Visionary Planning, Association Harmony
Boosted Nebraska Junior Golf Prosperity
Written by Bob Denney | PGA Historian Emeritus
Consider the Nebraska PGA Centennial a series of momentous launches, with a trickle-down effect upon junior golf. Founded on April 13, 1925, with eight Omaha golf professionals gathering at the Conant Hotel, the Nebraska PGA moved forward to nourish the next generation of players.
Fast-forward four decades.
On November 11, 1966, while Gemini 14 booster rockets ignited on a Cape Canaveral pad in Florida, a group of forward-thinking individuals, led by Omaha’s Bob Fraser, gathered at Lincoln Country Club to launch the Nebraska Golf Association (NGA).
By 2009, the NGA and Nebraska PGA formally united. That agreement solidified the infrastructure for future golf opportunities among more than 23,000 golfers in the Cornhusker State.
And you can forget about stereotyping a Midwestern, landlocked state with a short golf season. The nearly 350 PGA members in the Section are progressive, and that translates to opening doors to careers. Many have found indoor training programs to hone their skills during the frigid months.
Building a career in the classroom focuses on the University of Nebraska, one of 16 PGA Golf University Programs nationwide. When Nebraska entered the PGM roster in 2002, it was one of the smallest. This past fall, it was the largest in the country.
“It is not East Coast, West Coast, or Florida…it’s Nebraska,” said Nebraska PGA Executive Director David Honnens.
Today, more than 1,000 junior golfers annually compete in events across the Section. This past year, the Youth On Course program, managed by the NGA, had just over 6,000 members who played nearly 24,000 rounds.
“We are incredibly proud to see how junior golf has come in the past fifteen to twenty years,” said Honnens.
The NGA and Section work in harmony, and that’s essential in any multi-faceted enterprise in managing the calendar and the needs of junior golfers across the state.
“It makes sense to be a one-stop shop,” said Honnens. “What made the difference was having full-time people. Opportunities for kids began to grow.”
Honnens, 47, is the husband of Erin (Christensen), who was a standout golfer at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. They are the parents of two daughters and a son.
Their eldest daughter, Elly, was a byproduct of Nebraska Junior Golf and is a member of the University of Nebraska Omaha women’s team. His son, Carter, is a junior at Lincoln East High School, where he was a member of the school’s state champion team and aspires to play on tour someday. Their youngest daughter, Norah, age six, is beginning to practice golf swings.
That’s quite a family résumé, considering Honnens began his interest in the game at Jim Ager Golf Course on Normal Boulevard and was a left-hander who didn’t get proper equipment starting out. He attended Nebraska Wesleyan University with no idea of a career plan.
“I had no clue,” said Honnens.
Honnens found his breaks through a journey where he was guided under the wings of past Section Presidents John Craw at Holmes Park Golf Course, and later under Mike Antonio at Happy Hollow Club.
“John Craw took a chance on me, a kid from the north side of town,” said Honnens, as he matriculated to an Assistant Professional post, and in November 2009 delivered what he called “a Doug Flutie Hail Mary to get into this job.”
“I was not the most likely of candidates, and incredibly thankful for getting the opportunity,” said Honnens. “Knowing what I know now after seventeen years on the job, I have learned a lot and am very thankful.”
During the journey, Honnens met Sarah Sasse (Kildow), who became one of his best friends, and was later a two-time state champion and a three-time All-Big 12 selection at the University of Nebraska.
Later, as Honnens became a parent to daughters, female participation in junior golf in the state was front and center.
“What was really cool at that time, we had less than 5% young females involved, and being a parent with a couple of daughters—and a little biased—it’s been remarkable to see the growth of the young ladies playing.
“We are closing in on 25% representing young female golfers in our state. And whether it is PGA Junior League or the Nebraska Junior Golf Tour, we’re really excited to see that growth that’s happened over the past fifteen to twenty years.”
In 2024, which Honnens called “our greatest year,” there were more than 2,400 in PGA Junior League and nearly 1,000 on the Nebraska Junior Golf Tour.
“Golf in Nebraska remains competitive as far as accessibility and affordability,” said Honnens. “The NGA has been a game-changer as far as working together.”
The chemistry within Nebraska junior golf is a connective tissue that evolved through previous Section leaders, including former Executive Director Bruce Lubach and Nebraska Golf Association Executive Director Craig Ames, who is in his 24th consecutive year at the NGA helm.
“Not that many states enjoy such an arrangement as what we have,” said Seth Scollard, Nebraska PGA Assistant Executive Director. “That is what makes us unique. We have been able to collaborate for success.”
Ames, 54, a native of Norfolk, said his first memories of golf were at age 12, playing with his family. He gravitated toward soccer through the end of his high school years.
In college, he was introduced into a corner of the industry working in food and beverage during the school year at Hillcrest Country Club, and in the summer at the Country Club of Lincoln on the golf side.
Ames graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1997 with a degree in advertising and joined the NGA that fall.
Ames has been the Executive Director of the Nebraska Golf Association since 2001. Prior to that, he was the Assistant Executive Director from 1998 to 2001. He was a USGA P.J. Boatwright Jr. Intern with the NGA in 1997–1998.
