LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Amy Bush-Herzer needed three invitations before she considered becoming a college golf coach. Now, the UNLV women’s golf program she leads has opened a season with three consecutive tournament victories for the first time in its history.
The historic start comes alongside a personal milestone: induction into the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame.
For Bush-Herzer, who has led UNLV to six Mountain West championships since taking over in 2010, the recognition prompted a realization.
“You give yourself every single day to these student-athletes and to the town and to the community,” she said. “And to have that come back on you, you’re like, ‘Oh wait, people are watching. People are recognizing.’”
WATCH | Amy Bush-Herzer enters Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame amid historic start
Her career began with a club her uncle handed her at age 11. The Tempe, Arizona, native eventually moved to Las Vegas as a golf professional, expecting a temporary stop before returning to Phoenix.
Twenty-six years later, she has trouble imagining living anywhere else.
“I wouldn’t have my career without the generosity of this community,” Bush-Herzer said.
Those relationships helped bring her to UNLV. Then-coach Missy Ringler asked Bush-Herzer three times to join her staff. On the third attempt, Ringler persuaded her to visit the university.
“I loved it, the energy of walking on campus and the energy of walking into the athletic complex,” Bush-Herzer said.
As head coach, she has worked to make her players feel equally welcome.
“I treat my student-athletes like they’re my children,” she said. “They’re my family.”
Creating an environment where players feel comfortable being themselves is central to her approach. So is preparing them for life after college. Her favorite day, she said, is graduation.
“They don’t realize how big it is to have a diploma and a four-year college education.”
There is room for laughter, too. Bush-Herzer tells people having a bad day to visit the team’s golf excellence center.
“I promise you your day will get better because we laugh a lot here,” she said.
That atmosphere accompanies a team with ambitions beyond its record-setting opening. Bush-Herzer said each victory has featured a different player achieving a personal best.
The Rebels are pursuing another conference championship and a place at the national championship.
“Ultimately we have the goal of being at the national championship,” she said, “but we have to take these little steps now.”
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