The ultimate ‘complement’
Golf and ministry in the eyes of a pastor
hat’s the first thing that comes to mind when you
hear the word “Yankees?” Derek Jeter? Stein-
brenner? Money, maybe? Now, what about the word
“golf.” Tiger? PGA? Pretty common answers for most
golfers. But not Scott Skogen. His answer? Ministry.
For Skogen, a pastor at North Presbyterian Church in La
Crosse and avid golfer, golf and ministry go hand-in-hand. “They just complement each other and they always
have,” he says.
Skogen started playing golf at age 9, and it didn’t take
more than just a few shots for him to fall in love. “I
instantly became hooked,” says Skogen. “I still am.” As
quickly as his golf passion grew, so did his skill. In high
school, Skogen was a member of the golf team at
Onalaska where he was voted most valuable player, team
captain and was a member of Onalaska’s first state
championship when the golf team won the WIAA State
Tournament in 1982. That same year he won the Wisconsin State Golf Association Junior Boys Championship.
After graduation, Skogen, who has always been active
in the church, attended the University of Mary Hardin
Baylor on a golf scholarship. It was during this time
period when he began to understand the direction in
which his life path was headed. “My golf coach hired me
as a youth director at a Presbyterian church in Texas,” he
says. “The pastor was a ridiculously dedicated golfer. I
thought, if this guy can play as much golf as he does in
the ministry, that’s the job for me.”
A few months later, Skogen was playing golf with a
teammate when something happened that Skogen
considers the point at which his “calling” into ministry
W
became crystal clear. “We were walking down the No. 5
fairway, and he asked me what I was going to do after
college. I said I was probably going to go in the golf
business. And he stopped and looked at me and said,
‘Really, because I always thought you’d be a minister.’ I
had never even gone to church with this guy in my life,”
he says. “I will never forget that moment.”
That comment did more than just open his heart to the
possibility of entering into ministry. “That’s when I really
thought, maybe there is something going on here,” says
Skogen. “(My teammate) saw that in me that I didn’t see
in myself. And then once the ball got rolling in that
direction, I just hung on for dear life.”
Now, as a pastor and coach, he has incorporated his
love for golf with his passion for ministry. “Golf allows me
to extend my ministry beyond the walls of the church,”
says Skogen. “And golf has carried over a lot into my
ministry in the sense that golf is a game of honor and a
game of integrity. Golf teaches you so many ethics that
you also try to teach in the church. It builds great friend-
ships, great community, and that’s something you try to
do in the life of a church as well.”
As a coach, Skogen talks about honor and integrity –
messages that are timeless in the world of golf. “I
continue to teach those kinds of ethics every day – hard
work, dedication, fun and respect. All of those things are
a big part of my life as a coach.”
Skogen, who maintains a 1.0 handicap at Coulee Golf
Bowl, also loves to compete and recently played in the
Chippewa Valley Golf Association Tournament of Champi-
ons, the Coulee Open and WSGA Directors Cup, among
Scott Skogen poses post-round with
his favorite playing partners – his son
others. But his favorite times spent on the course are with
his son Ben, the 2010 WSGA junior boys player of the year,
and his daughter Annie.
