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Officers President Nathan Kalin, PGA Fremont Golf Club nathan.kalin@fremontgolfclub.org Vice President Gil Russell, PGA ArborLinks Golf grussell@arborlinks.com Secretary Dawn Neujahr, PGA Champions Run dneujahr@championsomaha.com Honorary President Tony Pesavento, PGA Omaha Country Club tpesavento@pga.com

Staff Executive Director David Honnens, PGA dhonnens@pgahq.com Tournament Director Sean Oâ€™Neill, PGA soneill@pgahq.com Director of NJGT/ Player Development Seth Scollard, PGA sscollard@pgahq.com Operations Manager Renee Tyson rtyson@pgahq.com Development Officer Bob Danenhauer bdanenhauer@pgahq.com Junior Golf Coordinator Cassie Trumbley ctrumbley@pgahq.com

Golf Professional of the Year - The highest award our Section presents. This award is based on overall performance as a PGA golf professional, including leadership, service and promotion of the game. Nominees: Mike Antonio, PGA; Mike Brown, PGA; Chris Cover, PGA; Dennis Fruchtl, PGA; Don Germer, PGA; Don Graham, PGA; David Honnens, PGA; Tom Johnson, PGA; Brian Kuta, PGA; Nick Muller, PGA; Greg Neujahr, PGA; Jeff Perdew, PGA; James Rolls, PGA; Gil Russell, PGA; Rodd Slater, PGA; Denis Vontz, PGA Teacher of the Year - Awarded for excellence in golf instruction along with overall performance as a golf professional. Nominees: Kevin Boehler, PGA; Mike Cornell, PGA; Tim Fox, PGA; Jeff Henry, PGA; Greg Johannesen, PGA; Chad Lydiatt, PGA; Jonathan Mielke, PGA; Ryan Norman, PGA Horton Smith Award - Bestows special recognition for outstanding service and contributions to developing and improving educational opportunities for the PGA golf professional. Nominees: Brad Goetsch, PGA; Sean O'Neill, PGA; Terry Riordan, PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award - Awarded to an individual who by their day-to-day efforts have distinguished themselves in the areas that truly reflect the characteristics and qualities that Bill Strausbaugh possessed during his lifetime – service to his Association, service to his fellow PGA professionals in helping them improve their employment situations and service to the community. Nominees: Chris Cover, PGA; Wade Foreman, PGA; Nathan Kalin, PGA; Hank McFarland, PGA; Tony Pesavento, PGA; Matt Shaner, PGA; Chris Thomson, PGA Youth Player Development - Awarded to the PGA golf professional who is a leader in junior golf, reflects the image and qualities that juniors can emulate, and provides opportunities for juniors to learn and play golf. Nominees: Joseph Canny, PGA; Mark Christensen, PGA; Richard Delfs, PGA; Wade Foreman, PGA; Sonya Freese, PGA; Jared Frost, PGA; Kyle Huse, PGA; Tom Johnson, PGA; Chad Lydiatt, PGA; Dave Malone, PGA; Jonathan Mielke, PGA; Ryan Norman, PGA; Jerad Palmer, PGA; Jacob Pribnow, PGA; Mike Schuchart, PGA; Rodd Slater, PGA; Joe Wiegand, PGA; Chris Wiemers, PGA Merchandiser of the Year/Private Facility - Recognizes the PGA golf professional that has demonstrated superior skills as a merchandiser in the promotion of golf. Nominees: Mike Antonio, PGA; Adam Coates, PGA; Kevin Drew, PGA; Ross Eickhoff, PGA; Sonya Freese, PGA; Dennis Fruchtl, PGA; Don Germer, PGA; Nathan Kalin, PGA; Hank McFarland, PGA; Dominick Mitchum, PGA; Nick Muller, PGA; Bobby O'Keefe, PGA; Brandon Wedding, PGA Merchandiser of the Year/Public Facility - Recognizes the PGA golf professional that has demonstrated superior skills as a merchandiser in the promotion of golf. Nominees: Doug Bengston, PGA; Jon Benson, PGA; Brad Neunaber, PGA; Phil Palmer, PGA; James Rolls, PGA; Matt Shaner, PGA; Loudan Steffes, PGA; Joe Sutter, PGA Facility of the Year - Recognizes the golf facility that has played an important role in Section activities, as well as promotion of the game of the golf for men, ladies and juniors. Nominees: Ager Golf Course, Lincoln, NE; Ashland Golf Club, Ashland, NE; Awarii Dunes Golf Club, Axtell, NE; Country Club of Lincoln, Lincoln, NE; Hillcrest Country Club, Lincoln, NE; Indian Creek Golf Course, Elkhorn, NE; Indian Trails Country Club, Beemer, NE; Oak Hills Country Club, Omaha, NE; The Prairie Club, Valentine, NE; Riverside Golf Club, Grand Island, NE; Scottsbluff Country Club, Scottsbluff, NE; Wildhorse Golf Club, Gothenburg, NE; Wilderness Ridge Golf Club, Lincoln, NE Sales Representative of the Year- Based on overall performance as a sales representative including product knowledge, service, professionalism, and involvement in Section activities. Nominees: Craig Cosby, PING Golf; Mark Crowther, Titleist; Marc Cruse, Columbia; Joel Logan, TaylorMade; Mike Long, adidas; Stan Sheffield, FootJoy; Brian Winge, Callaway Assistant Professional of the Year - This award is based on overall performance as an assistant professional, including leadership, service and promotion of the game. Nominees: Mark Christensen, PGA; Connor Farrell, PGA; Kyle Huse, PGA; Nick Inutska, PGA; Sam Jonell, PGA; Brett Klug, PGA; Justin Onken, PGA; Karrie Van Ravenswaay, PGA Player Development – Based on the PGA golf professional’s growth of the game leadership commitment at the Section and National levels and the impact made at the facility. Nominees: Joe Canny, PGA; Mark Christensen, PGA; Tom Johnson, PGA; Hank McFarland, PGA; Phil Palmer, PGA; Owen Schuette, PGA; Seth Scollard, PGA; Matt Shaner, PGA; Chris Thomson, PGA Patriot Award - Recognizes the PGA Professional who personifies patriotism through the game of golf and demonstrates unwavering commitment and dedication to the men and women who have valiantly served and protected the United States of America. Nominees: Mike Antonio, PGA; Jim White, PGA; Cliff Yohe, PGA 3

