5 voted into 2025 Colorado Golf Hall of Fame induction class: amateurs Robert Polk and Jon Lindstrom, superintendents Lance Johnson and Rollie Cahalane, and longtime PGA pro Tom Apple; honorees include Duffy Solich, Verne Lundquist, Keith Schneider, Mitch Savage, Ashleigh Wilson, Miles Kuhl & Tyler Long
By Gary Baines – 10/23/2024
Six people — the most since 1976 — will be inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame on Dec. 1, and the following class will be almost as large.
On Wednesday, the CGHOF board of directors voted five people into the Class of 2025, including two prominent senior amateurs, two course superintendents who have made their marks in Colorado golf, and a longtime well-respected PGA professional from the Vail Valley.
Next year’s class — which will be formally inducted on a date and at a site to be determined — includes elite-level senior amateur players Robert Polk of Parker and Jon Lindstrom of Denver, superintendents Lance Johnson and the late Rollie Cahalane, and PGA pro Tom Apple. In addition, seven CGHOF honorees will be recognized in 2025: Geoff “Duffy” Solich (Golf Person of the Year); Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Keith Schneider and TV broadcaster Verne Lundquist (Lifetime Achievement); superintendent Mitch Savage (Distinguished Service); Miles Kuhl and Tyler Long (Male Future Famers); and Ashleigh Wilson (Female Future Famer). (Scroll down to see the honorees’ achievements.)
On the heels of the Class of 2024’s induction on Dec. 1 — Wyndham Clark, Jennifer Kupcho, George Solich, Pat Hamill, Joe Assell and the late Gene Torres will be going in then, as previously announced — the number of inductees in the Hall of Fame will reach 159 following the 2025 enshrinement. The 11 who will be inducted in 2024 and ’25 combined will mark the largest back-to-back classes in the history of the Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1973.
Here are some of the golf-related highlights that have made the impending Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductee class of 2025 stand out (listed alphabetically):
— Tom Apple: Apple has been a fixture in Colorado — and Vail Valley — golf for more than a half-century. After being a PGA assistant professional at Vail Golf Club in 1973-74, Apple was named head pro at EagleVail Golf Club in 1975 and stayed there more than eight years. Then he’s held various prominent titles at the Country Club of the Rockies in Edwards since 1984, when the club opened, serving as head pro, director of golf and now pro emeritus/teaching professional.
A PGA Master Professional since 1992 after completing his thesis “High Altitude Golf”, Apple helped host the celebrity/PGA Tour-filled Jerry Ford Invitational in the Vail Valley through its entire run (1976-96). And among the estimated 10,000 lessons he’s given over the years were some for the former U.S. President himself.
“Tom is a wonderful ambassador for golf who is beloved by the members and staff at CCR,” Jack Nicklaus, who designed the Country Club of the Rockies course, wrote in a letter supporting Apple’s CGHOF nomination. “He has a passion for teaching that is matched only by his dedication to the game and its growth, while also supporting his local community.”
Born and raised near Philadelphia, Apple won a Pennsylvania state high school individual title in 1964, qualified twice for he U.S. Junior Boys Championship and played golf at Penn State golfer. As a professional, he’s earned several prestigious Colorado PGA honors over the years: Private Merchandiser of the Year (1994); Bill Strausbaugh Award (2006, for outstanding integrity, commitment to mentoring PGA professionals and making a significant impact on the careers of PGA professionals); Warren Smith Award (2010, for special contributions to the game of golf, the Colorado Section, junior golf and their facility); and the Noble Chalfant Award (2016, for distinguished service to the Colorado PGA). That’s in addition to numerous awards from the CPGA’s West Chapter, for which he served as president in 1983.
Twelve times starting in 1989, “Golf Shop Operations” named the Country Club of the Rockies one of the top 20 private golf shops in the country. At least 18 assistant professionals under Apple have gone on to earn head pro positions.
— Rollie Cahalane: Cahalane, a native of Cheyenne, was the head golf superintendent at several courses in the Denver area during a career that lasted 35 years. His stops included Roxborough/Arrowhead Golf Club (1972-74, the course’s first years), Four Lakes Golf Club in Littleton (1974-76), Columbine Country Club (1976-80) and The Club at Inverness (1980-2001).
