POLK CITY, IOWA — In 2022, the Puppy Jake Classic golf tournament needed to find a new home.

Since 2021, the four-person best shot was hosted by Urbandale Golf and Country Club, but the 9-hole golf course was at capacity with 88 players and dozens more who wanted to play.

The decision was made to search for an 18-hole venue capable of hosting the championship event. Board members with the Puppy Jake Foundation found what they were looking for at the Tournament Club of Iowa in Polk City.

“The past two years at Urbandale were great for Puppy Jake but we absolutely needed to find a bigger venue,” Puppy Jake Foundation CEO Lisa Russell said.

Nearly all of the teams from the previous years signed up to play and 32 more golfers signed up for a total of 30 teams.

The tournament serves as a fundraiser for the Puppy Jake Foundation, which raises and trains service dogs to be placed with veterans suffering from physical and emotional turmoil related to their service. Each dog costs roughly $25 thousand dollars to adopt and train before being placed with a veteran, Russell said.

“Last year we raised a little more than $20 thousand dollars from the golf tournament, this year we brought in more than $44 thousand,” Russell said.

The team of Ryan Riggs, Curt Heck, Chris Drydell and George Heck won the event with a final score of 57 (-14).