1 - The Year Charlie Borner Jr. Invented the Broom
Six players have swept Nebraska’s golf majors in the same year. Charles Borner Jr. was the first. This summer marks 50 years since the UNL-grad made history and captured the Nebraska Match Play Championship and the Nebraska Amateur Championship in 1970. Only five players have been able to duplicate the feat over the past half-century. Visit the button below to read about Borner's historic 1970 season and the incredible stretch of golf he played during that summer 50 years ago.
2 - The Season That Never Was
Our own Will Morris called up some of the college and high school seniors who had their seasons cancelled this spring to talk about what it's been like for them and what their plans are moving forward. Listen to the full podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or tap the button below to read more about their seasons that never happened.
3 - Farmers, Ranches and Rails
Corn, Cattle...and Golf. Nebraska's diverse landscape and fertile soil is fostering the growth another main industry. If you read Nebraska Golfer last year, you've heard about a couple new golf courses in Nebraska, including Landmand Golf Club in Homer and CapRock Ranch in Valentine. We checked in with these projects to see how they are progressing, and take a look at another new golf club planned for Omaha.
4 - Turf Talk with Jim Nedrow
We talked with Jim Nedrow, Director of Agronomy at The Club at Indian Creek, to hear how he's dealing with the current pandemic situation. We also ask about the Pinnacle Bank Championship, dealing with weather in Nebraska and what's new at Indian Creek. Tap the button below to read more and listen to the full interview.
5 - The USGA GPS Service Can Identify Where Golfers Are Not Going On Your Course
The good news is that golf is back in all 50 states. The bad news is that many courses are operating with a reduced maintenance staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While maintaining a golf course with fewer employees and resources is a short-term adjustment to the current situation, it may also represent a new business model at some facilities. One solution to this dilemma is making sure resources are being applied to the areas that come into play most and have the greatest impact on golfer satisfaction. Definitive knowledge of golfer traffic can help facility managers to answer questions. Tap the button below to read more on how the USGA GPS Service is helping golf courses answer these questions.
6 - World Handicap System | Playing Conditions Calculation
The new World Handicap System launched in January and introduced a new handicap control called Playing Conditions Calculation. The PCC is meant to take into account abnormally difficult or favorable conditions on a certain day. For instance, if hole locations are especially difficult one day, or the rough has grown above the normal cut height due to a rainy stretch. More commonly here in Nebraska, the wind can make for a difficult scoring day. Instead of looking at all these different factors, the PCC uses data from scores posted to determine if there is a significant variance from expected scores to actual scores posted, based on players' Handicap Indexes. If enough scores are posted, must be at least eight, at a course on a single day and the variance is significant enough, PCC triggers an adjustment to each player's differential for the day.
Although this is a rare occurrence, the unpredictable weather in Nebraska has given us a few of these adjustments so far this spring. Most notably, on April 29, with winds gusting over 50 mph on the eastern side of the state, we saw the largest possible adjustment of +3 at a few courses. Take a look at the video below to see exactly how the PCC is applied.
7 - NGA Competitions | Revamped 2020 Schedule
The Nebraska Golf Association championship schedule has changed significantly due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In early May, the NGA announced the rescheduling of the first three championships of the 2020 season, including the Nebraska Women's Amateur, Nebraska Four-Ball and Nebraska Senior Amateur. The 19th Nebraska Four-Ball Championship has been rescheduled to September 26-27 at a new site, Fremont Golf Club. The 46th Nebraska Women's Amateur Championship, originally scheduled for June 1-3, has been moved to August 3-5. The championship will remain at The Country Club of Lincoln, and the early August date will still allow high school and college golfers to compete just prior to their fall season. The 22nd Nebraska Senior Amateur Championship will remain at Norfolk Country Club, but will move to August 27-28.
Earlier this week, the 58th Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship and the 31st Nebraska Junior Match Play Championship were added to the list. These championships will still kick-off the season, but have been moved from Riverside Golf Club in Grand Island to Oakland Golf Club. In addition, the dates of the championships have been moved back one day to June 16-19. Read the release below for more.