Dear Members & Apprentices, This fall, in conjunction with our Fall meeting, we had the good fortune to spend time and share the re-focused vision of our Association regarding employment with Scott Kmiec, Senior Director of Career Services, and our Section Employment consultant, Cory Fletcher, PGA. To say the re-focus is dynamic and spot-on would be an understatement. In fact, we are so excited we want to share it with you. Although your section employment committee is short on #'s we are long on years of commitment to the employment arena within our Section--60+ but who's counting? In 2016, with your help, we identified via survey, the wants and needs of our Section membership--thanks for your input. As a result, over the past couple of years with the assistance of Wade Foreman, PGA/Section Education chair, we have offered education seminars in many of the identified areas of interest and will continue to do so through 2018. Our next move is simple and direct and with your input, you will have the opportunity to receive (1) MSR point by completing this survey. With your help we will have a better understanding of how we may assist each of you in realizing your career and personal goals. Each of you has a wide array of expertise in all facets of the golf business. We would like you to identify those areas and hopefully, you will be glad to share your experiences with your peers. We have preliminary plans to set-up round table discussions throughout the winter. Also, we will ask you to recognize areas which you would like to increase your level of expertise. Thank you so much for your participation! Best Regards, Jeff Porter, PGA & Don Germer, PGA

We are excited to announce that a new Directory is now available in the Nebraska PGA Section App! The App-based Directory enables Nebraska PGA Members to connect with colleagues & partner reps in just a few taps.

