Donah Named 2025 Iowa PGA Professional of the Year-
Riverside, Iowa – Luke Donah, PGA Head Golf Professional of Cedar Rapids Country Club has been named the 2025 Iowa PGA Golf Professional of the Year. The Golf Professional of the Year Award is the highest honor paid to an Iowa PGA Golf Professional. The honoree is chosen based on leadership abilities that stand above the rest, contributions made to their facility’s success, and excelling as an overall golf professional at the Iowa PGA Section level.
When asked on what this means to win this award Donah responded with, “I am truly humbled to receive this recognition,” Donah said. “This award reflects the support of my family, my team, our membership at Cedar Rapids Country Club, and the mentors who have guided me throughout my career. I am so blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to wake up every morning and be an ambassador of the game that I love, to a club and community that I have also come to love.”
Donah’s career is marked by an unwavering commitment to elevating the game and those around him. A nationally recognized instructor, he has twice been ranked Golf Digest’s #1 Teacher in Iowa (2019-2023), has been featured on Golf Digest’s Best in State Teacher Rankings (2023-2026), and has been honored as one of Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers in America from 2021–2025, making him one of the youngest professionals ever to achieve this recognition. His students include many of the state’s top professional, amateur, and junior golfers, and in 2025 alone, several of his students captured prestigious state and regional titles.
As Head Golf Professional, Donah has transformed the Cedar Rapids Country Club experience. Under his leadership, golf shop sales more than doubled in just three years, earning him the 2023 and 2025 Iowa PGA Private Merchandiser of the Year Award and a feature in GOLF Magazine. He has also elevated tournament operations, increasing participation across the board, introducing innovative branding and member experiences, and bringing nationally recognized entertainment to the club’s signature events.
Donah’s impact extends well beyond the course. Membership engagement has soared under his leadership, with rounds played up 78% since 2021 alongside continued membership growth. He spearheaded the creation of the Cedar Rapids Junior Golf Academy, the club’s first Evans Scholar caddy program in decades, and in the wake of the devastating 2020 Derecho, played an active role in guiding Cedar Rapids Country Club through a significant facilities improvement plan that included the construction of a brand-new 7,000-square-foot putting course, a 3,500-square-foot golf shop, and a 5,500-square-foot indoor TrackMan studio, along with the restoration of the club’s historic 18-hole golf course. These projects not only revitalized the club after the storm but also positioned it as one of the premier golf destinations in the Midwest.
A leader in the Iowa Section PGA, Donah has served on the Iowa PGA Board of Directors since 2023, chaired key committees, and hosted multiple educational summits and workshops to mentor the next generation of PGA Professionals. He has guided several of his assistants to award-winning careers and positions at some of the country’s most prestigious clubs, exemplifying his dedication to staff development and professional growth.
Larry Gladson, 1994 & 1998 Iowa PGA Professional of the Year, had some nice comments about Donah, “Luke’s pride in Cedar Rapids Country Club has helped to foster a positive culture within the membership and staff of the Club. Luke is a historian; he loves to research and share the long history of the game and the Club while in his own humble way contributing to impacting the future of the Club. Cedar Rapids Country Club is proud of their Donald Ross designed golf course, and they have a great ambassador of the Club in Luke Donah. As his young career continues to evolve, I am confident Luke will use his platform to continue making future contributions to the game. In my opinion, Luke is one of the young rising stars in our profession!”
Jock Olson, 2002 National PGA Golf Professional of the Year, also had some nice comments about Donah, “Over the past ten years, I have had the opportunity to not only observe Luke as the head professional at the Cedar Rapids CC, but I have also heard considerable feedback from members on what an excellent job Luke has done since coming to CRCC. Having held this same position from 1982 through 1993, I totally understand that it takes a great deal of skill and patience to represent a prestigious club like CRCC. Knowing the requirements to reach the level of Golf Professional of the Year, I feel that Luke is well on his way to being one of the best of the best in his career as a PGA Professional.”
Donah won the Merchandiser of the Year for Private in 2023.
On behalf of the Iowa PGA Members, Associates and Iowa PGA staff we congratulate Luke Donah as the 2025 Iowa PGA Golf Professional of the Year.
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The Iowa PGA Section also selected eleven other Award Winners. All will be honored at the Iowa PGA Special Awards Luncheon to be hosted by Riverside Casino & Golf Resort on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. The 2025 Iowa PGA Junior Tour Player of the Year winners will also be invited and honored.
2025 Iowa PGA Awards
Golf Professional of the Year
- Luke Donah, Cedar Rapids Country Club
Assistant Professional of the Year
- Jacob Bermel, Pheasant Ridge Golf Course
Golf Executive of the Year
- JR Millar, Lake Bracken Country Club
Bill Strausbaugh
- Mike Downing, Iowa PGA Section
Professional Development Award
- Luke Donah, Cedar Rapids Country Club
Teacher of the Year
- Seth Svejda, Ken Schall Golf Performance Studio
Player Development Award
- Shawna Elliott, Crow Valley Golf Club
Youth Player Development Award
- Chris Stauffer, Brown Deer Golf Club
Deacon Palmer Award
- Chad Callan, Sun Day Red
Patriot Award of the Year
- Terry Anderson, PGA Life Member
Private Merchandiser of the Year
- Luke Donah, Cedar Rapids Country Club
Public Merchandiser of the Year
- Mason Jobin, TPC Deere Run
Resort Merchandiser of the Year
- Mike McNamara, Blue Top Ridge at Riverside
Sales Representative of the Year
- Pat Dunphy, Cobra Puma
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