Golf Course Named to Host Principal Charity Classic - ABC5 News Des Moines, IA

Golf Course Named to Host Principal Charity Classic

Jessica Daley

jdaley@myabc5.com

@TheDaleyReport

The Principal Charity Classic will call the Wakonda Club in Des Moines home for the next three years.

Glen Oaks decided 2012 was the last year it would host the annual event. Classic organizers say they talked to a lot of courses but Wakonda stood out.

The 90-year-old golf course boasts a long history of tournaments and is excited and honored to add the Classic to that list.
 
"There are a lot of old line Des Moines people who are members of Wakonda for us to be able to participate in the charity side," says Jim Adrianse, the Wakonda Club Board of Directors president. "Additionally, it's exposure for our club."

Selecting Wakonda wasn't just about having the best greens, longest fairways or trickiest sand traps but being able to accommodate an event of this magnitude.

"We have to have some really great logistics," says Mary O'Keefe, chair of the Principal Charity Classic. "There's a lot of things you have to put. There's a Golf Channel truck and there are offices and we have to be able to park people and you have to be able to move the crowds around."

And all of those logistics cost money. The Classic doesn't have an estimate yet, but knows it will need great support from sponsors and Iowans to make another record donation next year.

"We know we need to overcome some moving costs and change, but we know we can really go on a trajectory to reach our goals and to do well for the kids. And that's what really it's all about," O'Keefe says.
 
Both the Classic and Wakonda are excited to keep the tournament in the metro and showcase downtown Des Moines to players, fans, and television audiences.

Organizations also announced Tuesday that this year's golf tournament resulted in a record donation of $917,729 to local children's charities.