If golfing is your thing, brush up on your swing for the Veishea Golf Classic.

The annual golf outing, which was previously an individual tournament, has been changed to a four-person best shot to appeal to more people, said Ryan Caffrey, Veishea Tournaments co-chairman.

“We just thought that would be more appealing to a wider variety of golfers,” Caffrey said. “One person might not come out by himself, but he may be more apt to golf with a group of his friends.”

Andy Haugen, a participant in this year’s tournament, thinks the change is good.

“For people like me there’s a chance to win now, if we can get three other people that can play,” he said.

“I’m decent enough that if you put me out there with other people who are good, we can win,” he said. “It all comes down to who can putt in these tournaments.”

Haugen said he is looking forward to playing in the tournament to “have a good time.”

“I guess what I am looking forward to most is just getting out and playing golf,” he said. “I’m just going out to play, and if we win, we win.”

The Veishea Golf Classic will be held at Veenker Golf Course on Sunday, April 19. Brad Essick, Veishea Tournaments co-chairman said the goal is to set tee times between 10 a.m and 2 p.m.

Essick said prizes will be given away for various contests throughout the tournament.

“We’ve got prizes to give away to the first, second and third place teams,” Essick said. “Whoever wins the longest drive gets a driver, the longest putt wins a putter and the closest to the pin gets another club.”

Caffrey said they have tried to expand the tournament this year to include alumni as well as students.

“We had it in an alumni newsletter that went out all over the state of Iowa, and it’s been going over really well,” Caffrey said. “We’re looking for a good turnout of golfers to get the awareness out about the tournament,” he said.

Essick said they are expecting a larger number of golfers to participate than in the past.

“We’re bringing in quite a few alumni from Des Moines and Ames to play, as well as some student teams,” he said. “I think we’re expecting 25 to 30 teams, which is a big step up from what it’s been in the past few years.”

Teams participating in the tournament paid an $80 green fee to play at Veenker, which has been “very supportive” of the event, Essick said.

Caffrey said he is very excited about the tournament. “Basically, we’re looking for everyone to have a good non-alcoholic time,” he said. “It will be a lot of fun for everyone.”