Nebraska Section PGA | 610 J Street., Ste 10 | Lincoln, NE 68508 | Ph: (402) 489-7760 | Fax: (402) 489-1785 | www.nebraskapga.com
Officers President Tony Pesavento, PGA Omaha Country Club tpesavento@pga.com
Vice President Nathan Kalin, PGA Fremont Golf Club nathan.kalin@fremontgolfclub.org
Secretary Gil Russell, PGA ArborLinks Golf grussell@arborlinks.com
Honorary President Mike Antonio, PGA Happy Hollow Club mikea@happyhollowclub.com
Staff Executive Director David Honnens, PGA dhonnens@pgahq.com
Tournament Director Sean O’Neill, PGA soneill@pgahq.com Junior Golf Director/ Player Development Coordinator Joe Canny, PGA jcanny@pgahq.com
Operations Manager Renee Tyson rtyson@pgahq.com
Development Officer Bob Danenhauer bdanenhauer@pgahq.com 2
100th PGA Annual Meeting Presentations: Videos include the election of Officers, the Keynote address from Jack Nicklaus, Futurist Erik Medina and a panel discussion featuring representatives of leading sports entities. Watch the videos 3
2016 Nebraska PGA Special Award Nominees
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: Scott Carlson, PGA; Tom Erlandson, PGA; Dennis Fruchtl, PGA; Don Graham, PGA; Brian Kuta, PGA; Greg Neujahr, PGA; Gil Russell, PGA; Bobby O’Keefe, PGA; Mike Schuchart, PGA; Joe Sutter, PGA and Bob Vermeer, PGA. Teacher of the Year - Awarded for excellence in golf instruction along with overall performance as a golf professional. Nominees: Kevin Boehler, PGA; Tim Fox, PGA; Sonya Freese, PGA; Jeff Henry, PGA; Greg Johannesen, PGA; Jack Kaupa, PGA; James Kinney, PGA; Chad Lydiatt, PGA; Jonathan Mielke, PGA; Ryan Norman, PGA; Jon Petersen, PGA; Bob Saffer, PGA; Mike Schuchart, PGA; James Sieckmann, PGA and Shane Zywiec, 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; James Kinney, PGA; Rick Reynoldson, PGA and Mike Schuchart, 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: Brad Goetsch, PGA; Dawn Neujahr, PGA; Greg Neujahr, PGA; Matt Nice, PGA; Tony Pesavento, PGA; Jeff Porter, PGA and 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; Wade Foreman, PGA; Jared Frost, PGA; Kyle Huse, PGA; Brett Klug, PGA; Chad Lydiatt, PGA; Hank McFarland, PGA; Jonathan Mielke, PGA; Ryan Norman, PGA; Jacob Pribnow, PGA; Mike Schuchart, PGA and Chris Thomson, 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 Brown, PGA; Sonya Freese, PGA; Dennis Fruchtl, PGA; Don Germer, PGA; Nathan Kalin, PGA; Hank McFarland, PGA; Mitch Merrill, PGA MP and Jen Smith, PGA.
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2016 Nebraska PGA Special Award Nominees
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: Jon Benson, PGA; Scott Harmelink, PGA; Rusty Jensen, PGA; Tom Jensen, PGA; James Rolls, PGA; Loudan Steffes, PGA and Denis Vontz, 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: ArborLinks, Nebraska City; Champions Run, Omaha; Country Club of Lincoln, Lincoln; Dakota Dunes Country Club, Dakota Dunes; Field Club of Omaha, Omaha; Firethorn Golf Club, Lincoln; Iron Horse Golf Club, Ashland; Oak Hills Country Club, Omaha; Riverside Golf Club, Grand Island; and Wilderness Ridge Golf Club, Lincoln. Sales Representative of the Year- Based on overall performance as a sales representative including product knowledge, service, professionalism, and involvement in Section activities. Nominees: Brooks Andrisen, Peter Millar; Scott Bolmeier, Zero Friction/US Kids/Imperial; Mark Crowther, Titleist; Matt Geschke, Mizuno; Tad Leistico, Srixon/Cleveland; Stan Sheffield, FootJoy; and 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: Tony Baranowski, PGA; Steve Boveia, PGA; Connor Farrell, PGA; Nick Inutsuka, PGA; Brett Klug, PGA; Tyler Leffler, PGA; Dominick Mitchum, PGA; Ky Molholm, PGA; Jonathan Moore, PGA; Owen Schuette, PGA and Zach Wetovick, 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: Tim Fox, PGA; Jeff Henry, PGA; Scott Holly, PGA; Jonathan Mielke, PGA; Phil Palmer, PGA; Seth Scollard, PGA and 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: Steve Ritz-Woller, PGA; Jim White, PGA MP and Cliff Yohe, PGA.
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Nick Muller, PGA—2015 Merchandiser of the Year (Private)
Social Media Initiative: “RetailTribe and the ForeTees App” Communication and staying up to date with social media trends is vital for any Club in our industry. For a third straight year we’ve used RetailTribe as a way to bridge our communication gap with our membership. We’ve been consistent in achieving approximately a 60% read rate with over 700 different golfing members at our Club. We’ve used it as a weekly newsletter for promoting events, updating them on shop merchandise, giving updates on Junior Golf and just an overall portal for everything golf at the Club. I encourage every Club to use a similar process. Please visit our site at www.nickmullerpga.com. Because our membership is getting younger, we identified an initiative for the season of adding social media as a communication channel. We accomplished this by utilizing the ForeTees App available on all Apple and Android devices. Since our membership was already familiar with the ForeTees tee time service we felt the learning curve would be minimal. We offered incentives to members for signing up and encouraged their spouses, who might not be a regular golfer, to download it as well. Growing the game is a huge initiative at any Club and what better way to get the spouse knowledgeable about our programming! We’ve been using the App for two seasons now and have seen some exciting results. We’ve more than quadrupled the amount of times our members are logging into ForeTees and a result has been better communication! They know when events are happening and can plan further in advance, they are better aware of Golf Shop promotions, they have another avenue for posting their scores and the Golf Shop has a new way to selectively communicate with them at any time through push notifications. It has been a marvelous addition for our Club and I highly recommend other Clubs to take advantage of it or any App service. Nick Muller, PGA Director of Golf Country Club of Lincoln
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January 4-5, 2017
Quarter Century Championship
December 14, 2016 5 p.m.
January 9-11, 2017
Senior Stroke Play Championship
December 14, 2016 5 p.m.
January 16-19, 2017
Senior-Junior Team Championship
January 11, 2017 5 p.m.
January 30 - February 2, 2017
Four-Ball Stableford Team Championship
January 18, 2017 5 p.m.
February 6-8, 2017
Women’s Stroke Play Championship
January 25, 2017 5 p.m.
February 6-9, 2017
Stroke Play Championship
January 25, 2017 5 p.m.
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You might say that this month’s True/False quiz is “optional” because it presents a number of situations where you, as the player, have two or more options under the Rules. Choose wisely! 1.
Saliva may be treated as a loose impediment or a dangerous situation, at the option of the player
2.
Snow and frost are either loose impediments or casual water, at the option of the player.
3.
When conditions warrant, the Committee may establish a dropping zone as an additional relief option.
4.
If your ball ends up in a pampas grass plant, but you are unable to find it, all three options under Rule 28 [Ball Unplayable] are available to you, e.g., you may drop a ball within two club-lengths of, and not nearer the hole than, the spot where your ball is estimated to be within the pampas grass.
5.
When your ball is lost in a lateral water hazard, one of your options is to drop a ball behind the hazard keeping the point on the opposite margin of the hazard (equidistant from the hole as the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the hazard) directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped with no limit to how far behind the hazard the ball may be dropped.
6.
If your club is damaged in the normal course of play, you always have the option of replacing it.
7.
In match play, if your opponent plays out of turn without your permission, you have the option of requiring your opponent to cancel and replay his stroke.
8.
In match play, if you shank your shot and your ball ends up out of bounds after ricocheting off your opponent’s golf bag, you have no option but to proceed under the stroke and distance penalty of Rule 27-1b [Ball Out of Bounds].
Answers: 1.
False
According to Decision 25/6 [Status of Saliva], saliva may be treated as either an abnormal ground condition or a loose impediment, at the option of the player.
2.
False
Per the Definitions of “Casual Water” and “Loose Impediments,” snow and natural ice, other than frost, are either casual water or loose impediments, at the option of the player.
3.
True
See Decision 26/3.5 [Lateral Water Hazard Defined as Water Hazard] and Decision 25/9.5 [Tree Falls onto Fairway During Stipulated Round] which provide examples of situations where the Committee would be justified in establishing a dropping zone as a relief option.
4.
False
Decision 28/1 [When Necessary to Find and Identify Ball Deemed Unplayable] explains that you must actually find your ball in the pampas grass in order to proceed under either of the options set forth in Rules 28b and 28c.
5.
False
Under the Rule 26-1c [Relief for Ball in Water Hazard] option of using the point on the opposite margin of the hazard equidistant from the hole, you may only drop a ball within two club-lengths of, and no nearer the hole, than that point.
6.
False
According to Rule 4-3a [Damage in Normal Course of Play], if your club is damaged in the normal course of play, you may replace it only if the club is unfit for play.
7.
True
Rule 10-1c [Match Play: Playing Out of Turn] states, “If a player plays when his opponent should have played, there is no penalty, but, the opponent may immediately require the player to cancel the stroke so made and, in correct order, play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played.”
8.
False
According to Rule 19-3 [Ball in Motion Deflected or Stopped by Opponent, Caddie or Equipment in Match Play], if your ball is deflected by your opponent’s equipment, you have the option to cancel the stroke and play a ball, without penalty, as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played, provided you do so before another stroke is made by either side.
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Golf klutzes around the world may forever celebrate January 1, 2017 because it is the effective date for a USGA and R&A-authorized Local Rule eliminating the penalty for the accidental movement of one’s ball at rest on the putting green! Here is the recommended wording for this new Local Rule: Accidental Movement of a Ball on a Putting Green -Rules 18-2, 18-3 and 20-1 are modified as follows: -When a player’s ball lies on the putting green, there is no penalty if the ball or ball-marker is accidentally moved by the player, his partner, his opponent, or any of their caddies or equipment. -The moved ball or ball-marker must be replaced as provided in Rules 18-2, 18-3 and 20-1. -This Local Rule applies only when the player’s ball or ball-marker lies on the putting green and any movement is accidental. Note: If it is determined that a player’s ball on the putting green was moved as a result of wind, water or some other natural cause such as the effects of gravity, the ball must be played as it lies from its new location. A ball-marker moved in such circumstances is replaced. Explanatory information regarding this Local Rule, including a video along with the attached diagrams, can be found at www.usga.org/2017localrule. Courtesy of the USGA, here are some interesting excerpts from this website:
Accidental movement can involve a variety of actions in which the player unintentionally moves his ball or ball-marker. Examples include: dropping the ball-marker on the ball, accidentally making contact with the ball when taking a practice swing near the ball, accidentally making contact when addressing the ball, etc.
The Local Rule does not apply to any intentional lifting or moving of the ball. Examples include striking or moving the ball in anger, lifting the ball without marking it, etc.
The movement of a ball on a putting green has been one of the many topics discussed as part of The R&A’s and USGA’s ongoing Rules Modernization initiative to consider comprehensive changes to the Rules of Golf. For these particular situations, it was noted that the shape, slope and condition of many putting greens today increase the chances that a ball at rest on a putting green will move, and it can be difficult to determine whether a player caused the ball to move or whether the ball was moved by wind or other natural causes. Furthermore, when a ball moves while the player is doing nothing more than taking normal actions to prepare for a stroke, it may seem unfair for the player to be penalized.
As part of our continued review of the Rules related to ball movement, and in particular our Rules Modernization initiative, it was noted that almost all “ball moved” instances occur on the putting green, and involve very minimal movement. Frequently, the movement occurs as the player is simply taking reasonable actions in preparing for a stroke and the ball can easily be replaced. These considerations are not the same when the ball lies off the putting green and we believe it is important to retain the penalty for those instances to reinforce the principle that the ball should be played as it lies.
The Rules of Golf are typically revised every four years, with the latest version taking effect in January 2016. The introduction of the Local Rule is outside the normal revision cycle and enables committees to eliminate the penalty for ball-moved situations on the putting green. While the relevant Rules are under consideration as part of the comprehensive Rules Modernization project, we believed it was important to allow for committees to address this issue in advance of the full changes from that project taking effect.
While it is anticipated that the Local Rule will be widely adopted throughout the professional and elite-level amateur tournaments (including all USGA and R&A championships, qualifiers and international matches), its use is recommended for all levels of play. The adoption of the Local
Rule is ultimately up to each individual committee’s discretion.
Similar to other Local Rules (for example, the Local Rule for distance-measuring devices or the Local Rule that provides relief for an embedded ball through the green), the Committee in charge of the course must put the Local Rule into effect in order for it to apply. If the Committee does not put the Local Rule into effect, Rules 18-2, 18-3, 20-1, and the associated penalties, will apply for ball-moved situations on the putting green. If you are unsure if the Committee has adopted the Local Rule, you should ask the Committee or a member of the professional staff.
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Name
Class
Current Facility
Prev. Facility
Prev. Class
None
Display Name
Day
Justin J. Arlt, PGA
1
Alex N. Janssen, PGA
1
Ryan W. Norman, PGA
6
Pete A. Balerud
10
Ryan T. Vermeer, PGA
11
Tony Pesavento, PGA
12
Matthew L. Nice, PGA
13
Dennis E. Fruchtl, PGA
14
Tyler D. Leffler, PGA
20
Scott F. Brunzell, PGA
21
Steve M. Ritz-Woller, PGA
21
Matthew W. Shaner, PGA
21
David, Sean, Joe, Bob, & Renee
Bill Thomas, PGA
22
and the
Scott Carlson, PGA
23
Nebraska Section PGA Officers and Board
Matthew J. Meuret, PGA
27
Scott E. Larson, PGA
29
Terry D. Heskett, PGA
30
Casey L. Wroot, PGA
30 15