Gene Johnson

Gene Johnson has been at the center of Omaha public golf since 1972 as head golf professional at Johnny Goodman Golf Course. And until physical ailments curtailed his competitive, he was one of the state’s best professional golfers.

Fremont is a special place for Gene. He grew up in Fremont winning the Class A state title in 1958 in his senior year at Fremont. He was working for Hall of Famer AL Beister by age 14, returning later as an assistant pro, and also was head professional for almost two years at Valley View south of Fremont.

Johnson played college golf at the University of Nebraska before turning professional. He was accepted as a PGA member in 1962, the year he qualified for the PGA Championship. While in the military service, Gene twice was Fifth Army champion, beating the likes of Homero Blancas and eventual U.S. Open champion Orville Moody, and was in charge of the base course at Fort Riley, Kansas.

In 1965, he joined Bob Popp at Omaha Country Club as an associate pro and worked there until hired in 1972 to run Omaha’s new, 18-hole Applewood Golf Course (it recently was renamed for Goodman, the 1933 U.S. Open champion from Omaha).

Some of John’s “Alumni” include Tony Pesavento at Omaha Country Club, Kevin Chestnut at Westwood Heights in Omaha and PGA Life Member Kent Lyons, who continues to work at Goodman. They marvel over his understanding of the golf swing, his promotion of the game, his management of one of the state’s busiest facilities and his generosity.