Notes and quotes as Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inducts its 52nd class; Tom Apple, Rollie Cahalane, Lance Johnson, Jon Lindstrom and Robert Polk enshrined with 290 in attendance
By Gary Baines – 10/4/2025
DENVER — With the Colorado golf community having more than its share of accomplished and praiseworthy individuals, perhaps it’s no surprise that there’s been a plethora of inductees and honorees who have taken center stage at the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame dinner in the last year.
To be specific, there have been 23 people honored during the 2024 and ’25 fall dinners — 11 inductees and a dozen honorees. Last year’s class of six inductees matched the largest in organization history, and the five this year was close behind.
In all, 12 recipients were highlighted on Friday night at the CGHOF’s 52nd induction dinner at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center, with about 290 people attending the festivities.
The five inductees — two elite-level players (Jon Lindstrom and Robert Polk), two golf course superintendents (Lance Johnson and the late Rollie Cahalane) and a PGA professional (Tom Apple) — bring to 159 the number of people who have been enshrined in the CGHOF since its founding in 1973.
Meanwhile, earning honors on Friday were Duffy Solich, general chairman for the 2024 BMW Championship, which raised a record $10.2 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation and was named the 2024 PGA Tour Tournament of the Year (Golf Person of the Year); recently retired longtime TV broadcaster and part-time Steamboat Springs resident Verne Lundquist (Lifetime Achievement); former Castle Pines Golf Club PGA general manager and head professional Keith Schneider (Lifetime Achievement); CommonGround Golf Course director of agronomy Mitch Savage (Distinguished Service); and Ashleigh Wilson, Miles Kuhl and Tyler Long (Future Famers).
Solich is an older brother of 2024 CGHOF inductee George Solich and both were inducted into the Western Golf Association’s Caddie Hall of Fame last year. Schneider was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
For more about the inductees and honorees, CLICK HERE.
All in all, there was much to be celebrated. Here are notes and quotes from the inductees, as well as an honoree:
The late Rollie Cahalane, a longtime golf course superintendent in Colorado.
— From Craig Cahalane — one of three sons of inductee Rollie Cahalane, all of whom followed in their father’s footsteps as golf course superintendents: “I believe that our dad and Lance (Johnson) are Nos. 5 and 6 (as far as) superintendents going into the Hall of Fame. It’s a huge honor and I hope this opens the door for many more.”
— From Polk, who blossomed as a competitive golfer after age 50: “To tell you the truth I really wasn’t ever that good a player. I had a little success as a junior, I had some success in high school. I had really no success in college. I just never really was that good. But all during that time, I kept thinking, ‘Maybe one of these days I might become a good player.’ … Through stupid persistence and I’m certain some divine intervention, maybe I did become a good player. I can’t thank you all enough for tonight. If I live to be 110, I’ll never ever forget this.”
Sketches of Friday night’s inductees.
— From Johnson: “Being recognized among Colorado superintendents is a rare and special thing. Being inducted tonight alongside Rollie makes the night even more meaningful. … I’m very proud to be a golf course superintendent — and now a member of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.”
— Lindstrom noted that his dad passed away when Jon was 9 and that his grandpa got him into golf. He said that though he didn’t know it while his grandfather was still alive, the latter was a highly-decorated military physician who was knighted by the Queen of the Netherlands and served as a doctor for Dwight Eisenhower. As an obstetrician in civilian practice, he and his team delivered over 11,000 babies. Said Lindstrom:
“That man to me was a war hero, a doctor, a role model — and he was the same guy who invited a 9-year-old snot-nose kid to play golf with his buddies one day. He didn’t have to do that. He was the ultimate example of humility, leadership and inspiration. He became not only my role model then, but now. I wanted to share that story with you. That’s why I play golf.”
— Also from Lindstrom, noting that he’d won quite a few two-man team events over the years with such partners as Dean Clapp, Richard Bradsby, Chris Carlson, Brooks Ferring and Tom Lawrence: “And I mean this from the bottom of my heart: (Pause for effect) ‘You’re welcome’”.
— From Apple, after Gary McCord had sung his accolades in a video, on his induction: “This is a career-defining honor for me. I came a long way from sleeping on the floor of the Vail Golf Club when I came to Colorado. … I’ve come full circle from being a member of the Penn State golf team that played at The Broadmoor in 1969 at the NCAA Division I championships to my final resting place at the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame Museum at The Broadmoor.”
Retired longtime TV broadcaster — and part-time Steamboat Springs resident — Verne Lundquist, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award.
— After being congratulated for his Lifetime Achievement honor — via video — by CBS’ Jim Nantz, Lundquist said he was “very, very touched” and that it’s a “cherished honor.” Lundquist, whose diverse roles in the game have included everything from broadcasting 40 Masters to cameos in “Happy Gilmore”, noted that, whenever he passes away, the CGHOF award will be included “in a proud spot” among his personal memorabilia that will be displayed at his alma mater, Texas Lutheran University.
Lundquist regaled Friday’s audience with some behind-the scenes stories from the 1986 Masters (“Yes Sir!”) and Tiger Woods’ victory in 2005 at Augusta National (slow-motion chip-in on No. 16). Included was how broadcaster Tom Brookshier, who had gotten roped into paying $400 for Jack Nicklaus in a Calcutta prior to the ’86 Masters, ended up collecting $17,000 when the Golden Bear won that year.
Duffy Solich (with wife Anita), the Golf Person of the Year.
Notable: Three Colorado Golf Hall of Famers who were among the “Colorado Golf People of the Century” when the CGA celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015 — Vic Kline, Dennis Lyon and Barbara McIntire — have passed away this year and were recognized on Friday night with a moment of silence. … Chris Nordling, president-elect of the CGHOF board of directors, announced that the 2026 Hall of Fame tournament will be held at Lakewood Country Club on May 18. … Tom Green, who has worked in TV in the Denver market for more than four decades, once again served as emcee for the CGHOF induction dinner festivities.
Keith Schneider (Lifetime Achievement).
Mitch Savage (Distinguished Service).
Tyler Long (Future Famer).
Ashleigh Wilson (Future Famer).
Miles Kuhl (Future Famer).
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com