Growing the Game, the Nebraska Way: A Decade of Progress and Pride
Written by Stu Pospisil | Omaha World Herald Reporter & Lead Writer
When the Nebraska Section PGA received the PGA of America’s Herb Graffis Award in 2020, NEPGA Executive Director David Honnens said:
“A lot of great things have been going on in the last decade.”
The programs that garnered the national award for growing the game and player development are even stronger five years later, in 2025.
“I think it was one of the greatest awards for our membership. It was a long time coming,” Honnens says. “I know we had been recognized 30 years prior, with Bob Schuchart and Co., but with all the metrics and all the programs across the country, we were the smallest Section ever to be recognized with this award.
“We like to say we do it the Nebraska way. It’s really remarkable what has happened and transpired in Nebraska across the board in golf, and to have great partnerships like we do with the Nebraska Golf Association, NWAGA (Nebraska Women’s Amateur Golf Association), and our (high school and college) coaches.
“It was one of the greatest moments in our Section’s history, for sure, and it definitely recognized the things our men and women do on a daily basis to grow the game.”
When Honnens started as Executive Director, Nebraska Junior Golf had been in place for one year. The Nebraska Section and the Nebraska Golf Association had combined their youth programs in 2009.
“One of the greatest things we ever did was get together with some of our past presidents and revamp the junior golf structure with the Nebraska Golf Association,” Honnens said. “Junior golf was kind of fragmented. They (the NGA) had high-end, competitive golf. We had just regular golf.”
The Nebraska Section also operates PGA Junior League and Drive, Chip & Putt competitions for youth. The Section has the highest per-capita participation in junior golf in the nation.
In 2013, during Honnens’ fourth year with the organization, the Nebraska Section launched the PGA REACH Nebraska Foundation. Its inaugural initiative, Golf-N-Schools, brought the game of golf into elementary school physical education programs across the Section. More than a decade later, the Foundation has expanded significantly, now supporting multiple impactful programs including the YMCA PGA Sports Academy, Golf-N-Schools, Omaha Golf Outreach, PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) Nebraska, and Clubs FORE Youth.
As the flagship military program of PGA REACH Nebraska, PGA HOPE introduces golf to veterans to enhance their physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being. The six-week program provides military veterans with free golf experiences taught by PGA Professionals. Upon completing the program, veterans are considered “graduates” and remain engaged annually through additional PGA HOPE activities and events provided by PGA REACH Nebraska.
In 2021, Clubs FORE Youth was added to PGA REACH. The program, founded by the Southern California Section PGA, provides high school-aged girls (14–18) with the necessary golf equipment and resources to compete and experience the game’s most valuable characteristics.
The Omaha Public Schools’ nine high schools were the first to receive new clubs, push carts, and PGA Professional instruction. Since 2023, ten schools have received assistance annually. The five-year totals include 44 high schools, 257 sets of equipment, more than 325 girls receiving instruction, and a total value of more than $262,000.
When COVID-19 gripped the world in 2020, golf was the first sport to return to a semblance of normalcy. The circumstances reversed declining participation.
“COVID was definitely the greatest growth-of-the-game initiative, right? I think we can all agree on that,” Honnens said. “Most importantly, we realized the value of our PGA members through all of that. They really stepped up, along with our golf course superintendents and club managers. Collectively, as a whole, the entire industry.”
Honnens said entities such as the State of Nebraska and the state’s high school activities association reached out to the Nebraska Section for guidance about running competitions safely.
“To help on the forefront of that was a true honor and privilege. We were one of the few, if you will, sports in general to stay open with our PGA professionals at their facilities,” he said. “I remember phone calls literally four or five days a week, for hours a day, where we were trying to figure out: how do we keep our golf courses open? Because, as we all know, golf was one of the few things during COVID where you could be outside and socially distanced.
“There were so many positives that came out of it. The nice part is, we’ve been able to maintain those numbers, and we’re continuing to grow the game at a 3 to 5 percent increase still, post-COVID—which is truly remarkable.”
Honnens was 30 and a first-year assistant at Happy Hollow Club in Omaha when he followed Bruce Lubach as the Section’s Executive Director at the end of 2009.
“It was really teed up,” Honnens said. “Bruce did a tremendous job for our Section, and so did the past boards and officers.”
The new director grew up in the Lincoln Northeast High School neighborhood, playing the Jim Ager Junior Course in central Lincoln and Mahoney Golf Course.
“I love my public-course background,” Honnens said. “It was invaluable experience growing up at Jim Ager, where it was $1.25 to play nine holes. I met John Craw there and really learned what it was like to be around the game—learned that some of the stigma and things around the game aren’t true.”
He worked at Mahoney at 15 and 16 for Marc Cruse, then at Holmes for Craw. The latter was the new pro there after Schuchart’s retirement.
“I was with Mr. Craw from the time I was 16 until about 28 years old. I learned everything from him,” Honnens said. “He’s been one of my greatest mentors and dear friends in life, and I learned more from him than I could ever imagine. And I think it really helped me in this job to relate to our members, who, on a day-in, day-out basis, work 12-plus hours a day.”
Why did the opening for executive director attract him?
“Probably many people thought I was stupid for trying to leave Happy Hollow Club working for Mike Antonio,” Honnens said. “But I love being around our members. I had experience and background in recruiting. I love being around people, and I thought it was a great opportunity to combine recruiting, raising money, and running some events—which I love to do and am passionate about.
“Growing up in Nebraska, seeing what it was like when our PGA professionals ran Nebraska Junior Golf, then the Pepsi Junior Tour—I had a fairly good idea of how it was done with Bruce and his team. It was teed up, so I just had to make sure not to screw it up.”
Honnens said being executive director “is definitely not a 30-year-old person’s job anymore.”
“It’s exciting to see where the game has grown in Nebraska—whether it’s junior golf having the largest per-capita participation last year in the country, or the Foundation and our PGA professionals doing amazing things post-COVID,” he said. “It’s very cool to see what’s happening.”
About the Nebraska Section PGA
The Nebraska Section PGA is a non-for-profit organization comprised of over 340 PGA Members and PGA Associates who strive to promote the enjoyment and growth of the game of golf. The Nebraska Section PGA encompasses the entire State of Nebraska, western fifth of Iowa and a small portion of South Dakota including Dakota Dunes and Yankton. The Section office is located in Lincoln, NE and acts as a resource for local and national golf information for the golf professional and amateur player alike. Our members are often referred to as “Club Professionals”, not to be mistaken as PGA Tour Professionals.
Each Nebraska Section PGA Professional serves as an expert in the ever-changing business of golf. They are the leading expert players and teachers, skilled business managers, community leaders, and superior merchandisers who have dedicated their careers to the local delivery of these services.