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John Russell

John Russell's sports column appears Sundays in Steamboat Today. Contact him at 871-4209 or e-mail jrussell@SteamboatToday.com.

If there is a golf course in heaven, I would be willing to bet that you would find Bill Nickey walking it.

He would be working with some young golfer who wanted to learn the basics of the game. His enthusiasm would fuel the student’s passion for the game, his fatherly nature would make his student feel comfortable as he explained the rules, and his knowledge would command a respect for the etiquette that guides every player on the course.

Bill was a teacher, a coach and one of the biggest supporters of junior golf the Yampa Valley ever has seen. He not only enjoyed playing the game in his free time but also did everything he could to pass his love of golf on to the next generation.

It’s hard to remember the first time I met Bill, but my best guess is that it was a little more than 16 years ago when he was planning the first Cowboy Shootout at Steamboat Golf Club west of Steamboat Springs. Bill designed the Cowboy Shootout to provide young golfers with a stage to practice the skills they learned in junior programs.

The tournament never was intended to create champions or to be about a trophy or a title. It was about getting out on the golf course and igniting a passion for the game. It is still a summer tradition in Steamboat Springs.

Bill taught golf to dozens of juniors when he lived in the Yampa Valley, and for many years he ran the course’s junior programs, which helped generate some of Steamboat Springs’ top prep golfers.

My guess is that the players on today’s high school team are too young to remember Bill and the lessons he taught here. Bill left Steamboat Springs years ago after health problems prompted him to move back to his childhood home in Carlisle, Pa.

But he would be happy to know that junior golf has continued to progress in our small mountain town. The game continues to grow under a new generation of teachers and coaches who bring their own brand of enthusiasm to the course. These new teachers guide the players of tomorrow and control the future of the game.

But I miss the days when Bill used to walk through the front door of my office to tell me about some new program or to ask me to write a preview for that year’s Cowboy Shootout. His love of the sport and of teaching was evident in everything he did. I miss his dedication, and I miss his energy. I miss him ending every conversation we ever had with an invitation to come out and play a round of golf with him. I’m sure I could have learned a few things from him.

Bill is gone now, and he will be missed. He died Sept. 7 in Pennsylvania at age 79.

I’m happy to see that his love for the game lives on every summer when the Steamboat Golf Club hosts the Cowboy Shootout. I’m not sure if there are any golf courses in heaven, but if there are, that is where you will find Bill.