National Golf Day – Why golf is more than just a game

Pete Kelbel explains why National Golf Day celebrates his family’s history and memories.

Today is National Golf Day.  The major golf organizations will meet in Washington D.C. today with political leaders to educate them on golf impacts local communities and people across America in a positive way.

I celebrate golf today because it has been very important in my personal life and has been so in my family’s lives for generations.  My grandfather, John Kelbel, Sr. was in assistant professional at Petoskey Bay View CC in Petoskey, Michigan and made the swing to Miami Beach in the winters back in the 1920’s.  He passed the love of the game on to my dad, Ed Kelbel, Sr. who was the head pro at Harbor Point GC and here at Walloon Lake while I was growing up.

My dad, in turn, passed the love on to my brothers and me. We all ended up being head golf professionals ourselves.

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My  late brother Ed Kelbel, Jr. ultimately was the PGM  Director for The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.  Ed Jr. was the head pro at Petoskey Bay View CC, Cheboygan GC, and The Emerald at Maple Creek in St. John’s, MI prior to his stint at UCCS.  My brother Mark is the head professional at The Broadmoor, also in Colorado Springs.  I am the head professional at Walloon Lake CC in Petoskey, MI.  It has been 27 great years here for me.

Working in the golf industry has been very rewarding for my brothers and me. It exposed us to life outside of northern Michigan as we earned our PGA class A cards.  Ed Jr. worked as an assistant pro at San Jose Municipal GC and Santa Teresa GC in San Jose, CA  and also at Inverrary GC in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  Mark worked as an assistant at Hole-In-The Wall Golf Club in Naples, FL before taking the head professional job at the Grand Hotel GC on Mackinac Island, MI.  Mark was named head professional at the Broadmoor fifteen years ago.  I also worked at Hole-In-The-Wall GC in Naples, FL as an associate head professional and teaching pro before staying at Walloon Lake CC to raise my family in Petoskey, MI

We would literally finish up the season in northern Michigan and then head to our winter employment in warmer climates.  I personally cherished my time playing in southwest Florida, looking at all the alligators, bobcats and different kinds of birds. There were even bears on a rare occasion at Hole-In-The-Wall GC , right in the heart of Naples, FL.  The warm weather was hard to beat, especially for a kid from northern Michigan.  I would play after work until dark and then watch the sunset of the Gulf of Mexico.

The club gave me a free apartment below the golf shop, so I had only to climb a set of stairs to get to work.  I had a similar living situation below the clubhouse  at Petoskey Bay View CC where I was an assistant pro for three years.  Those afternoons playing and practice sessions after work were some of the best times of my life as a single man.

Ed Jr., Mark and I grew up picking up range balls (by hand), caddying at both Harbor Point GC and Wequetonsing GC in Harbor Springs.  We then took care of the carts and washed the members clubs.  My dad made us watch him give countless lessons and it obviously rubbed off on us.  Ed. Jr. started a golf team at Harbor Springs HS, where I am now the head golf coach.  My dad was the golf coach there as well.   Ed went on to be a high school All American and played for Michigan State University for four years on a free ride scholarship.

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Once golf gets in your blood, it is hard to get enough of it.  I love coaching the Harbor Springs boys and girls golf teams, volunteering at First Tee of Northern Michigan, working with kids competing in the Drive, Chip and Putt Competitions.  This is all in addition to giving a very large amount of lessons to my members at Walloon Lake CC and running the golf program there.

I have recently traveled to St. Andrews and played the Old Course.  Now I have a set of hickory clubs and two sets of knickers with matching socks.  I played The Makai Course in Kauai with my daughter Grace, who was also fortunate enough to play with me at The Old Course.  Grace made all state honorable mention as a junior at Petoskey High School last year and could be the link to continue our family’s love of golf.  She loves the course and her nature pictures of blue heron,  sand hill cranes and sunsets are just as important to her as her score!

Next: National Golf Day - What The Game Means to Me

There are few place better to be than on a golf course, especially when the game is embedded in our family history and memories, especially on National Golf Day. Go play 9 this afternoon..