The section is receiving the Herb Graffis Award for growing the game and player development, a first-time honor for Nebraska. Chris Thomson, the director of golf at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club in Lincoln, is the PGA Youth Player Development Award recipient.

“It’s been pretty amazing what’s happening in golf in Nebraska,’’ Nebraska PGA Executive Director David Honnens said. “A lot of great things have been going on in the last decade.”

Honnens said in the detailed application the Nebraska PGA submitted to the selection committee, youth programs were highlighted the most.

At one time the Nebraska PGA and the Nebraska Golf Association had separate summer junior golf programming. The two associations combined efforts in 2009 for Nebraska Junior Golf “to make it easier on the parents,’’ Honnens said. “The last couple years we’ve pretty much out anything golf-related under that umbrella.”

The Nebraska PGA also offers Team Golf, PGA Junior League and Drive Chip & Putt and the NGA has the Youth on Course discount golf program.

In 2013, the Nebraska PGA launched its PGA Reach Nebraska foundation that increases diversity in golf through the YMCA PGA Sports Academy, Golf N Schools, Omaha Golf Outreach and PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everyone) Nebraska. Honnens said digital media specialist Brett Renner has improved visibility of junior programs and the Nebraska PGA hopes in 2021 to have more than 2,500 youth in its activities.