Kelly Holland achieved big golf dreams and earned a place in the Hall of Fame

Posted on by Vaseline

During her childhood, Kelly Holland spent two weeks of summer with her family at a cabin in northern Michigan.

That annual tradition came to an end when Holland’s mother convinced her father to join the Grand Ledge Country Club instead.

The new summer plans helped fuel a family passion for golf, and helped inspire Holland’s journey toward a career that would reach the highest levels.

Holland, who went on to star at Waverly High School and Michigan State and eventually played on the LPGA Tour, is part of this year’s class of inductees into the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame. Holland and eight other individuals and two teams will be inducted Aug. 8 with a dinner and ceremony at the Lansing Center.

Holland was a member of three state championship golf teams at Waverly, contributing to the school’s first state title in 1981 and then competing in titles in 1983 and 1984. She also medaled at the state finals as a senior before moving on to MSU.

Success brought Holland to East Lansing, where she became the Spartans’ team MVP and an All-Big Ten player in 1987-88. Shortly after graduating from MSU, Holland turned to professional golf.

“I got to see a part of the country that I would never have gotten to see otherwise,” Holland said of her pro career. “There was a part of me that thought this was what I was going to do. I was pretty determined. I was lucky enough to have a friend who could give me the finances to do it. It was exciting. It was scary. There were a lot of things that seemed to be against me, so I said I wasn’t going to let that stop me.”

One of those obstacles was that the brand new car she had just purchased was stolen while she was staying with her aunt in Florida, just before her first tournament. Most of her belongings were in the car, including her golf clubs.

Holland’s family sent some clubs to Florida and she finished second in that tournament. That was part of the three years Holland spent on the mini-tour before qualifying for the LPGA Tour in 1992. She played three more seasons on the mini-tour after failing to qualify for the LPGA in 1993 before deciding to move on.

But the allure of golf that attracted her at a young age still remains with Holland, and the sport continues to play an important role in her family’s life.

“For me, golf, because you can’t perfect it, it’s always so challenging — that’s really what attracted me to it,” Holland said. “There’s so many different parts of the game that you have to work on — your short game, your irons, your driver, your putter, bunkers. Just the challenge was the biggest thing. I was pretty good at it. That helped, too.

“My dad was a great teacher. He always kept it pretty simple. He gave me the tools I needed when I was away from home so I could make some corrections myself.”

Contact Brian Calloway at [email protected]. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.

48th Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame

When: Aug 8; 4:30 pm — Welcome; 5:30 pm — Dinner; 6:30 pm — Dedication Ceremony

Where: Lansing Center

Cards: $40 per person, call (517) 484-0677 or email [email protected] for information.

Members of 2024: Mike Griffith, Chris Henderson, Fred Heumann, Kelly Holland, Molly Peterman, Tiffanie Shives, Tony Trierweiler, Roge’t Ware, Roger Wing, 1991 East Lansing football, 1978 Laingsburg softball

Sponsors: Dean Transportation, ASAP Printing, Roland Carter Enterprise, Shaheen Chevrolet and Cadillac, The Bleacher Denizen, One North Kitchen & Bar, Applegate Home Comfort, The Accident Fund Group, Edward Jones Investments, Karoub Associates, Dan Henry Distributing, Magic Johnson Enterprises

Avatar for Vaseline
Vaseline https://newspowergreen.biz.id

You May Also Like

More From Author