Soccer was not a sanctioned sport at that time, and he played club soccer. He also got his kicks as a placekicker and safety in football, and stopped playing the sport after his junior year.
Ames’ golf journey began at Fair Play Golf Course in Norfolk, and his parents later joined Norfolk Country Club.
“The coolest thing about being involved with golf is the friendships you make,” said Ames. “In my time here, I’ve worked with so many great people. I’m pleased that most of our full-time staff has remained intact and that numerous interns have gone on to have success.”
“I think we have been pretty fortunate to team up together,” said Ames. “David (Honnens) and I have a great relationship, and between our associations, we’re working together towards the same mission of growing the game and that starts with junior golfers.”
“Golf is in a great place now. Both our associations recognize that.”
Today’s Nebraska Junior Golf Tour was previously two programs – the Pepsi Junior Tour, a development circuit run by the Section, and the Nebraska Junior Golf Association, the NGA’s junior entity.
“It blossomed into a program that is now managed by one full-time employee and seven or eight interns, and conducts forty to fifty events,” said Ames, whose wife Dané was once a local Player of the Year in golf, and is the father of four sons.
Ames is a veteran Rules official, having officiated at numerous competitions outside of Nebraska, including the 2019 Masters Tournament, and served for the USGA at seven U.S. Opens, ten U.S. Senior Opens, a U.S. Women’s Open and 11 U.S. Amateurs.
His assignments also include serving on the Rules Committee for the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship and as the lead official at one of six NCAA Regional Championships.
Ames has served on the USGA Regional Affairs Committee and the Joe Dey Award Committee, and in 2019 was invited to join the USGA Rules of Golf Committee to help write and interpret the Rules of Golf.
Nebraska Section Assistant Executive Director Seth Scollard has been energized by the Section Foundation’s efforts to identify and ease the affordability and accessibility factors.
Among those efforts are the Clubs for Youth program, which introduces new equipment into girls’ programs throughout the state.
Helping the infusion of equipment are partnerships—clubs through Callaway Golf and push carts from Sun Mountain.
All the funds to purchase come through fundraising. “We have a few donors passionate about female sports and athletics,” said Scollard.
Scollard also has seen a rise in indoor training in Nebraska.
“The Omaha market has the more advanced simulators in several locations, and some schools are taking that next step by building simulator rooms,” said Scollard. “It’s not just focused on what type of stadium or gymnasium we can build; they find that they need a place to practice in the winter.”
Among those Omaha locations are Westside High School and Marian High School, an all-girls school.
Scollard grew up in Ponca, Nebraska, nourishing his skills on the nine-hole Highland Oaks Golf Course, and began playing in the sixth grade.
“It started with me and a buddy looking for balls and starting to play. I didn’t know what a PGA Professional was. We never had a PGA Member at that course.”
“My senior year in high school, I had my first golf lesson with a PGA Professional in Vermillion, South Dakota. I didn’t know these people existed.”
When he enrolled at the University of Nebraska, Scollard was targeting a career in elementary education. He gravitated into the Nebraska PGM Program and graduated in 2014.
“I never heard of a PGM Program until my freshman year in college,” said Scollard.
He took his first job in golf at Firethorn Golf Club in 2012 and, after a stint at Indian Trails Golf Club, returned to Firethorn from 2014–2017, earning a PGA Assistant Professional position.
When an opening came at the Section office in 2017, Scollard succeeded PGA Professional Joe Canny, who had been the Section’s first Junior Golf Coordinator from 2013–2017. Canny is now with the University of Nebraska PGM program.
“It’s remarkable, this journey I have been on,” said Scollard. “My perspective was always to help and see the progress of the kids. We had a motto, ‘Diapers to Diplomas’—a pathway to junior golf.
“It’s really cool in the last few years to see so many little kids now graduated and playing Division I golf. Not just the quantity, but the quality of golfers.”
The testimonials of those enrolled in Nebraska junior golf and past participants and grateful parents roll in.
“Nebraska Junior Golf not only has improved my daughter’s golf game, but it has taught her life skills,” said Nathan Kotera of Omaha, parent to Kelli Kotera, competing in the age 9–11 division. “She’s made new friends but also has become a better communicator and more confident in herself. I can speak for many NJG parents, and we’re all grateful for this organization and what they provide for our kids.”
“The Nebraska Junior Golf season is something I look forward to every year,” said Nash Malone of Kearney, who competes in the boys’ 16-and-older division. “They provide us juniors so many opportunities to play this game at so many different golf courses. It’s definitely helped with my development.”
“Getting to meet so many new girls and making new friends through Nebraska Junior Golf is one of my favorite parts about the organization,” said KayLynn Jorgensen of Minden, a member of the girls’ 16-and-older division.
Brett Clure of Omaha, parent to Carter (boys’ age 7–8) and Grant (boys’ 9–11) said, “Nebraska Junior Golf has been life-changing for our entire family, and I mean that. It’s taught my two boys how to become men. It’s taught them invaluable life skills while allowing them to make new friends on so many golf courses across the state.”
What about partners to the Section’s success stories?