The courses Cahalane worked on hosted some of the most notable golf tournaments in Colorado at the time — the LPGA Tour’s National Jewish Hospital/Columbia Savings Classic (1977 and ’80 at Columbine), the Colorado Open (six times in the 1990s at Inverness), the John Elway-hosted Celebrity Classic (1999 at Inverness) and numerous Colorado PGA Section Championships (Inverness).
In addition, the U.S. Marine veteran served as president of the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association in 1978. In 2000, Cahalane was voted an honorary lifetime member of the RMGCSA. He earned the Rocky Mountain Regional Turfgrass Association’s highest honor — Turfgrass Man of the Year — in 1998.
Besides his personal accomplishments, Cahalane’s three sons are all head superintendents at Colorado courses: Kevin (Telluride Ski & Golf Club), Dave (Bear Dance) and Craig (Pole Creek).
— Lance Johnson: Staying with the golf course superintendents, Johnson has been the face of City of Westminster golf in that respect for many years. He was a golf maintenance supervisor starting in 1993, a superintendent for two decades starting in ’93, recreation facilities superintendent for another two years, then the parks, golf and open space manager since 2015. In that role, he oversees the City of Westminster’s highly regarded courses, Walnut Creek Golf Preserve and Legacy Ridge. In both cases, Johnson was closely involved during the construction and grow-in process.
A former minor-league baseball umpire, Johnson served as president of both the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association (2009) and the RMGCSA’s non-profit arm, the Rocky Mountain Environmental Golf Institute (2009-13). He chaired a statewide committee that formulated the Colorado Golf Industry’s Best Management Practices Guide for Golf Courses that was published in 2019. He serves on the CGA board of directors and is a strong proponent of sustainable environmental practices regarding golf.
During Johnson’s time with the City of Westminster, its courses have hosted more than 60 CGA championships, USGA qualifiers and AJGA tournaments — some of the top events in the state. Also during his tenure, the previous Heritage at Westmoor was rebranded as Walnut Creek Golf Preserve.
— Jon Lindstrom: Lindstrom has long been among the very best mid-amateur and senior amateur golfers in Colorado. And in recent years, his proficiency in the game has extended well past state borders as he’s currently ranked No. 15 in the world among amateurs 55 and older. Included in his national/international accomplishments over the last couple of years are winning the 2023 Trans-Mississippi Senior Championship and the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship, and finishing ninth at the British Senior Amateur in 2023. He’s competed in more than 20 USGA championships and in 2023 he was named to Global Golf Post’s Men’s Senior Amateur First Team.
More locally, the Lakewood Country Club member swept the CGA senior majors in 2023, earning the association’s Senior Player of the Year Award to go with his 2008 Mid-Amateur POY honor. Overall for his career in Colorado, the former Washington State golfer owns 13 CGA championship titles, a total which includes three CGA Mid-Amateurs and a Mid-Amateur Match Play, a Senior Amateur and a Senior Match Play.
And at the Inspirato Colorado Senior Open — against a field that includes many high-level senior pros — Lindstrom has been a force with which to be reckoned. He’s finished low-amateur at the CSO four times — the most low-ams of anyone in any Colorado Open championship. And in every Colorado Senior Open in which he’s competed, Lindstrom has placed in the top 10 overall, ending up sixth in 2018, second in a playoff in 2020, fourth in 2021 and ninth in 2022.
— Robert Polk: Polk is another Colorado senior amateur with more than his share of CGA championships. Specifically, the former University of Mississippi golfer has 15 CGA titles to his credit: one Mid-Amateur, five Senior Amateurs, two Senior Match Plays, two Super-Senior Amateurs and five Senior Four-Balls. In fact, in 2007, Polk won the CGA Mid-Amateur and the Senior Amateur in the same year.
Over the course of 15 seasons (2007-21), Polk earned the CGA Senior Player of the Year Award four times, the most since now-Colorado Golf Hall of Famer John Olive captured the honor a record seven times from 1997-2005. Records aren’t definitive, but it’s believed that at age 66 in 2021, Polk was the oldest winner of the CGA Senior POY award after sweeping the CGA senior majors in a single season for the second time. He’s also the first person to win both the CGA Senior and Super-Senior Player of the Year honors in the same season (both 2021). That year, Polk captured his fifth title in the CGA Senior Amateur, with only Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Larry Eaton (seven times) winning the event more, with Olive (five) matching Polk’s total.
