History of the GIGG

The Heffelfinger Golf Association, established in 1989 to provide a multi-day, distraction free golf trip for friends and friends of friends of the founder Duey Heffelfinger, Blair Nebraska. Today the HGA sponsors an annual four day tournament in and around the Iowa Great Lakes called the Greater Iowa Golf Gathering (GIGG) as well as other golf outings throughout the year.

During a camping trip to the Iowa Great Lakes in 1989, four friends of the of the founder Duey Heffelfinger, Mark Dickinson, Craig Swenson and Rod Hill were playing golf at the Spencer Municipal Golf Course, enjoying every minute. It was decided to play an additional 9 holes, much to the shagrin of our spouses. Following one of the greatest days of golf, we missed dinner and had a rather unhappy evening.

From this event the HGA was born. It was generally agreed that we needed a time to play as much golf as we wanted without concern about dinner, spouses or other distractions. The following year a three day golf outing was planned including Duey Heffelfinger, Mark Dickinson, Craig Swenson and David Miller. During one day of the initial tour event, 54 holes of golf were played.

Today, while fewer holes of golf are played daily, as many as 15 players have joined HGA tour outings.