Four men and one woman are set to be inducted into the South Dakota Golf Hall of Fame in 2023.
Dave Austad and Ryan and Julie Jansa of Sioux Falls, Huron native Rick Werner of Lexington (Va.) and Yankton native Tom Hendricks of Muscatine (Iowa) are set to be honored during an induction ceremony that is part of the South Dakota Golf Association’s annual banquet.
The induction ceremony will be held on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 6 pm at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Sioux Falls. For those interested in attending, email [email protected] or call 605-740-7085.
With the addition of these five inductees, there are now 77 members enshrined since its inception in 1977. A complete list of members can be found at www.sdga.org.
Here are the bios of the inductees:
Tom Hendricks
Hendricks grew up in Yankton and played college golf at Black Hills State College, winning the 1975 NAIA District Championship and qualifying for the National Championship. From 1974-1978, he won two SDGA Match Play Championships and was a runner-up and semifinalist along with being named the SDGA Male Golfer of the Year in 1975. Hendricks has won three Amateur Championships and one Senior Amateur Championship at the Hillcrest Pro Am .
Moving to Muscatine (Iowa), Hendricks won many championships at his home course, Geneva Golf & CC, and the 2001 Iowa Father-Son Young Adult Division Championship. In addition to his playing accomplishments, “Taco Tom” has worked tirelessly to benefit the community through Muscatine Charities and the Taco John’s Youth Golf Classic, earning the high honor of Iowa Volunteer of the Year in 2016.
Dave Austad
Austad grew up in Sioux Falls, son of Oscar and Dorothy Austad who founded Austad’s Golf, a pioneer in the golf retail and mail order industries. He eventually became President of Austad’s Golf and has guided the company through a myriad of challenges, always ahead of the curve in a difficult business. Austad’s is consistently in the top 100 club fitters in the nation and has 10 retail stores in addition to an online store.
Austad has also been instrumental in growing the game and helping the community through his service on numerous boards, including as President of the SDGA Junior Golf Foundation and First Tee-South Dakota and the Austad Family Foundation with his wife Denise.
Rick Werner
Werner grew up in Huron and graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1973. In 1973, Rick won the SDGA Amateur Championship. Also in 1973, he was the medalist in the North Central Conference Tournament and was named NCAA All-American that same year. He had two top 10 finishes in the National Club Pro Championship, and in 1979 won The Ohio PGA Sectional Championship.
Werner is a Life Member of The PGA of America. He was the Teaching Professional at the prestigious Quaker Ridge GC in Scarsdale, NY, Director of Golf at the Country Club of Ashland (Ohio) and retired as Director of Golf at Royal Poinciana Golf Club in Naples (Fla.) after 23 years of service . He also served as the men’s golf coach at Washington & Lee University from 2007-2012. To enhance his teaching skills, Werner spent quality time with outstanding instructors such as John Jacobs, Jim McLean, Gary Wiren, David Leadbetter, Hank Haney, Bob Toski , Davis Love, Jr., JD Turner and others. Over the years, he was fortunate to play numerous rounds of golf with Hall of Famers Gene Sarazen and Ken Venturi. Other notables who influenced his career are Jackie Burke, Jr., Byron Nelson, Charlie Sifford, Duane Clodfelter, Ara Parseghian, Dave Hanten, Curt & Tom Byrum, Hobe Richards, Jeff Burey and others.
Julie Jansa
Julie Colville grew up in Cranbrook, British Columbia and won the BC Junior Championship before moving on to play for New Mexico State University where she met her future husband, Ryan Jansa. Moving with Ryan back to South Dakota, Julie worked as a golf professional at Elmwood and Prairie Green, and then after regaining her amateur status, she amassed 12 SDGA Championships and 17 runner-up finishes.
Jansa’s passion for the game and youth development led her to work with First Tee, first as Executive Director in South Dakota and then as Regional Director for the national office. In 2021, Jansa came back as the CEO of the SDGA Junior Golf Foundation and First Tee-South Dakota. She joins her husband and his father Steve in the SDGA Hall of Fame.
Ryan Jansa
Jansa is the most decorated amateur golfer in South Dakota history, with 33 Championships, countless runner-up finishes, and a record seven SDGA Male Golfer of the Year awards. He is a member of the Lincoln High School Hall of Fame and took his game to New Mexico State University where he was the 1995 Big West Champion.
He met his wife Julie while at NMSU and they moved back to Sioux Falls where he played professionally for several years, winning two Dakotas Tour events. Ryan joins his wife and his father Steve in the SDGA Hall of Fame.
With the addition of these five inductees, there are now 77 members enshrined since its inception in 1977. A complete list of members can be found at www.sdga.org. The South Dakota Golf Association, comprised of 90 member courses, and over 13,000
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This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Four men, one woman to be inducted into South Dakota Golf Hall of Fame