The Beginning of an Incredible Century of Growing the Game

The Beginning of an Incredible Century of Growing the Game

Written by Stu Pospisil | Omaha World Herald Reporter & Lead Writer

Eight Omaha golf professionals met together Monday night at the Conant hotel to organize a Professional Golfers Association of Nebraska. And now the association exists.

The birthdate of the Nebraska Section, April 13, 1925.

The parents, Stanley Davies and Charley Johnston. Siblings, missing.

There, that might be the reason that Stanley Davies of the Field Club of Omaha and Charley Johnston evidently grew impatient with the snail’s pace of professional growth – and access to the national PGA Championship – for Nebraska.

The national PGA started with seven sections in 1916. A reorganization of sections in 1921 grouped Nebraska with Colorado and Utah.

Four years of inactivity ensued. That changed with the 1925 meeting in Omaha.

Davies was elected president by the eight charter members. Norman Summers of the Country Club of Lincoln became vice president and John Caldwell of Council Bluffs Country Club the secretary-treasurer.

Summers was not at the meeting, “but was to be notified immediately of his election.” He had been an assistant to Davies at the Field Club.

Davies, Caldwell and Charlie Heaney, the new pro at Highland Country Club, drew up the constitution and bylaws. Also at the initial meeting were Jimmie Duncan of Lakoma Country Club in Ralston, Jack Shearman of Elmwood, Pete Lowden of Dundee and Andy Blair of Fontenelle.

The constitution and bylaws were adopted three weeks later in Omaha. The first social event was a “get-together Dutch lunch” – sandwiches – for the pros and their wives at the Dundee Golf Club a week later.

The new Nebraska Section did not have an entry in the 1925 PGA. Duncan was eligible as the top section pro in the Nebraska Open, but bypassed the Chicago tournament.

Davies in 1926 was thus the first from the section to play in the PGA. Charlie Koontz of the Country Club of Lincoln was the first to advance to match play, in 1927.

Section presidents conducted most of the official business for the first quarter-century of the association, attending the PGA of America national meetings their primary responsibility.

One endeavor was the establishment of a course at the Lincoln Veterans Hospital after World War II.

“Nebraska’s PGA branch originated the plan for the golf layout and the program was completed by the hospital and Lincoln pros (Bud Williamson, Country Club of Lincoln; Bunny Richards, Hillcrest; John Petersen, Pioneers),’’ the Lincoln Star reported.

For the 1948 golf season, Gov. Val Peterson, renowned band leader Sammy Kaye and Sam Waugh, PGA hospital fund administrator, were present for the course opening.

Richards was the first tournament chairman for the Nebraska Section, in 1950. It was the first year the section conducted the Nebraska men’s amateur championship. It stayed the section’s responsibility until the Nebraska Golf Association was reorganized in 1966.

John Schumacher of Nebraska City ran the Nebraska Section from 1952 to 1976.

Upon his appointment, for which he was to act as middle man between Nebraska golf sponsors and the PGA, Schumacher was voted an honorary member of the section. He was an accomplished amateur golfer, reaching the finals of the 1951 state sand greens championship.

Schumacher ran the office from Nebraska City. His first assistant was Elliott Myers of Lincoln, a sporting goods salesman and PGA “field man” for two years,’’ according to a 1952 Beatrice Daily Sun article.

In 1959, the Nebraska Section expanded to include the western tier of Iowa counties.

National Golf Day was the PGA’s showpiece charity for many years. For a $1 entry fee, golfers could use their handicaps to compare their scores against the low score of a head-to-head competition between the reigning U.S. Open and PGA Championship winners.

In later years, women could use a target score from the reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion.

The proceeds went to numerous charities including caddie scholarship funds, golf programs at Veteran’s Hospitals and service depots, turf research, programs for blind and amputee golfers and relief and educational funds.

In 1959, the target score was set at Happy Hollow Club between Tommy Bolt and Dow Finsterwald. The club bid $4,500 to hold the match. About 3,500 were in the gallery as Finsterwald shot a 4-under-par 67, a stroke better than Bolt’s 68.

The leader in the Nebraska Section was Max Crouch of the Field Club.

For more than 20 years, Crouch raised the most money in the section and was the national leader three consecutive years. He set a national record in 1973 with $3,732 and more than doubled it the next year with $8,024.

He served as the charity’s national chairman in the 1970s.

Another of his contributions to the national PGA was developing an anti-alcoholism plan for the PGA educational curriculum.

Bill Schuchart, the first of three generations of PGA Professionals, was another pillar of the Nebraska Section.

He was a PGA Professional for 32 years, including 26 at Happy Hollow across two stints. He was the second from the Nebraska Section – Willie Hoare of Omaha Country Club was first – to serve on the PGA of America national board of directors and was a national vice president.

Rich Williams was the first full-time Nebraska Section executive director, from 1986 to 1988. A 1968 University of Nebraska graduate, he was an assistant at Hillcrest Country Club, worked seven years as the head PGA Professional at Sterling (Colorado) Country Club and returned to Hillcrest in 1979 to succeed Richards, who retired.

During Williams’ three years, the Nebraska Section won or tied for first for the national PGA Performance Award in competition with the other PGA sections nationally.

After Williams, Kirk Stanzel, the PGA professional at Fontenelle Hills Country Club in Bellevue, was the executive director of the Nebraska Section for one year before the Iowa Section hired him for a similar position.

His successor, Bruce Lubach, who had been an assistant at Oak Hills Country Club in Omaha, would usher in a new chapter for a stronger Nebraska Section.

Following Lubach was Lincoln native David Honnens who still remains as the Executive Director, CEO and fearless leader of the Nebraska Section PGA which boasts more than 34o Nebraska PGA Professionals and Associates.

April 13th, 1925 was the beginning of a incredible ride for the game of golf across the entire State of Nebraska, western fifth of Iowa and a small portion of South Dakota including Dakota Dunes and Yankton.

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.