Golf in the State of Nebraska
Nebraska, nicknamed the “Cornhusker State”, is surrounded by the neighboring states of Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Missouri and Iowa. The geography of Nebraska mostly consists of either rolling hills or prairie grasslands and climatic conditions vary from semi-arid to humid-continental to warm-temperate. Spring and summer seasons can bring thunderstorms and windy conditions which make golfing a tad challenging at those times. If Lewis and Clark were exploring today, they would find 166 Nebraska golf courses, mostly centered around the larger metropolitan areas of Omaha with 31 courses, capital city Lincoln with 17, Norfolk with 8, and 5 each in Kearney, Columbus and Fremont.
Summerland Golf Club, a 9 hole course located in Ewing, features “scenic rolling hills with trees coming into play on every hole”. The highly reviewed Quarry Oaks Golf Club, Ashland, is an 18-hole championship course “unrivaled in the mid-west in concept and design”. The 9-hole Wildwood Golf Course, Nebraska City, is the oldest course in the area and features mature trees and large, challenging greens. The Club at Indian Creek, Omaha, features 27 holes and boasts being Omaha’s largest, finest course with “80+ well placed bunkers and 15 holes with the threat of water”. Elmwood Golf Course is an 18-hole regulation course managed by the City of Omaha and a favorite with the locals.
Johnny Goodman, born in Omaha, is perhaps the most widely recognized Nebraska pro. Others include Mark Calcavecchia, born in Laurel and now residing in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, who shares the lowest back nine Masters score record of 29 and at one time scored a Tour record 32 birdies on 72 holes at the Phoenix Open; Opal Hill, born in Newport, who was one of the LPGA’s founding members; Mike Schuchart, from Omaha, who in 1984 won the Nebraska Amateur of the Year and who now coaches the University of Nebraska's women's golf team and is a teaching pro at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club in Lincoln; Tom Sieckmann, born in York, who is a Director of the Omaha Country Club and part owner of the Palmbrook Country Club in Sun City, Arizona, and Gary Wiren, from Omaha, successful pro, writer of 14 golf books and over 250 magazine articles and renowned teacher of many thousands of golf students.