Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 27

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OBITUARY
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Bob Ulsaker
1925-2016
If you played in the U.S. Amateur Public
Links Championship during the 1960s, '70s
or '80s, and you weren't the medalist or the
runner-up in the local qualifying tournament,
you probably should have thanked
Bob Ulsaker for giving you your spot. He was
the reason there were four or fi ve spots available
every year, rather than just one or two.
It was Ulsaker who went from public
course to public course and encouraged
them to get as many entries as possible for
the qualifying that each club held, prior to
the local qualifying. As a result of his tireless
efforts, Minnesota led the country in
the number of USAPL entrants for three
decades.
" Bob was a National Publinx Committeeman
representing the MGA for 32 years, "
says Darrell Retka, who succeeded Ulsaker
in that position. " And during that time,
Minnesota had more entries in the Publinx
than any other state. More than California.
More than New York. More than Florida.
More than Texas. It's pretty amazing when
you think about it, and it was really quite a
tribute to Bob. He was the person who made
that possible with a lot of hard work. "
Ulsaker, who died July 2 at the age of 90,
was a fi xture at MGA events for four decades,
and he had the distinction of serving
as a rules offi cial at tournaments in all 50
states. He was awarded numerous honors,
including being named Mr. Public Golf by
Minnesota Golfer magazine and Minnesota's
Mr. Golf by Active Lifestyles magazine.
In 1975, he received the Ron Self Award
for his contributions to Minnesota public
golf, and there is now a Publinx tournament
named after him-the MPGA Bob Ulsaker
State Match Play Championship. Each year,
the winner of the tournament receives the
Bob Ulsaker Cup.
He also received the MGA's highest honor,
the Rebholz Award, for contributions to golf
at the state and national levels. Ulsaker was
the fourth recipient of the award, in 1997,
Bob
Ulsaker
and you could make the case that the eponym
of the award, Warren Rebholz, and the
fi rst four winners-Les Bolstad, Bob Morgan,
Patty Berg and Ulsaker-represent the
Mount Olympus of Minnesota golf.
As a group, they probably did more to
shape golf in this state than anyone else.
Ulsaker was born Sept. 19, 1925. One of
the ironies of his roughly half-century tenure
as a golf volunteer/offi cial/administrator
was that he didn't play golf in high school.
Instead, he played for the tennis team at
Minneapolis Roosevelt.
From Roosevelt, he went into the U.S.
Navy and served during World War II. When
the war ended, he returned to Minnesota
and enrolled at Augsburg College, where he
got a degree in business.
Ulsaker spent more than 45 years working
in the health insurance industry. He was an
employee benefi ts consultant at Blue Cross/
Blue Shield, Woodhill Financial and other
agencies, and he served as the president of
the Minnesota Association of Health Underwriters.
" He
started out in golf as a public course
guy, " Frank Fiorito, a former head pro, notes,
" and he stayed a publinxer all his life. That
was a great thing for Minnesota public golf.
Bob was the best. "
For the full obituary, visit mngolf.org/
news/Bob_Ulsaker.
MGA ANNUAL
MEETING
Brackett's Crossing Country
Club, Lakeville, is set to host
the MGA's Annual Meeting
and Awards banquet Tuesday,
Nov. 1. Social hour starts
at 5:30 p.m., followed by
presentations recognizing the
six MGA Players of the Year,
the Evans Scholar of the Year,
the MGA Volunteer of the Year
and the Warren J. Rebholz
Distinguished Service Award
winner. Also to be honored
are four inductees into the
Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame:
William D. " Bill " Clark, Lisa
(Kluver) Grimes, Frank Taylor
and Anne Zahn.
This year a new slate of
offi cers will be
voted on, led by
Barb Hanson,
president; Tom
Smith, vice
president; and
Mike Malone,
secretary/
treasurer.
Hanson, the
MGA's fi rst woman president,
is a retired teacher and runs
her own company, Corporate
Golf Services. She has been
a member of the MWGA for
more than 25 years, playing in
many tournaments and events,
and has been involved in the
MGA executive committee for
a decade.
As an MGA member, you are
Barb
Hanson
welcome to attend the Annual
Meeting. For more details,
contact Anne Colehour at 952345-3969.
www.mngolf.org
Fall
2016 MINNESOTAGOLFER
25
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016

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