CLICK HERE for more information

That very special time of the year is here when we are wrapping presents and surprising our loved ones with gifts. Did you know that the Rules of Golf are also in the gift-giving mode? Many players do not realize this because their perception of the Rules has been tainted by various penalties they have incurred. For them, the Rules are more Scroogelike than Santa-like, having received too many “lumps of coal” in the form of penalty strokes. The key to discovering the many “gifts” that are available within the Rules is having a good working knowledge of the Rules; otherwise these “gifts” will go unnoticed. Here are a few examples of the many “gifts” available within the Rules: • Your ball comes to rest in a pristine greenside bunker. However, another player makes a pitch shot from behind the bunker, ejecting a divot that lands right behind your ball. Ordinarily, Rule 13-4 [Ball in Hazard; Prohibited Actions] would prevent you from removing that divot, which is a loose impediment, from the bunker. However, your “gift” in this case is found in Decision 13-4/18 [Partner’s, Opponent’s or Fellow-Competitor’s Divot Comes to Rest Near Player’s Ball in Bunker]. This Decision states, “A player is entitled to the lie which his stroke gave him. Accordingly, in equity (Rule 1-4), the divot may be removed without penalty.” • As you approach your ball lying in a brushy waste area, you notice a rattlesnake near your ball. Rule 13-1 [Ball Played As It Lies: General] states, “The ball must be played as it lies, except as otherwise provided in the Rules.” Thankfully, you do not have to endanger yourself by trying to play your ball as it lies, or even trying to retrieve your ball. In this case, your “gift” is embodied in Decision 1-4/10 [Dangerous Situation; Rattlesnake or Bees Interfere with Play] which states, in part, “If the ball lay through the green, the player may, without penalty, drop a ball within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest spot not nearer the hole that is not dangerous and is not in a hazard and not on a putting green.” • At the teeing ground, an undetached divot is folded over and situated just behind where you would prefer to tee your ball. According to Decision 13-2/5 [Replacing or Removing Undetached Divot], a divot which is not completely detached is not a loose impediment. It is something fixed and ordinarily its removal or replacement would be a breach of Rule 13-2 [Improving Lie, Area of Intended Stance or Swing, or Line of Play] as the lie and area of intended swing would be improved. However, your “gift” in this situation is found in an overriding statement within Rule 13-2 which advises, in part, “… the player incurs no penalty if the action occurs … in creating or eliminating irregularities of surface within the teeing ground….” You are playing right into the sun on a par-3 and, almost immediately, you lose sight of your tee shot. When you arrive at the green, your ball is no where to be seen. After you search around the perimeter of the green, you start plowing through the bunker in front of the green desperately trying to find your ball within the five-minute search period allowed by Rule 27-1c [Ball Not Found Within Five Minutes]. Failing in that effort, you return to the teeing ground, playing under penalty of stroke and distance. When you successfully find the center of the green with your second tee shot, you are hopeful of one-putting and escaping with just a bogey. At that point, someone discovers that your original ball is in the hole. In this case, your “gift” is presented in Decision 1-1/2 [Player Unaware He Has Holed Out Puts Another Ball in Play] which indicates that you actually completed play of the hole the moment you holed the original ball. 

