Did you know Central Links Golf is responsible for subsidizing the YoC program in Kansas & Kansas City?
Members of Youth on Course pay $5 to play a round of golf at participating facilities. This program allows juniors to have greater access to the game of golf.
Help us continue to expand and sustain this program by donating to our campaign.
I got involved with the game when I was about 10. My sister and I were looking into sports we hadn’t played or given a try yet, and a golf academy opened right next to where we were going to school at the time. She and I were their first swing lessons! Ever since then it’s stuck and become my favorite sport.
I love that it’s more than just a game and that I am reminded of that every time I play or am involved with it. There are so many aspects to it from meeting new people, playing, going to new places, getting involved in more ways than just playing, and so on.
I found and was introduced to Youth on Course in the parking lot of a golf course during my first year playing by another junior golfer and his dad. It has been a huge benefit being able to have the opportunity to play for such a low rate and so many courses throughout the city. I definitely would not have been able to play as much as I have without it. I was extra appreciative especially after my first time paying for a full greens fee this summer!
“Even though I’ve aged out of Youth on Course, I still encourage anyone I’m around to get signed up if they haven’t, because it really is a great program and seeing youth golfers is always an awesome thing!”
I had an awesome internship with Central Links Golf this summer. Aside from focusing on school in the fall and upcoming year, I plan to stay involved with golf in any way I can. I also plan to major in business and sports management to later end up somewhere in the golf industry!
This spring I received the Chick Evans Scholarship from the Western Golf Association Evans Foundation. It’s a full tuition and housing scholarship for high-achieving caddies. I’ll be attending the University of Kansas this fall with it and living in the Evans house on campus. Very excited!
For more information about how to join Youth on Course click here >>,
To make a donation, click here>>
Central Links Golf is excited to announce Jayne Clarke as our new President, effective November 20th. Jayne takes over for Greg Dunn, Central Links Golf’s first President. Dunn led the association from its conception and recent merger, formerly Kansas Women’s Golf, Kansas Golf and Kansas City Golf Association. Clarke served as the Vice President under Dunn and has now been elected as the first female President of Central Links Golf. Jayne has been involved in the golf community for many years as a competitive player and in former leadership roles.
“Golf has afforded me the opportunity to meet so many individuals from across the state and forge many friendships I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” says Clarke. Former President of the Kansas Women’s Golf Association, Jayne has a history of leadership and hopes to continue to forge friendships and use connections to lead the association.
“The last couple of years have been consumed by the successful merger of associations and conducting competitions in a world with Covid-19. One of those events would have been enough to deal with, yet Central Links Golf staff and board successfully managed to navigate both,” Clarke says regarding the recent hurdles faced by the organization. Her vision for moving forward is one of strategic planning and reflection on what we can do better.
“Now we need to focus on how we can utilize the combined strength of the organization to better serve a growing golf community,” Clarke comments. Her plan is to focus on a strategic planning process over the next few months to set new goals for the association.
“I’m looking forward to what comes from the discussion; we do have some challenges, but growth is a challenge many associations would envy.”
Central Links Golf supports and looks forward to how we grow and reflect over the next few months to continue to serve our members in the best way possible. We are excited about the possibilities in 2022 and beyond.
In addition to Jayne, the board would like to welcome our new additions to the board: Ryne Fisher, Chad Fuqua, Gary Hruby, Chris Robinson and Kurt Vollertsen. To see a complete list of our executive committee and board members, please click here.
#GivingTuesdayNow is a global day of generosity and unity, a day to come together and give back in response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19, no matter who or where we are.
GivingTuesday will start on Tuesday, May 5th to bring together the community and inspire millions of people worldwide to volunteer, perform acts of kindness, and donate their voices, time, money and goods. On the last GivingTuesday, December 3, 2019, the global giving day generated $2 billion on giving, just in the United States.
This campaign is taking place from its regular scheduled annual event on December 3rd as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.
Central Links Golf urges golf lovers and supporters to take this opportunity to give to our local golf programs such as Youth on Course – a great junior golf program designed to allow kids to play at participating golf courses for $5.
You can support Youth on Course in Kansas City by donating to the Golf Foundation of KC here. You can also donate via check.
During a time where everyone is affected and experiencing effects from this global pandemic, we can use this opportunity to remain connected through generosity.
For more information on the #GivingTuesday campaign, please see here.
2020 Watson Challenge Rescheduled Amid Coronavirus Concerns
LENEXA, Kansas, April 3, 2020 – The 2020 Watson Challenge, originally scheduled to be played at The National Golf Club of Kansas City on May 29-31, has been rescheduled following its postponement last week due to coronavirus concerns. The 2020 Watson Challenge will now be played at The National on August 4-6.
Last week’s postponement marked the first time since the tournaments’s inception in 2007 the event has had to be postponed. The only other interruptions of the tournament occurred when two final rounds were canceled due to weather, including last year’s tournament at Nicklaus Club at Lionsgate.
“This was a very difficult decision, but we felt with the current, ongoing health crisis, it was not in the best interest of the players, club, staff and volunteers to continue with the event in May,” said Tournament Director Doug Habel in regards to the difficult decision to postpone.
The date change may not be the extent of changes for the event this year. Amid the ever-changing times we now face, other alterations might be made to the event which will be announced at a later date.
“The Watson Challenge is one of the premier golf events in the Kansas City area, and it’s our intention to explore all possible options to still play the event this year in a safe way for all involved,” Doug Habel informed.
The public will be informed as more details and information become available in the coming weeks. We understand the rescheduling could cause conflicts for players, and we hope everyone can understand the predicament we are facing. Monitoring of the health crisis will continue on in to the future.
Click here to view the 2020 Watson Points List.
For any questions regarding the Watson Challenge, please reach out to Doug Habel at doug@clgolf.org. We appreciate your patience and support during this time.
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One of the most frequently asked questions at World Handicap System seminars is “Why did my course handicap change so much?”
As always, you can reach out to our staff if you have any specific questions about your handicap index!
One Wichita man has played every 9-hole golf course in the state of Kansas. That’s a total of 107 grass green courses.
Dakin Cramer is a former member of Flint Hills National Golf Club and a long-time member of the Kansas Golf Association. When Flint Hills was closed on Mondays or during the winter you could find him at nearby 9-hole courses in Wichita, there are more than 30 9-hole golf courses within 75 miles of Wichita. He reflected on when he first thought “maybe I should expand my playing to include more 9-hole courses nearby when Flint Hills is closed.” His first course was Anthony Golf Club played in January of 2015.
Some of his buddies at Flint Hills National thought he was crazy, due to the excellent condition of their home club. Overtime, Dakin found a particular hole on every course that really spoke to him. Even the most mundane of courses have some type of design feature that made the course interesting. It was in his appreciation for these courses, that his dream to play every 9-hole course was born.
Dakin planned out his trips carefully, as his radius grew outside of 75 miles from Wichita it often included overnight stays. For example, he played 36 holes two days in a row in the Hays/Colby area.
He’s learned a lot about the different communities he’s played in. Dakin said “having a golf course is a lot like having a post office or school, once the town loses it, they lose their identity. Communities are proud of their courses, several have been built by the community and funded by them, too.”
In my conversation with Dakin, he reflected on some of his favorite and most unique golf courses.
In Sharon Springs, the scorecard has a picture of a ball being wrapped up by a rattlesnake, it turns out, they’re home to a tournament called the Rattle Snake Open.
One of his favorite courses is Prairie Dog Golf Course in Norton, KS
Other notable courses for Dakin included:
For Dakin, his goal hasn’t changed over the years, but his expectations have. He now understands the importance of the 9-hole golf courses to each community he visits. He knows that they don’t always make money, but the importance of the facility is the commitment the community has to it. Over the years, some properties have been bought, sold, remained privately owned, but for the town, it’s remained a labor of love to keep the doors open and the grass mowed.
Dakin completed his goal of playing every 9-hole golf course in the state on September 10, 2019.
Do you have a story that should be shared with our golf community? Contact us: baile@kcgolf.org
Hall of Fame to induct four
The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the honorees for this year’s class of the Kansas City Golf Hall of Fame.
Well known golf professional and stand-out amateur Jim Colbert joins the hall on the strength of his Missouri Amateur (1963), Heart of America Four Ball (1964) and Kansas Amateur (1965) Championships as well as his record of 8 PGA TOUR and 20 PGA TOUR Champions victories.
For more than five decades Frank Kirk has served the golf community in Kansas City. He was a principal founder and Board member of the First Tee of Greater Kansas City, has served on the Boards of the KCGA, KGA and the Western Golf Association, and gives freely of his time and resources to various community organizations and foundations.
In the 1930’s and early 40’s there was no one in the women’s game in Kansas City to compare to Jean Pepper. She won six KC Women’s Match Play Championships, was runner-up twice (losing to Hall of Famers Opal Hill and Marian Gault) and won the Missouri Women’s Amateur three times in succession (1939, ’40 and ’41).
Beginning with this, the fourth class of the Hall of Fame, the committee has initiated a “Committee Selection” to recognize outstanding individuals whose accomplishments might otherwise “fly under the radar” in the normal nomination/election process.