“We could not do it without great partners like FMNE Insurance, and Tom and Kara Kelley of Five Points Bank,” said Honnens. “They have been behind us from day one.”
Nebraska juniors who have advanced to respective pinnacles include PGA Tour member Nate Lashley of Scottsbluff, who won the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Ryan Vermeer, who captured the 2018 PGA Professional Championship in Seaside, California, is a two-time PGA Professional Player of the Year and the PGA Director of Instruction at Happy Hollow Club.
During the winter, he and PGA Professional John Petersen are two of the most sought-after indoor coaches.
The most recent Nebraska juniors who advanced to national attention include Trevor Gutschewski, winner of the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship; and professional brothers Carson and Alex Schaake, formerly of Omaha’s Creighton Prep, who went on to stardom at the University of Iowa.
Alex, who is three years younger than Carson, won four consecutive Nebraska State Amateur championships, while also winning Big Ten Player of the Year twice during his time in Iowa City.
Carson won the Big Ten Championship with the Hawkeyes and has also played in a major championship.
A talented Section staff features Director of Nebraska Junior Golf Kurt Karcher, 29, who was born in Hastings and raised in Geneva, an hour southwest of Lincoln.
Kurt played virtually all sports except golf, before finding his way to a course when he was a sophomore in high school.
Kurt began playing golf with his father, Chad, an athletic trainer at York University for more than twenty-five years. Kurt’s golf and business mentor was Scollard, the man who hired him.
“The majority of my operational knowledge came from him,” said Karcher. “He’s a great guy and a very good helper. I ask him a ton of questions, and I’m sure he gets tired of it, but he is always there to help. And David Honnens is a great boss who cares so much for his team.”
Geneva’s Hidden Hills Country Club was Karcher’s training ground.
“I got the bug; my passion grew,” he said. “I ran track the first three years, and went out for golf my senior year. I was not that good of a golfer. We did have a golf team qualify for the state tournament, and I qualified as an individual.”
From 2014 to 2018, the former Fillmore Central Panther became a Cornhusker at the University of Nebraska. He walked by a booth at a college visit that was the UNL Golf Management Program.
“I’m glad that I stopped at that booth,” said Karcher. “Some of my best friends I met came through the PGM program.”
When he learned that the Section needed a summer intern, Karcher took that challenge. He matriculated through the PGM program and did his last internship with the Nebraska Junior Golf Tour.
He was kept on as a seasonal employee in 2019 and later moved into the director position after a shifting of internal duties.
The heart of COVID was golf’s time for recovery with the masses.
“We had to shave half our events,” said Karcher, “but golf was very healthy and one of the sports open throughout the pandemic. We are still continuing to experience a boom in junior golf.”
Not only partners who reach into their wallets—the success story is a collage of Nebraska golf courses that open their doors to be part of a legacy.
“We are very blessed to have golf courses willing to help host events for us and willing to give up tee sheets for a day,” said Karcher. “In Nebraska, not being in the golf season 365 days a year, we still have a lot of bang for the buck.”
The Nebraska PGA is constantly involved in building diversity within the golf space, and Honnens recognizes the need to expand opportunities for golfers of color.
Currently, African Americans within the Nebraska golf community include PGA Professional Al Peterson III, PGA Director of Golf at Country Club of Lincoln, and PGM Coordinator Keenon Davis at the University of Nebraska, who is working toward his PGA membership.
“The room is definitely changing; the faces are changing,” said Honnens. “I will be excited to see what the faces look like in our room twenty to twenty-five years from now. I know that we are in rural America, and change takes some time.”
For a PGA Section that found its rhythm a century ago, the Cornhusker State has come far and harvested a generation of young men and women who continue to write many of the best chapters in the game.
About Nebraska Junior Golf
The newly dubbed ‘Nebraska Junior Golf’ (NJG) will continue the great partnership between the two organizations that began with the Nebraska Junior Golf Tour in 2009. Nebraska Junior Golf will be an umbrella organization for all junior programs run by the Nebraska PGA and the NGA , and will also include an avenue to other opportunities for juniors to learn and play the game throughout the state. The effort to create a “one-stop shop” for junior golfers and their parents will make it easier for those wanting to get involved in the game to know what opportunities are available. Nebraska Junior Golf provides junior golfers of all ages and skill levels the opportunity to learn and play the game of golf.
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.
About the Nebraska Golf Association
The Nebraska Golf Association (NebGolf), founded in 1966, is comprised of all members of public and private clubs and/or municipal or regional golf associations which utilize an approved handicap service recognized by the USGA and provided by NebGolf. Our mission is to uphold and promote the game of golf and its values to all golfers in Nebraska. Among the duties of the Association include governance of member clubs and service as their handicapping and course rating authority, conduct of state golf championships, local USGA qualifying & other notable competitions, promotion of junior golf, presentation of worthwhile educational programs and support of allied golf organizations in Nebraska. The Nebraska Golf Association is an Allied Golf Association of the USGA and carries out core services including Handicap Administration and Oversight, Course Rating, Rules of Golf and Rules of Amateur Status, Tournaments and USGA Championship Qualifiers and USGA Initiatives and Community Programs.