Kelly Finds Out Less Is More Nc Senior Makes Room For Other Things Besides Golf, But Still Wants To Be No. 1

When Kyle Kelly realized golf wasn’t everything, he became a better golfer.

Sure, the North Central senior would like to take a stab at the PGA Tour, but he knows the odds are stacked against him and, to have that shot, he needs to play in college.

“The first couple of years it was golf, golf, golf,” Kelly said. “Now I’m centering myself more around academics.”

Kelly’s focus on golf made him the Greater Spokane League champion as a junior and helped him make his third appearance at state, where he finished second. He would like to improve on that, which can only mean one thing.

“I want to be No. 1, definitely,” he said. “But there’s so many good players this year, so many good young guys just in the league. And there’s Dusty Brett.”

Brett, a senior at Bellarmine Prep, beat Kelly 148 to 151 in the state tournament at The Creek at Qualchan last spring.

And, there’s Andy Hastings.

The Ferris senior was GSL champion as a freshman, but played out of state the last two years, honing his game to the point he has a scholarship at Stanford lined up for next year.

“We’ve played together forever,” Kelly said. “He’s always been a good player. He doesn’t have a weakness. If I can learn anything from him, it would be his course management, just the way he handles himself out there.

“I think it will be great for me. Hopefully it will be great for him. It should be fun this year.”

The pair square off this afternoon at Qualchan, Kelly’s home course, and end the season at Hangman, the home track for Ferris.

Kelly was a typical youngster, playing baseball and soccer, except that he took up golf when he was 5 or 6. He tagged along with his father, who worked evenings, when he would go to Esmeralda.

“Golf is such a thinking game,” Kelly said. “It’s fun to go out and challenge myself.”

He began playing competitive golf when he was 11 and soon gave up the other sports, though they still hold his interest.

“I think I was just a little bit better at golf,” he said.

Now, when he isn’t golfing or studying - he wants to major in international business - he helps his father coach his younger brother’s soccer team.

Kelly would like to stay close to home to continue his academic and golf education.

“Ultimately, I would like to put myself in position to try the PGA,” he said. “I’m a realist enough to know only a small percent do that.”

His game appears to be headed in the right direction.

“I’ve been driving the ball real well and I’ve been hitting my long irons,” he said. “I haven’t worked as much on my short game, yet.”

Where he expects the most improvement, however, is on the mental aspect of the game, which should keep the seniors in front of the charging young players.

“It’s more experience,” he said. “As seniors, we’ve learned how to deal with pressure, how not to put pressure on ourselves. Young kids seem to have trouble with temperament.”

That’s a voice of experience.

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