Celebrate our 2026 Golfers of the Year and Hall of Fame Inductees
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026
Time: Social 5:00 / Dinner 6:00 / Program after dinner
Where: TBD
This event is open to the public. Banquet ticket information will be coming soon.
2026 SDGA Golf Hall of Fame Inductees
Gretchen Idema Hughes, Sioux Falls – Gretchen Grote grew up in Dubuque, Iowa, and took up the game when she attended free junior golf lessons with Dubuque Country Club professional Howie Atten. She had a stellar high school career, including state titles for Dubuque High School. Gretchen did not play golf in college, but she continued to play competitively while earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
She burst on to the South Dakota golf scene in 1968, winning the SDGA Women’s Amateur Championship on her first try. That began an incredible run for Gretchen at the Women’s Amateur, where in the next 11 years she added three more titles and had five runner-up finishes. Gretchen was named Independent Female Athlete of the Year in 1971 by the South Dakota Sportwriters Association.
Tom Jansa, Sioux Falls – Tom Jansa grew up in the North End of Sioux Falls, honing his game on a makeshift course laid out across the Hawthorne Elementary playground. When his father, Cliff—an SDGA Match Play semifinalist in the 1950s—took up the game again, Tom joined him, graduating to Elmwood Golf Course while caddying at Minnehaha Country Club. He later worked on the grounds crew at Minnehaha CC under Gene Reiter while attending college. In 1987, while working as a foreman at McCormick Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, Terry Comstock visited and suggested he return to Sioux Falls to work alongside Terry in the Elmwood golf shop. Over the next 30 years as a PGA Professional, Tom partnered with Comstock and others at Dakota Golf Management to successfully operate the three City of Sioux Falls golf courses. This tenure included opening Prairie Green GC and culminated in supervising the complete 27-hole renovation at Elmwood.
Passionate about growing the game, Tom brought First Tee programming to Elmwood, becoming the first recognized First Tee coach in South Dakota, and helped introduce PGA HOPE programming to support local military service members. In 2015, he succeeded Hall of Famer Rod Garrison as the Head Golf Coach at his alma mater, O’Gorman High School. While his teams have captured seven State Championships, his enduring impact is measured by the steady leadership and sportsmanship he instills in his players. His leadership expanding statewide in 2018 when he became the fifth Executive Director of the SDGA. An expert in the Rules of Golf, Tom has officiated at three USGA National Championships. Tom’s playing career reached its peak with a second-flight victory at the 1984 SDGA Match Play Championship. Tom joins his brother Steve, nephew Ryan, and Ryan’s wife Julie in the Hall of Fame.