Merry Christmas … instead of hoping for a bogey, you got a hole in one! 12

The ancient Roman calendar is thought to have been invented by Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome, around 753 BC and, despite its flaws, it remained in effect until about 44 BC. This early Roman year was grossly inaccurate as it only had 304 days! Moreover, their calendar had only ten months with December being the final month. The name of December is derived from the Latin “decem” which was the Roman word for the number ten. In recognition of the fact that December is associated with the number ten, your task in this month’s quiz is to determine whether or not your score for each of the following scenarios is 10, counting all strokes and any applicable penalty strokes. 1. On the 1st hole, you mistakenly play from outside the teeing ground and your ball comes to rest out of bounds. You then play another ball from within the teeing ground. This drive comes to rest against a pine cone in a fairway bunker. When you remove the interfering pine cone, you accidentally cause your ball to move ever so slightly. You then successfully play your ball from its new position in the bunker onto the green, and two-putt to complete play of the hole. 2. On the 3rd hole, your fifth stroke splashes into a lateral water hazard near the green. When you take relief, you correctly drop a ball within two club-lengths of the hazard margin, but the ball rolls down the slope and nearly comes to rest in the hazard. When you take your stance, you notice that your feet are positioned within the hazard, so you re-drop the ball, and this time it comes to rest where you can take your stance without your feet being inside the hazard. You then play an excellent wedge shot onto the green, and one-putt to complete the hole. 3. On the 7th hole, your second shot ends up in the rough just behind a movable post marking 100 yards to the center of the green. You take relief from the post by dropping within one club-length of, and no nearer the hole than, the post. After playing a wedge to the green, you discover that you have 16 clubs in your bag. At the green, while your first caddie is carrying your clubs, you enlist the temporary help of a second caddie who is the local green-reading expert and he helps your read your putt, which you drain from 60 feet to complete play of the hole! Answers: 1. Your score for the hole is 10 = 4 talent strokes + 6 penalty strokes. Per Decision 11-4b/6 [Ball Played from Outside Teeing Ground Goes Out of Bounds], you are penalized two strokes under Rule 11-4b [Playing from Outside Teeing Ground: Stroke Play]. Because the ball played from outside the teeing ground was not in play, the fact that the ball ended up out of bounds is irrelevant and the stroke itself does not count. You incurred two more penalty strokes when you removed the pine cone, a loose impediment, from a hazard with your ball lying in the same hazard. See Rule 13-4 [Ball in Hazard; Prohibited Actions]. When you failed to replace your ball prior to making your next stroke, you incurred another two-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2 [Ball at Rest Moved by Player …]. See Decision 13-4/15 [Ball in Hazard Moves When Loose Impediment Removed]. 2. Once again, your score for the hole is 10 = 7 talent strokes + 3 penalty strokes. You incurred one penalty stroke in taking relief from the lateral water per Rule 26-1 [Relief for Ball in Water Hazard]. If your ball is outside of the water hazard, you are not entitled to take relief from a water hazard if you happen to be standing within the hazard. Since your ball did not enter the hazard when you dropped it the first time, you were not entitled to pick it up and re-drop it. See Rule 20-2c [When to Re-Drop]. When you mistakenly picked up your ball and did not replace it, you incurred a two-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2. See also Decision 18-2/9 [Ball Lifted Without Authority Dropped Instead of Being Replaced]. 3. This time, your score for the hole is not 10, but 8 = 4 talent strokes + 4 penalty strokes. You were not permitted to lift your ball and drop it away from the post since the post is not an immovable obstruction. Instead, you should have removed the post, a movable obstruction, and then played the ball as it lay as provided in Rule 24-1 [Movable Obstruction]. When you lifted your ball without authority under the Rules, you incurred a one-stroke penalty per Rule 18-2 and you were required to replace your ball before playing your next stroke. When you failed to do so, you incurred a total penalty of two strokes per the penalty statement under Rule 18. See Decision 18-2/4 [Ball Lifted and Dropped Away from Movable Obstruction]. There is a penalty for carrying more than 14 clubs during a stipulated round, but the penalty statement for Rule 4-4 [Maximum of Fourteen Clubs] indicates that the penalty in stroke play is “Two strokes for each hole at which any breach occurred; maximum penalty per round – Four strokes (two strokes at each of the first two holes at which any breach occurred).” Thus, you incur no penalty strokes for the 7th hole for this breach. On the other hand, two penalty strokes would have been added to your scores for the first two holes of your round. As for the breach of having more than one caddie while playing the 7th hole, you incur a two-stroke penalty for breaching Rule 6-4 [Caddie] which states, “The player may be assisted by a caddie, but he is limited to only one caddie at any one time.” Please note that in either case of carrying too many clubs or having more than one caddie, upon discovery of the breach, you must immediately rectify the situation or you will be disqualified! 13

Name

Day

Name

Day

Justin J. Arlt, PGA

Steve M. Ritz-Woller, PGA

Alex N. Janssen, PGA

Matthew W. Shaner, PGA

Ryan W. Norman, PGA

Bill Thomas, PGA

Ryan T. Vermeer, PGA

Scott Carlson, PGA

Tony Pesavento, PGA

Matthew J. Meuret, PGA

Matthew L. Nice, PGA

Scott E. Larson, PGA

Dennis E. Fruchtl, PGA

Terry D. Heskett, PGA

Tyler D. Leffler, PGA

Casey L. Wroot, PGA

Scott F. Brunzell, PGA

Alexander G Hobelmann