Jennifer Walker Excited About
Filling Big Shoes at OP’ s Two Courses
annually on the five courses. In 2000, St. Andrews and Sykes-Lady combined for 197,391 rounds, and 197,819 in 2001, the most ever.“ But that was when we played fivesomes,” says Nelson.“ This past year, we had 197,334 rounds but now play foursomes, so we were 20 percent busier.”
Married 46 years, Nelson and his wife, Barb, have two daughters, Laura, 41, of Kansas City, and Krista, 37, of Denver, and five grandchildren.
Jennifer Walker Excited About
Filling Big Shoes at OP’ s Two Courses
Former high school sensation brings a wealth of experience as new Director of Golf
Despite Sykes-Lady being closed by weather, retiring Director of Golf Curt Nelson and his successor, Jennifer Walker, were surrounded by a full house of lunch patrons in the course’ s Club 27, which also offers a spectacular panorama of the North and South courses.
Since 2000, Nelson has also seen revenue more than triple, from $ 3.6 to $ 11.6 million this past year, and employment increased six times.“ When I was at St. Andrews, we had about 60 employees. Now we have 320,” says Nelson.
So why, at the young age of 67, would Nelson want to step down?“ I’ ve been doing this since 1983; 42 years is a long time. I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I have five grandkids, three to 11 years old, and we want to travel more.” And he’ s not completely stepping away. He owns Midwest Golf Management( MGMCO), which manages the two courses.“ I’ m in the shadows of my career, I guess. I’ ll still be around the clubhouse; I just won’ t have to make the final say in things.”
Nelson’ s work has not gone unnoticed. He won the Bill Strausbaugh Award for mentoring young golf professionals in 2018 and was named the Midwest PGA Section’ s Professional of the Year in 2019. Earning his PGA membership in 1988, Nelson earned the distinction of becoming one of only two known Master PGA Professionals in Kansas City in 1995.
Mother Nature did not do Jennifer Clark Walker any favors in her first month, January 2025, as the new Director of Golf Operations at Overland Park’ s Sykes-Lady and St. Andrews courses— certainly one Walker will never forget.
Four days into January, freezing rain and nearly a foot of snow shut down both courses and all of Kansas City in one of the worst blizzards in decades.“ We were completely shut down for three days, and I’ m not sure that’ s ever happened,” said Walker. It wasn’ t until February that play began.
As the successor to Curt Nelson, Walker has big shoes to fill, trekking in the footsteps of the Master PGA Professional who took the courses to unprecedented heights in his 11 years of overseeing both courses. Only the second person to hold the duo position, Walker is also the first female to hold the top job, most significant in a profession generally dominated by men.
She comes on with a wealth of experience, elevating through the ranks of the golf profession as an assistant for five years and six years as head professional— three at first St. Andrews and then Sykes- Lady.
“ I’ m excited and thankful for the opportunity,” says Walker.“ I want to maintain what we have and continue to get better. We’ ve got a great team at both facilities, the right people at the right places. Retaining a staff is always a challenge, but I hope we keep the staff we have for a long time.”
The molding of Walker for the duo position began while she was head pro at St. Andrews in 2020.“ I came in one day and she was really lowering the boom on a cart kid, and I knew then she knew how to be a boss,” said Nelson.“ You have to believe in what you’ re doing, or others won’ t believe you. Jennifer is a really good professional, enthusiastic, and has grown into the role. She’ s working on the fly with the restaurant and will do a good job.”
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