This year’s Committee Selection is Maxine Johnson. After four runner-up finishes in the KC Women’s Match Play, Ms. Johnson captured the first of her seven championships in 1953. She won the Missouri Women’s Amateur in 1951, was runner-up in 1956 and defeated 2016 Hall of Fame inductee Karen Schull (MacGee) for the title in 1957. She also was a consistent performer in the LPGA’s KC Women’s Open, never finishing worse than T-5 low amateur in the six years she competed.
These outstanding individuals join a star-studded cross section of individuals who make up the Kansas City Golf Hall of Fame. They include:
The 2013 class of Opal Hill, Miriam Burns (Horn), Bob Reid, Stan Thirsk, Leland “Duke Gibson, Chester Mendenhall and Tom Watson.
The 2014 inductees were Bob Stone, Karen Schull MacGee, and “The Foursome” a group of African-American golfers who played a major role in integrating public golf in Kansas City.
In 2016 we honored “The Father of Kansas City Golf” James Dalgleish, Marian Gault and Bill Ludwig.
When the committee was established in 2012, as part of the celebration of our first century serving the golf community in Kansas City, the charge was:
“…to recognize the contributions and accomplishments of area amateur and professional golfers, teaching professionals, golf course superintendents, pioneers of the game and others who have contributed to the success and growth of the game over the more than one-hundred years since the founding of the Kansas City Golf Association.”
As stewards of the game, we believe it is our responsibility to preserve our history and to recognize those who built the foundation of excellence on which we stand. The Kansas City Golf Hall of Fame is one of the ways we strive toward that goal.
The Hall of Fame Induction ceremony will be held at Mission Hills CC on November 17th. For those who wish to attend, register here. Attendance is $40. For any questions, email Doug Habel at doug@kcgolf.org.
Statement by Don Kuehn
The Kansas City Golf Association rewards exceptional play for our golfers through a season long points system that determines the Player of the Year for each division through the number of events played and how well a golfer placed in the events he/she played. Our points system also takes in to consideration the “weight” of each event – if it is a regional championship or USGA qualifier more points are available.
We have three Player of the Year awards for our men’s division and three for our women’s: Amateur Player of the Year, Senior Player of the Year and Junior Player of the Year.
Our Men’s Amateur POY for 2018 is Andy Spencer. Spencer is currently a junior on the Kansas University golf team and is no stranger to the KCGA limelight. Spencer is the winner of the 2017 and 2018 Watson Challenge and a semifinalist in the 2018 Kansas Amateur Championship. Spencer also qualified for the US Amateur at Pebble Beach. Spencer’s consistent play gave him a lead over second place finisher and KC Amateur Champion, Blake Allen.
Our Women’s Amateur POY for 2018 is Lacy Shelton. Shelton had another great year of golf with a third place finish in the Women’s Mid-Am Championship as well as a runner up finish in the Women’s Match Play. Shelton also qualified with her partner Megan Propeck with a five-under round of 65 in the 2019 US Women’s Four-Ball qualifying at Mission Hills CC. Shelton edged out Carmen Titus to win the honor.
Our Men’s Senior POY race was a close one between three or four of our top talents. Ultimately Mark Addington edged out Steve Groom for player of the year with a year that featured wins in the Stateline Championship and the Low Senior at the KC Amateur Championship. Addington had top five finishes in almost every tournament he competed in and was a semi-finalist in the KC Senior Match Play as well as tied for third in the Kansas Senior Amateur.
Pam Simpson has taken the Women’s Senior POY award over a close second finisher, Denise Desilet. Simpson’s season highlights include a semi-finalist finish in the Women’s Match Play and qualifying for the both the US Women’s Mid-Am and US Senior Women’s Amateur. Simpson is one of KC’s consistent qualifier for USGA events.
The 2018 Boys’ Player of the Year was decided upon by the Committee based on astounding play and finishes. The Committee decided that Justin Wingerter after winning both the KC Junior Championship and most recently the KC Masters, he bolstered an already talented resume to win Player of the Year. Other highlights from Wingerter’s season include qualifying for the US Junior Amateur and playing in the Watson Challenge. Wingerter also played on the KCGA Mid-America Junior Cup team that recently beat the Metropolitan Golf Association in a Ryder Cup style team event.
Megan Propeck had an outstanding year that solidified her last year’s performance. Propeck claimed the Girls Player of the Year title over second place finisher Julia Misemer with a win in the Kansas Junior Amateur, KC Junior Championship, and qualifying for the US Women’s Four-Ball with Lacy Shelton. Megan’s been a long time force in the KC Junior orbit and her talent continues to improve.
Congratulations to all of our 2018 Player of the Year recipients. The talent in the Kansas City area is a joy to watch and see compete throughout each season. We look forward to seeing how our current champions compete next year and perhaps new Player of the Year recipients.
To see the overall standings for the Men’s Player of the Year, see here.
To see the overall standings for the Women’s Player of the Year, see here.