FINALLY: Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Foursome Inducted

FINALLY: Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Foursome Inducted

 BIG RAPIDS –  David Graham, former executive director of the Golf Association of Michigan, Holt’s Julie Massa, a dominant senior golfer, Bay City’s Roy Schultheiss, a winner of both the Michigan Amateur and the GAM Championship, and Dick Stewart, a celebrated former head PGA golf professional at Kalamazoo Country Club, have been inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame (MGHOF) as the Class of 2021.

  The induction celebration was originally scheduled for June 6 of 2020 but was postponed due to pandemic concerns. The class of 2020 became the class of 2021 and was finally and formally inducted Sunday afternoon at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Club, home of the Ken Janke Sr. Golf Learning Center that houses the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. The 2021 class brings the number of inductees to 131.

  “This fabulous and patient foursome reflects the best of Michigan golf in playing ability, leadership, service and character,” Greg Johnson, MGHOF committee chairman, said. “We had to wait for it, but it was a proud day for them and Michigan golf.”

  Graham, who is 64 and recently moved to Pinehurst, N.C., from Lake Orion, retired in 2019 after serving as the GAM’s executive director for 18 years, which was the longest tenure of an executive in the 100-year history of the association. He is credited by the GAM for having designed and implemented a successful turnaround of the association from near bankruptcy in 2001. Increased membership of clubs, golfers, tournament offerings and participation, creation of programs and events and the launching of the GAM Foundation and its work with Youth on Course are among his many contributions and accomplishments.

  Massa, 57, is a native of Oregon and former Oregon Women’s Amateur Champion who played collegiate golf at Arizona State University. She has been a Holt resident since 1989 and has won 15 times in GAM championships, including two GAM Women’s Mid-Amateur titles and two Michigan Women’s Senior Amateur titles, and has been named the GAM Senior Women’s Player of the Year for six consecutive seasons including 2020. Over the years she has played in 21 United States Golf Association (USGA) national championships, including the U.S. Women’s Amateur twice, the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur nine times, and the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur six times.

  Schultheiss, 65, was dominant in the Bay City area and on the state amateur golf scene in the 1980s and 90s when he collected titles in the Michigan Amateur in 1984, the GAM Championship in 1990 and ’95 and was the 1991 GAM Mid-Amateur winner. He has qualified for match play 17 times in the Michigan Amateur over the years and was GAM Player of the Year in 1984. He has played well on the national level, too, having competed in five USGA national championships, including the U.S. Amateur three times in 1980, ’90 and ’91. He played in two U.S. Mid-Amateur Champions and made it through to match play each time. He won two rounds of matches in 1991.

  Stewart, 67, retired in 2018 after 40 years as the head golf professional at Kalamazoo Country Club. A native of Petoskey, Stewart was elected to the Michigan PGA Hall of Fame in 2018. He is a seven-time winner of the Michigan PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award, which recognizes  the PGA professional who best demonstrates exceptional character, integrity, and leadership in mentoring others, and he is also a two-time winner of the Horton Smith Award, which honors PGA professionals for helping to educate other professionals. A former Michigan PGA president, he has helped place 22 former assistants in head professional positions across the country and helped train 4,000 caddies via the KCC program.

  The MGHOF is a heralded collection of portraits, plaques and memorabilia that currently commemorates 127 members, including Walter Hagen, Chuck Kocsis, Al Watrous and more current notables Dave and Mike Hill, Dan Pohl, Meg Mallon and Kelly Robbins. The collection is housed and displayed in the Ken Janke Sr. Golf Learning Center at Ferris State University’s Katke facility. The late Ken Janke Sr. is co-founder and a member of the MGHOF.

  The MGHOF is administered by the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Committee, which is funded through the non-profit Michigan Golf Foundation (501(c) (3) since 1996) and includes 15 people representing a cross-section of the state’s golf associations as well as golf media. The MGHOF committee conducts an annual election to recognize the achievements of competitive Michigan golfers, but also accomplishments of individuals who have contributed to the growth of the game. For more information and to learn about the current members of the Hall of Fame, visit mghof.org.