Las Vegas National, Kelly Are Eyewitnesses to History at State Senior Amateur Looms
It is not a knock on longtime PGA of America professional and Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame inductee Joe Kelly to compare how long he has been around to the historic Las Vegas National Golf Club, which opened in 1961. It just means that Kelly, who came to Vegas in the 1970’s, has watched many great amateur and professional golfers play while the fairways and greens of the course that debuted as the Stardust Country Club has hosted them. Now, the 2023 Nevada State Senior Amateur is to be played on the layout July 20-22, 2023. –By Brian Hurlburt, founder, www.lasvegasgolfinsider.com
Deadline to register for the Nevada State Senior Amateur is July 13. Sign up here.
Kelly hasn’t been around National/Stardust since day one, but is currently the director of operations at the course and he and General Manager Coy Wood and the rest of the team look forward to having the state’s top senior amateur vie for titles in four divisions.
“I think the most important thing to me is just the tradition of this golf course and how it fits with the tradition of the Nevada State Senior Amateur,” Kelly said. “This golf course is over 60 years old and is one of the original golf courses in town. It is a traditional course that I like to call a New England-style golf course because it is a wall-to-wall grass, tree lined, great layout. Water comes into play on seven holes and it reminds me of the way golf should be across the United States. It is an honor for us to host the quality players from the north and south parts of the state. Hosting this event just fits with our model to provide a terrific experience and support golf at every level.”
Kelly was inducted into the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame in 2010, partly because he was an original founder of the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association in the 1970’s and also for his support of amateur golf over the years. He watched several generations of Southern Nevada golfers grow up and excel.
“To watch these kids grow up, become good junior players, high school golfers, college players, top amateur players, and some make the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour has been special,” Kelly said. “Now a lot of them are senior golfers and some will be playing in the State Senior Am. The growth of the game and the quality of individuals that we have developed here in this community, both golf wise and as citizens, is really important to me and everyone who started the SNJGA.”
There is a long list of golfers Kelly has gotten to know as friends and also watched reach the highest levels of the game. Among those names are Craig Barlow, Brady Exber, Edward Fryatt, Todd Roberts, Gary Carpendale, Lee Winston, Frank Acker, Stephanie (Keever) Louden and many more. Not all grew up playing junior golf in Southern Nevada, but each has a story.
“To sit and watch Brady Exber is a perfect example about what makes golf in Southern Nevada special,” Kelly said. “He started playing golf at 19 years old and I met him when I was at the Las Vegas Country Club. He was a baseball player and didn’t take up the game until late, but became the top amateur in Nevada for 30 years. To learn the game that fast and develop into such a quality player and then be a national sensation and an international sensation is unbelievable. And then you get guys like Eddie Fryatt, who had a good junior and amateur career and then he played the tour for years, and so many others. I have known Craig Barlow pretty much for forever and remember when he won the Sunrise Country Club Club Championship when I was there in 1991. Then two years later he is playing in the U.S. Open. Now we just saw him finish tied for 14th at the U.S. Senior Open to earn a return trip in 2024.
“Lee Winston is a good friend and he played a lot at Sunrise Country Club and he turned into a quality player and senior player,” Kelly said. “He tried to qualify for the senior tour a few times, missed it by one shot at least once, maybe twice. Besides that, he is a perfect gentleman and is still a quality player who loves the game. The main thing with all of these people I have talked about is their love of the game and what they give back to the community and the quality people they are. And I know I left a lot of people out, but we only have so much time.”
Las Vegas National Golf Club has hosted 40+ events on the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour, including the LPGA Championship, a major, from 1961-66 when Mickey Wright won twice. The Sahara Invitational was played on the course for a couple decades with Jack Nicklaus winning in addition to many other legends. Plus the Tournament of Champions was played at the course in 1967 and 1968. To top it off, the course was part of a three-course rotation in 1996 for the Las Vegas Invitational when Tiger Woods won his first PGA Tour event.
Now, the top senior amateur in Nevada will be crowned to join the list of historic champions.
“If you go back and look at who has won the Las Vegas Invitational, the Sahara Invitational, the LPGA Championship, the Tournament of Champions, it is quite the list,” Kelly said. “When you walk down the hallway and see the names on that list of who has won and the tradition of golf here it is a bit overwhelming. Then there is the tradition of the Rat Pack playing golf here and hanging out here. We still have their names on the bar stools where they sat. This course is part of the deep history of Las Vegas more than any other facility in town.”
With another chapter to be written during the 2023 Nevada State Senior Amateur.
