Charlie Teel is known by many as the Godfather of Las Vegas golf and served as the head professional at the Stardust Country Club for many years and also was a legendary player. Upon his passing, he directed his estate to donate funds to Southern Nevada Junior Golf. His legacy continues with the Charlie Teel Scholarship, in 2025 earned by Braxton Rowley.
Rowley relished his time in the SNJGA and is now a finance major at Brigham Young University..
“When I think back to the SNJGA and junior golf, I think about how many fun rounds me and my brother, Thomas, and I were able to walk at Desert Willow and the way that SNJGA made it so affordable and convenient for me and him to always play there,” Rowley said. “That was a big impact from being a part of SNJGA for me. The Youth on Course initiative definitely allowed us to be able to play a lot more, and have a lot of fun memories together.”
Youth on Course is part of the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association membership and allows juniors to play golf for $5 at many Southern Nevada golf courses. Rowley and others take advantage of this opportunity to play more. The love of the game is nurtured through these opportunities.
“I love golf because of the individuality of the sport, but I also always played so many team sports,” said Rowley, who helped lead the Coronado High School men’s volleyball team to the 2025 state title. “But golf is so hard because at the end of the day there’s really no one to blame but yourself, which is the best feeling when things go your way, but the worst when things are going badly. It’s so hard sometimes, but I’m so competitive and just love the opportunity to try to be the best on each possible shot. It’s also so satisfying to crush a driver, flush an iron, or sink a putt on a tricky break.”
The Charlie Teel Scholarship is meaningful to Rowley and his family, even if he wasn’t sure it was going to happen before, during and after the interview and application process.
“The first thing that comes to mind about receiving the scholarship is really a level of gratitude at how many things worked out in order for me to get this scholarship,” Rowley said. “There was a point where I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to make it to the interview because I was going to be out of town for a volleyball tournament. In hindsight, I definitely am glad that I chose to book a flight from Phoenix to come back in order to interview. I didn’t think I had won either because I didn’t hear anything for like a week or so, but at like 7:30 at night the following Friday I got a phone call that I still remember very clearly of the committee calling to congratulate me on winning the scholarship.”
Rowley loves everything about the BYU experience, but will always flash back to playing golf with family and friends growing up.
“One interesting part about BYU is how fun the sports are up here,” Rowley said. “They’ve been a big part of my experience and it’s been fun to attend all the football, basketball, and soccer games so far. Many of my favorite golf memories come from SouthShore Country club where I worked for a majority of my senior year. I loved all of my coworkers and all the members. With working there, I was able to play some really fun rounds with my dad and brother out there on some of the slower days, which were so awesome. Probably the best individual moment was when I got up and down in a match play game against my dad from like 30 yards off the green and made a long putt to push on a hole where I really seemed like I had no chance.”
Southern Nevada Junior Golf Scholarship Spotlight – Braxton Rowley
Charlie Teel is known by many as the Godfather of Las Vegas golf and served as the head professional at the Stardust Country Club for many years and also was a legendary player. Upon his passing, he directed his estate to donate funds to Southern Nevada Junior Golf. His legacy continues with the Charlie Teel Scholarship, in 2025 earned by Braxton Rowley.
Rowley relished his time in the SNJGA and is now a finance major at Brigham Young University..
“When I think back to the SNJGA and junior golf, I think about how many fun rounds me and my brother, Thomas, and I were able to walk at Desert Willow and the way that SNJGA made it so affordable and convenient for me and him to always play there,” Rowley said. “That was a big impact from being a part of SNJGA for me. The Youth on Course initiative definitely allowed us to be able to play a lot more, and have a lot of fun memories together.”
Youth on Course is part of the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association membership and allows juniors to play golf for $5 at many Southern Nevada golf courses. Rowley and others take advantage of this opportunity to play more. The love of the game is nurtured through these opportunities.
“I love golf because of the individuality of the sport, but I also always played so many team sports,” said Rowley, who helped lead the Coronado High School men’s volleyball team to the 2025 state title. “But golf is so hard because at the end of the day there’s really no one to blame but yourself, which is the best feeling when things go your way, but the worst when things are going badly. It’s so hard sometimes, but I’m so competitive and just love the opportunity to try to be the best on each possible shot. It’s also so satisfying to crush a driver, flush an iron, or sink a putt on a tricky break.”
The Charlie Teel Scholarship is meaningful to Rowley and his family, even if he wasn’t sure it was going to happen before, during and after the interview and application process.
“The first thing that comes to mind about receiving the scholarship is really a level of gratitude at how many things worked out in order for me to get this scholarship,” Rowley said. “There was a point where I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to make it to the interview because I was going to be out of town for a volleyball tournament. In hindsight, I definitely am glad that I chose to book a flight from Phoenix to come back in order to interview. I didn’t think I had won either because I didn’t hear anything for like a week or so, but at like 7:30 at night the following Friday I got a phone call that I still remember very clearly of the committee calling to congratulate me on winning the scholarship.”
Rowley loves everything about the BYU experience, but will always flash back to playing golf with family and friends growing up.
“One interesting part about BYU is how fun the sports are up here,” Rowley said. “They’ve been a big part of my experience and it’s been fun to attend all the football, basketball, and soccer games so far. Many of my favorite golf memories come from SouthShore Country club where I worked for a majority of my senior year. I loved all of my coworkers and all the members. With working there, I was able to play some really fun rounds with my dad and brother out there on some of the slower days, which were so awesome. Probably the best individual moment was when I got up and down in a match play game against my dad from like 30 yards off the green and made a long putt to push on a hole where I really seemed like I had no chance.”
Photo: the legendary Charlie Teel
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