Minnesota Golf Champions: Like father, like son

Tim Kelley and his son Robbie will play today when the Minnesota Golf Champions tournament begins. Summary.

By KENT YOUNGBLOOD, Star Tribune

Last update: May 9, 2008 - 12:09 PM

Tim Kelley knew early on that his son, Robbie, had a golfing future.

As a baby, Robbie accompanied Tim and his wife, Nancy, to the course for a Sunday afternoon round, his baby seat lashed between the seats of the golf cart by a couple of old neckties. "We'd rope the thing down and off we'd go," Tim recalled.

That was back in 1987. Since then, father and son have spent countless hours together on the course. First in Michigan, where Tim was working when Robbie was born, then later back in Minnesota at Minneapolis Golf Club.

Today it will happen again.

Both are playing in the Minnesota Golf Champions tournament, which starts today at Bearpath Golf & Country Club. Minneapolis Golf Club is the traditional home of this tradition-laden tournament, but it was moved for this year because of work being done on that course's sand traps.

Multi-generational entries in Minnesota Golf Association events are not unheard of, though they are rare for this invitation-only tournament. The field is assembled from former winners and high finishers in major MGA events. But it will be the third consecutive time the Kelleys both will play.

Robbie Kelley, a graduate of Hopkins High School, is a junior at the University of Minnesota and has been a member of the men's golf team the past three years. He finished ninth in this tournament last year. Tim Kelley got in thanks to his club championship at MGC last fall.

Golf has always been in the mix for the Kelleys. Tim grew up in a large family in Rochester, where he played both hockey and golf at Lourdes High School. But he honed his game while caddying at Rochester Country Club. The caddy shack had a green behind it, and whenever the elder Kelley didn't have a loop he'd be there, practicing his chipping and putting, sometimes for money. The result was a golden short game to go with his self-described "buggy-whip swing."

Robbie Kelley learned the game a different way. By the time he was old enough to start playing the Kelleys had moved back to Minnesota. Some of his fondest memories are of waiting for his dad to get home from work so they could run over to the course and get a few holes in before dark.

"We'd hit balls, maybe play a couple holes," Robbie said. "We'd take the cart out and jump around [the course], hit a lot of balls, fool around. It was a lot of fun. Then, when I was about 11 or 12, I started to get serious, and I would practice like every day all summer."

Tim Kelley remembers taking Robbie along with him for his Sunday morning game. He'd drop his son off at the practice green before heading out on the course.

"My group would come by, and we'd see him after nine holes, and he'd still be there, practicing," Tim said. "After the round, he'd still be working. He's always had that focus."

Early on, when they'd play together, Tim would try to make it competitive by having Robbie tee off from the 150-yard marker. Then he moved to the ladies tee, then to the men's. It wasn't long before Tim was doing all he could just to keep up.

"Now I can get him once in a blue moon," Tim said. "If he's having an off-day, I might catch him. Usually, he beats me like a drum. And nothing makes me happier."

The goal this weekend? Robbie will be looking to better his ninth-place finish from last year. Tim has a humbler goal, to make the cut. "I'm hoping to break out of that pattern," he joked.

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