Reflections
KCKCC Leaves Legacies After 88 Years of College Golf
Several Kansas City area golf professionals got their career starts as Blue Devils .
by Alan Hoskins , contributing golf writer
KCKCC Blue Devil Men ’ s Golf team finished in 5th place at the 2015 NJCAA DII national golf tournament at Goose Pond Colony Golf Course . Scottsboro , AL .
A program that has offered collegiate golf to student athletes for 88 years has had its last putt fall . Following in the steps of other Jayhawk Conference members who have dropped golf programs , Kansas City Kansas Community College ( KCKCC ) will no longer offer golf as a collegiate sport . The decision to drop the sport coincides with Gary Shrader retiring after 23 years as head coach .
“ Gary did a tremendous job for us , and I think he ’ s going to really enjoy his retirement ,” says KCKCC Athletic Director Greg McVey . “ But with Gary retiring , we felt this was the time to make this decision . Obviously , economics comes into making this decision , and it just makes good sense to redirect our focus to make the best use of our resources , especially with so few teams in the Jayhawk Conference and the disparity in resources .” Only six other Jayhawk schools offer golf out of the 22 community colleges in Kansas and just two in the East .
Founded in 1936-37 , just 13 years after the college first opened its doors , KCKCC ’ s legacy boasts of periods of dominance and a wealth of outstanding golfers , several of whom have excelled as Kansas City area golf club professionals .
The most prominent is Robert Russell , who won the 1995 NJCAA D1 national championship in the most dramatic finish in tournament history . Winner of 18 of 24 tournaments in his two years at KCKCC and a first-team All-American , Russell is now the head professional at the Jack Nicklaus Club at LionsGate . Still active as a player , he won the prestigious 2023 Watson Challenge .
Other ex-Blue Devils who are currently or were club professionals include Carl Pugh , an Overland Park icon ; Craig Martin , Heart of America ; Eric Reisner , Shamrock Hills ; Alex Otting , formerly at Dub ’ s Dread ; Greg Hassler , Victory Hills ; Brandon Marshall , Ironhorse ; Randy Smith , Sunflower Hills ; Chris Williams , and others . Jamie Schmidt played the Prairie Tour before getting into the golf business .
Eric Reisner with the 2023 Watson Challenge Champion Robert Russell ( on right ). Russell at age 49 , won the Watson Challenge with Reisner , the general manager of Shamrock Hills who has served as Russell ’ s caddy for countless tournaments , including the 1999 U . S . Open . The two have been the closest of friends for 30 years , KCKCC teammates , and business partners . Russell is currently the head golf professional at the Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate in Overland Park , KS . ( Photo by Alan Hoskins )
Mike Sheppard joins Russell as KCKCC ’ s only first-team All-American . Sheppard was first-team as a freshman in 1975 and second-team All-American in 1976 . Rich Volding was named honorable mention All-American in 1978 , and former Piper star Chip DeMoss in 1981 .
14 July 2024 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE