PGA Hall of Famer Bob Popp Sr. Remembered for Leadership, Kindness, and Dedication to the Game
Nebraska PGA Members of Impact
Written by Bob Denney | Historian Emeritus – PGA of America
PGA Hall of Famer Bob Popp Sr. combined exceptional skill and local leadership to promote the Nebraska PGA Section and ultimately served at the national level. He led with kindness, friends say—not with impersonal orders.
“Bob was congenial, very easy to get to know,” said PGA Life Member Gene Johnson, who turns 85 this month and served as an assistant coach at Creighton Prep for 20 years.
Gene spent three years working for Bob Popp at Omaha Country Club.
“Bob did a really fine job for the Section and all its members,” Gene said. “He was fun to work for. He was always on you, but not in a mean way.”
Born February 9, 1929, in Belleville, Illinois, Bob grew up in a golf family and took his first job at his father Ted’s nine-hole Oak Hill Golf Course, which featured sand greens.
“Dad said they used to save old motor oil and mix it with sand on the greens,” said Bob Popp Jr., the older of Popp’s two sons. “That combination made for a slick putting surface.”
Popp competed on the PGA Tour for four seasons—primarily during the “West Coast Swing”—and recorded 17 career holes-in-one.
“I was with him when he made one of those at Omaha Country Club,” Gene recalled. “The celebration was covered. He was a member of the Hole-in-One Club.”
Bob captured the 1961 and 1965 Nebraska PGA Section Championships and competed in four PGA Championships and three Senior PGA Championships.
He held PGA professional positions in Maysville, Kentucky, and Lancaster, Ohio, before arriving at Omaha Country Club on January 1, 1959. He remained there for 31 years, retiring in 1990.
From 1973 to 1975, Bob served as president of the Nebraska PGA, but declined to run for national office, citing the time it would take him away from his duties at Omaha Country Club.
Elected to PGA Membership in 1949, Bob served a rare three terms on the PGA Board of Directors—spanning three decades: 1969–70, 1976–78, and 1985–87.
During those years, he served on the 1967 Ryder Cup Committee; chaired the PGA Education Department; and contributed to both the “Second Tour” Committee (today’s Korn Ferry Tour) and the Senior Tour Committee (now PGA TOUR Champions).
“Bob was always having a good time in anything he did,” said Gene. “He wasn’t a great putter. He could really get fired up when you made a long putt on him. It was fun to play golf with him—you could get to him real quick if you made a lot of putts. And I made a lot of putts.
“He was a much better player than I was, but I could score just as well.”
Gene went on to open Johnny Goodman Golf Course in Omaha—home to Creighton Prep’s team—and stayed nearly 43 years before retiring in 2005. When Creighton Prep asked him to coach the team, he chose to be an assistant coach instead—a position he still holds today.
“Bob and I came from the old school,” Gene said. “You never looked at the time. You were there from daylight to dark, serving the membership.
“Yeah, I worked 16 hours a day, five to seven days a week, but I never went to bed feeling bad about it.”
When Bob and Gene did manage to get away from the course, they practiced other skills.
“We used to fish a lot in the winter,” Gene said. “We had a warm-water creek, and Bob was a bad fisherman to start—but he became a really good one. I taught him everything I knew. I used to fish all the time.”
Bob also served on the PGA Junior Golf Committee and was named the 1982 national PGA Golf Professional of the Year—the PGA’s highest annual honor.
He was inducted into the Nebraska Golf Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the PGA Hall of Fame in 2005.
One of the most decorated members of the Nebraska PGA, Bob was named the Section’s 1965 Teacher of the Year; Section Professional of the Year in both 1978 and 1982; recipient of the 1981 PGA Professional Development Award; and winner of the 1991 Section Herb Graffis Award for his contributions to the growth of golf in Nebraska.
After retiring to PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Florida, Bob proved that—despite any past putting woes—he still had plenty of game.
He was a regular competitor in the PGA Winter Championships and won the Half-Century Championship in 2003, an event reserved for PGA Members with 50 or more years of service.
Bob Popp passed away on January 29, 2021, at the age of 91. At the time of his death, he had been a PGA Member for 71 years. He was survived by his wife of 72 years, Betty, and his sons, Bob Jr. and Tony.
Gene Johnson, his good friend, will mark 63 years of PGA Membership in October.
“It has been fun all the time,” Gene said. “I never felt like I went to work.”
Somewhere up in heaven, Bob Popp is giving a thumbs-up to his old friend—even if those putts made against him were a little too good.
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.