Kelly Celebrates 23 Seasons At The Helm Of The Women's Golf Program

BOULDER - Colorado Head Women's Golf Coach Anne Kelly celebrated her 23rd season this year. In doing so, she became the longest-tenured female head coach in school history, passing former women's basketball coach and current deputy athletic director, Ceal Barry.

An Aspen, Colo., native, Kelly can't remember a time when golf was not a part of her life. She grew up in a family of golfers, so it was a natural fit for her.

"My dad was a big golf nut and had a big influence on my love of the game and wanting to make golf a career," Kelly said. "My sister was also a good player as a junior golfer and my mom just had fun playing the game."

Kelly played her prep career at Santa Rita High School in Tucson, Ariz., and went on to play collegiately at TCU where she was part of the 1983 NCAA Championship team. Kelly would eventually go on to play professionally on the LPGA Tour for six seasons.

When she finished her professional career on the LPGA, she was working in the golf business but was not sure what her next move might be.

"My former college coach suggested I look into coaching," Kelly said. "I was able to get a job at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and then a couple of years later was fortunate enough to get the job at CU."

The CU program Kelly inherited was young. It had only been around for three years when she became head coach in 1997.

"We had to build a program in what was perceived as a non-golf climate, with no indoor facilities and only two golf courses to use on limited days," she said.

Kelly was able to navigate around these barriers. She also received some help on the facilities side. In 2009, Colorado National Golf Course was named the home complex of the CU men's and women's golf programs. Then in 2012, an indoor facility was added. More recently, the golf coaches' offices were upgraded with a golf simulator for athletes to use for practice no matter what the weather.

Looking back at her teams throughout the years, one of her most successful came in 2012. It was the first time CU would compete in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament since the Buffs joined in the conference the previous summer. Colorado was set to play against some of the most talented teams in the country. The team finished sixth overall, but to Kelly, this was an opportunity for the team to improve and become stronger. But the team finished fourth at regionals and advanced to their first NCAA Championship.

"I wouldn't say that being in the Pac-12 is intimidating, but it is very challenging. But in the long run, to be the best you have to play against the best. We definitely get that opportunity in this conference." Kelly said.

Being in one of the strongest conferences certainly posed some challenges for certain seasons. Some of Kelly's most frustrating moments happened in the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

"We missed making the National Championship by one shot each of those years," Kelly said. "That was heartbreaking because those teams really deserved to go to the championship."

But with the heartbreaking moments come plenty of moments where Kelly said she was a proud coach, both on and off the course.

"I'm really proud of what the team members have done since graduation," Kelly said. "We have some amazing women out there in the medical field, architecture, business world, golf industry and some competing at very high levels of golf."

Over the years, the team has increasingly improved on the course as well, hitting the marks and making a name for itself in the conference.

"I'd say early on we had a team place third in the Big 12 Conference and that was a big upset," Kelly said. "Oklahoma State and Texas A&M were really good that year, but our young team came on strong in really bad weather during the last round to upset a lot of teams that year.

"2012 was also another really good year and one of the most talented teams we have had. We played well at the NCAA Regional held at our own home course, Colorado National Golf Course, and went on to nationals."

Then in 2018, there was equal excitement. The team qualified for the NCAA Championship by one shot after missing by one shot the previous two years.

In Kelly's 23 years at CU, there is a long list of players that have impacted her and the team's growth in one way or another.

"I think early on, Michelle Thomas Robinson (1995-99) and Erin Kerr Houstma (2000-03) had such a love for CU and were competitive. They helped build the program early on," she said. "Emily Talley (2008-12), Jess Wallace (2010-12) and Jenny Coleman (2010-14) were really good players and helped us take the team to the next level."

More recently, Kelly said that Brittany Fan (2014-18), Esther Lee (2014-17), Robyn Choi (2016-18), and current player Kirsty Hodgkins were all very strong players that took a chance on CU and continued to make the program competitive. However, the most vital addition to the team may not have been a player.

"Honestly, the biggest impact was adding Brent Franklin as our assistant coach. He has been a huge part of our improvement over the years," Kelly said.

Franklin, a three-time All-American at BYU, played professionally from 1988-2001. He joined Kelly's staff in 2003 as a volunteer and was named an assistant in 2005. Prior to the start of his 18th season this past fall, he was promoted to associate head coach.

Although her 23rd season was cut short and did not have the ending she had hoped for, Kelly still has positive moments to remember this specific group of girls fondly.

"A real bright spot was having Alisha Lau back playing for us after a redshirt due to surgery in 2018-19," Kelly said. "She was making a terrific comeback, her game was really coming around and it was so exciting to see her progress. I feel like our time was finally coming together this spring, especially with the addition of Ellie Gower, but we just hadn't peaked yet when our season ended."

When it became clear that all Pac-12 sporting events were going to be canceled for the rest of the season, Kelly said her initial reaction was a disappointment.

"I felt we were coming together and about to play some really good golf," she said. "But it was getting pretty stressful traveling and worrying about the virus and the health of our players."

Going forward, the perspective has changed on the game for Kelly and her team.

"I think everyone, including coaches, is learning not to take things for granted and make the most of every opportunity we have," Kelly said. "We talk all the time about controlling the things we can control and taking the game one shot at a time. I think those statements are more than just words now. Having those goals for next season will now be much easier to understand."

Kelly Celebrates 23 Seasons At The Helm Of The Women's Golf Program

Players Mentioned

Robyn Choi

Brittany Fan

Ellie Gower

Kirsty Hodgkins

Alisha Lau

Esther Lee

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