Induction into LV golf hall brings Acker another hunk of hardware

He has won more than 50 golf tournaments, but you won’t find any trophies in Frank Acker’s house.

Perhaps he’ll make an exception today when he is inducted into the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame.

Acker, 57, who works as a casino supervisor at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, will be part of the Class of 2014 that includes former Cimarron-Memorial High School star and LPGA tour player Stephanie Louden, longtime golf professional Mike Davis and the late John Difloure, who was the head pro at Las Vegas Municipal Golf Club and helped form the Nevada Golf Association.

The ceremonies, which will be held at TPC Summerlin and are sold out, will help kick off the week’s activities for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, which will be played Thursday through Oct. 19.

“It’s a great honor,” Acker said. “It’s almost a little too much. But it’s nice to be part of the story of golf in Las Vegas.”

Acker grew up on the golf course and took up the game at age 8 in his native North Carolina. He quickly showed an aptitude for the sport and was the 1975 North Carolina state high school champion. He won a scholarship to East Carolina and after college, he and his family moved to Las Vegas.

He tried his hand on the pro mini-tour in Florida. But he decided to move back to Las Vegas, got married and when he got his amateur status back, focused on that element of the game.

“It was pretty tough,” he said of trying to make a living playing golf. “But it wasn’t impossible. I played against some very good players. But when I decided to move back to Las Vegas that was pretty much the end of my pro career.”

As an amateur, Acker got to play with a lot of the fine young golfers that have come out of the area, most notably Robert Gamez and Craig Barlow, both who went on to play on the PGA Tour.

“I liked playing with the young guys and seeing them grow up,” Acker said. “It’s still something I enjoy doing.”

But he never lost his thirst for competition. Even at age 57, he still plays in many of the Southern Nevada Golf Association’s open events.

“I grew up in a competitive atmosphere,” said Acker, who was a three-time SNGA Player of the Year (1989, 1990 and 1995) and was the SNGA Senior Player of the Year from 2007 to 2011. “It’s not so much about winning more than it is that I hate to lose. My attitude was, and still is, if you took a day off from practice, somebody else was out there practicing and that guy was getting better.”

And where are all the trophies he has won over the years to show the fruits of his labor?

“They’re in boxes in the garage,” Acker said. “There’s nothing golf in my house.”

Perhaps that changes tonight.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.