The Nebraska Cornhuskers men's golf team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska primarily uses Firethorn Golf Course as its home course, but also lists ArborLinks Golf Club, Wilderness Ridge, and Hillcrest Country Club as affiliates.
The program was established in 1935 and has reached the NCAA Division I championship four times, most recently in 1999. Steve Friesen, the only men's golfer in the Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame, won the 1999 Ben Hogan Award as the country's best golfer. The team has been coached by Judd Cornell since 2023.
Conference affiliations MVIAA / Big Eight Conference (1935–1996) Big 12 Conference (1997–2011) Big Ten Conference (2012–present)
Coaches Coaching history 1 Dana X. Bible 1935–1936 2 Ed Newkirk 1937–1941 3 Bud Williamson 1946–1948 4 Marvin Franklin Jr. 1949–1951 5 Ed Higgenbotham 1952 6 Bob Hamblet 1953–1954 7 Jerry Bush 1955–1957 8 Bill Smith 1958–1960 9 Harry Good 1961–1970 10 Larry Romjue 1971–2001 11 Bill Spangler 2002–2018 12 Mark Hankins 2019–2021 13 Brett Balak 2022 14 Judd Cornell 2023–present
Coaching staff Judd Cornell Head coach 2023 Nebraska Travis Minzel Assistant coach 2021 Nebraska Wesleyan
Championships and awards Team conference championships MVIAA: 1936, 1937
Individual awards Ben Hogan Award: Steve Friesen (1999)
Seasons
1935 Dana X. Bible 2nd 1936 1st 1937 Ed Newkirk 1st 1938 2nd 1939 5th 1940 4th 1941 3rd 1942 Did not compete 1943 1944 1945 1946 Bud Williamson 6th 1947 5th 1948 2nd 1949 Marvin Franklin Jr. 6th 1950 3rd 1951 2nd 1952 Ed Higgenbotham 2nd 1953 Bob Hamblet 4th 1954 3rd 1955 Jerry Bush 5th 1956 5th 1957 6th 1958 Bill Smith 7th 1959 6th 1960 6th 1961 Harry Good 8th 1962 8th 1963 7th 1964 8th 1965 6th 1966 5th 1967 4th 1968 3rd 1969 8th 1970 3rd 1971 Larry Romjue 4th 1972 8th 1973 2nd NCAA University Division 18th 1974 3rd 1975 6th 1976 6th 1977 5th 1978 2nd NCAA Division I 20th 1979 4th 1980 5th 1981 3rd 1982 3rd 1983 4th 1984 7th 1985 3rd 1986 5th 1987 4th 1988 6th 1989 4th 1990 6th 1991 5th 1992 7th 1993 6th 1994 5th 1995 6th 1996 3rd 1997 Larry Romjue 6th 1998 9th NCAA Division I 20th 1999 2nd NCAA Division I 14th 1900 12th 2001 12th 2002 Bill Spangler 12th 2003 11th 2004 12th 2005 12th 2006 6th 2007 6th 2008 11th 2009 11th 2010 T–7th 2011 8th 2012 Bill Spangler 12th 2013 9th 2014 11th 2015 13th 2016 13th 2017 12th 2018 11th 2019 Mark Hankins 5th 2020 Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 12th 2022 Brett Balak 14th 2023 Judd Cornell 12th 2024 T–7th 2025 13th
On the PGA Tour Seven former Nebraska golfers have played on the PGA Tour. The longest-tenured was Tom Sieckmann, who spent thirteen years on the Tour and tied for eighth at the 1990 U.S. Open. Sieckmann lettered at NU in his freshman year but finished his collegiate career at national powerhouse Oklahoma State. Along with Steve Friesen, Scott Gutschewski led Nebraska to its most successful season ever in 1999 and turned professional shortly after, earning his PGA Tour card in 2005. After a decade mostly spent on the Korn Ferry Tour, Gutschewski reached the PGA Tour again in 2022.
Steve Gotsche and Mike Schuchart played multiple PGA Tour seasons, while three others (Mark Maness, Jeff Klein, and Brady Schnell) held their PGA Tour cards for a single year.
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