Russ Appel named Iowa Golf Association’s Club Manager of the Year

Russ Appel, of Briggs Woods Golf Course in Webster City, has been named the 2018 IGA Club Manager of the Year. Russ is a 1977 graduate of Lake Mills Community School. He and his wife, Allison, reside in Webster City. Russ has four children: Danielle, 32; A.J., 28; Drew, 26, and Carly, 13.
Since the spring of 1990 Russ Appel has been a familiar face at Webster City’s Briggs Woods Golf Course. More recently, Appel has been heavily involved with a multi-million dollar construction project at the club for a new conference center, which is slated to be completed in early 2019. With Appel’s guidance, the club has seen little disruption to its day-to-day activities at the golf course.
Appel, who also serves as superintendent at the 18-hole municipal facility, helped spearhead fund-raising efforts for the project—with 100 percent of the work being paid from either donations or grants, including support from local government. The project, which began on a smaller scale, grew into a ‘community’ endeavor and will now include an 11,200 sq. ft. building with a full service kitchen, movable walls, high tech A/V system, large bathrooms and many other amenities that will serve 300-400 people.
With the construction of the new conference center, plus his duties as both superintendent and club manager, it’s hard to imagine just how busy Russ was during the 2018 season. But that hard work shows through to the golfers at Briggs Woods and the citizens of Webster City, as they will both be treated with a wonderful new facility next year.
But adding extra work, such as the conference center, does not come as a surprise to those who have been around Briggs Woods as long as Russ has. During his tenure at the course, Appel has oversaw the addition of the back nine holes, addition of several new tee boxes, construction of a new clubhouse and the addition of stay and play packages. It’s almost as if the man has no idea how to rest.