – Al Pottebaum, LeMars (208)
1989 – Mike Dunphy, Perry (207)
1988 – Todd Sapp, Lincoln (220)
1987 – Bill Manske, Algona (218)
1986 – Steve Winkel, Algona (215)
1985 – Ned Zachar, Ames (210)
1984 – Greg Tebbutt, Bettendorf (213)
1983 – Dean Kain, Algona (283)
1982 – Gary Claypool, Marion (278)
1981 – Jim Curell, Boone (242)
1980 – Dean Kain, Algona (288)
1979 – Jim Curell, Boone (287)
1978 – Bill Manske, Algona (277)
1977 – Chuck Null, Cedar Rapids
1976 – Julius Boros, Iowa City (139)
1975 – Lon Nielsen, Belle Plaine
The Lake Creek Amateur was added as a Player of the Year Point Event in 1975
1974 – Roger Null, Cedar Rapids
1973 – Larry Castagnoli, Fort Dodge