Though CGA records aren’t complete, the Polk (66 in 2021) was believed to be the oldest champion of any CGA senior major ever held. Polk and partner Bill Fowler qualified for the first U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, which took place in 2015, when Polk was the oldest player in the field. Eight years earlier, he competed in the U.S. Senior Open.
But playing ability is just part of Polk’s golf resumé. He was a longtime volunteer member of the CGA board of directors and the chairman of the CGA Tournament Committee. And the Colorado Golf Club member is a big-time supporter of the Evans Scholarship for caddies — both financially and otherwise — serving as one of the Western Golf Association’s directors since 2010.
As for the people who will be honored with awards next year:
Golf Person of the Year: Duffy Solich. Solich was the tournament chairman for the 2024 BMW Championship PGA Tour event that was held at Castle Pines Golf Club, and a key reason why the tournament turned out to be such a success. It drew about 140,000 fans for the week and raised more than $8 million for the Evans Scholarship for caddies. Solich, a University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum himself, joined his brother George in being inducted into the Western Golf Association’s Caddie Hall of Fame during week of the BMW Championship. George Solich, the chairman and president of Castle Pines Golf Club, is being inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame on Dec. 1.
Lifetime Achievement (2 Winners): Verne Lundquist and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Keith Schneider. Both will receive this honor after bidding adieu to key posts in golf this year. Lundquist, a resident of Steamboat Springs for the last 40 years, was part of the TV broadcast team at the Masters for the 40th and final time in April. He started working the event in 1983, and because he missed the tournament broadcasts in 1997 and ’98, this year was No. 40. Lundquist gradually has given up his other broadcasting duties over the last eight years, yielding his seat calling college football in 2016, college basketball and March Madness in 2017 and the PGA Championship in 2021.
Schneider will retire at the end of 2024 after working a remarkable 43 years at Castle Pines Golf Club — as long as the club has existed. Schneider was Castle Pines GC’s first PGA head professional and he transitioned to the PGA general manager just over 20 years ago. During his time at Castle Pines, the club hosted 22 PGA Tour events — 21 Internationals (1986-2006) and this year’s BMW Championship.
Distinguished Service: Mitch Savage. The director of agronomy at CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course has been a key player in government affairs as they relate to golf in the state. Early this year, he was named the recipient of the national 2024 Excellence in Government Affairs Award by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Savage was “honored for his consistent advocacy efforts on numerous issues in the state of Colorado, working alongside the Colorado Golf Coalition, which consists of the Rocky Mountain GCSA, Colorado Golf Association, Colorado Section of the PGA and Mile-High Chapter of the Club Management Association of America,” the GCSAA said in a release. “This award recognizes Savage’s proactive approach in advocating for state control of pesticide regulations and for being an influential voice in the Colorado golf industry. Having testified numerous times before state legislative committees in Denver, he always shows up fully prepared with a succinct message and several examples that support his efforts on behalf of the Colorado golf industry.”
Male “Future Famer” (2 Winners): Miles Kuhl of Boulder and Tyler Long of Evergreen. In June, Kuhl became the first Colorado male since 2021 to win an AJGA title in the Centennial State, prevailing in the prestigious AJGA Colorado Junior at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve. A month later, the 16-year-old successfully navigated two stages of qualifying to earn a spot in the U.S. Amateur. The winner of two Colorado junior majors in 2023, Kuhl placed 13th individually in the 2024 Junior America’s Cup and third in the recent boys 5A state high school tournament.
Long, a future University of Colorado golfer, put together an astounding final high school golf season. According to iWanamaker, Long won — or at last shared the title — at all eight high school events in which he competed. And he shot 66 or lower six times in his nine competitive rounds, with a low of 63 and a high of 69. He capped it all off with a 3A state high school title individually, helping Evergreen High School to a second straight team title. Also in 2024, Long won the AJGA Colorado Springs Junior. The senior sits 52nd nationally in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
Female “Future Famer”: Ashleigh Wilson of Highlands Ranch. Wilson was consistently in contention at some of the top girls competitions in the state in 2024. She earned medalist honors in U.S. Girls’ Junior Colorado-based qualifying, advancing to the national championship. And she finished runner-up among the girls in the CGA State Junior, the 5A state tournament, the Colorado Junior PGA Championship and the Colorado PGA Junior Match Play. Wilson has verbally committed to Montana State.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com