#MakeGolfCool Spotlight: Kelsey Koch

Kelsey Koch’s journey in golf—as in life—has been anything but conventional. A born fighter, she has faced and overcome more medical obstacles than most will in a lifetime. But in the face of each setback, she has proved to be a shining example of the power of perseverance, positivity and passion.

After competing in the 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open at KemperSports-managed Sand Creek Station last July, Kelsey’s season was cut short when she was forced to undergo abdominal surgery to remove a large abscess on her colon. Like all the times before, Kelsey took the adversity head on and came out of surgery with a newfound perspective and gratitude for her life’s blessings. But this time also presented a new wrinkle made possible by KemperSports Regional General Manager Chris Tuohey and her best friend and caddie Lyam Reinhardt.

As a result, Kelsey is stepping into 2025 with a fresh start and a new outlook on life and the game she loves, where she hopes to inspire others with her story and help shape the future of adaptive golf.

A Lifetime of Overcoming Challenges
Born prematurely at 33 weeks with VACTERL syndrome, Kelsey was dealt a complex medical hand from the start. In addition to various kidney and digestive system complications, she was born without a tibia bone in her left leg. So, at just 9 months old, her leg was amputated through the knee, which she considers one of her biggest blessings given she was able to grow up with a prosthetic and never knew anything different.

From a very young age, Kelsey showed herself to be tough and resilient, being sure to never let her health hurdles hold her back or define her. She’s worked tirelessly to be the best advocate for herself and seek out the best health care, which has proved difficult at times. But above all, Kelsey has come to embrace all the ups and downs with unwavering positivity.

“A lot of my daily struggles or setbacks go unseen. And just when I think things have settled down, something else goes wrong,” she says. “But that’s all of life, right? Regardless of how bad we think we have it, so does someone else.”

The past several years have been particularly challenging—kidney stones, vertigo and seizures—leading Kelsey to make several life-changing decisions. First among those was a colostomy procedure in 2018 followed by the strength to become sober in 2020, a choice that has given her a renewed sense of purpose and well-being

“If we all sat around a room together and threw all of our problems into a dish, chances are we’d still grab our own problems back out of that dish,” she reflects. “I feel as if I’ve been given this path to share my journey and help others find strength and belief throughout theirs too.”

Finding Strength in Adaptive Golf
The game of golf has served as a constant in Kelsey’s life for as long as she can remember. One could argue that the game is in her blood.

“Regardless of whether I would’ve had two normal legs, golf has been something my entire family has always enjoyed playing together. To this day, it’s still how we celebrate holidays and choose to spend time together.”

Born and raised in Grand Blanc, Mich., her earliest golfing memories involved swinging plastic clubs around the house. At the age of 6, she joined the Flint Junior Golf Association (FJGA), an organization she’d be a part of for the next 12 years as a participant competing in junior golf all the way through high school.

Molded and empowered by her high school golf coach Michelle Pattan, Kelsey then went on to run the club golf program at her junior college and continued to work with the FJGA, which she still proudly does to this day. When Michelle left coaching to serve as director of the FJGA, Kelsey returned to her alma mater to coach the girls JV golf team from 2016 to 2021.

Despite playing golf for over two decades, it wasn’t until three years ago that Kelsey’s journey in adaptive golf began. When the PGA Tour Champions’ Ally Challenge returned to her hometown club in September 2022, Kelsey persuaded the club to allow her to caddie for Western Michigan University Head Women’s Golf Coach Kim Moore in the Pro-Am fresh off her victory at the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open.

“The rest, as they say, is history.”

With the help of Moore and good friend Kellie Valentine, Kelsey discovered not just a new outlet to play the game she has loved her entire life, but a growing community of individuals, who, like her, refuse to be defined by limitations. Today, it’s their genuine camaraderie, shared determination, and collective joy of playing together that trump any score she shoots.

“I find it so beautiful to be able to play the game in so many ways, with so many different people,” she says. “The movement we’re making and the growth in adaptive golf is what it’s all about. Some good golf in between makes you smile, but these people and this group, it’s bigger than golf. It makes all of my hard days worth it.”

Resiliency in Action
Less than a year after caddying for Moore, Kelsey was competing alongside her at the 2023 U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst and had her viral moment on the final hole of the tournament when she got engaged on the ninth green. However, Kelsey wound up making the difficult decision to call off her engagement to kick off a year that brought one of the toughest tests of her resilience.

In the aftermath, her clubs were stolen, making it both mentally and physically challenging to return to the game she loved. However, still determined to qualify for the 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open, she was able to piece together a bag using her mom’s hand-me-downs to start the year. Unfortunately, her entire golf travel bag was lost for over a month during travel, forcing Kelsey to play with another set of loaner clubs and in Crocs to impressively qualify for the 2024 Championship at Sand Creek Station. Kelsey credits the kindness of Doug and Jenn Brody from her hometown club, Warwick Hills, for without them, she would not have been able to even attempt to qualify for the Open.

Though she ended up not making the cut after day two, Kelsey left her second U.S. Adaptive Open feeling extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to compete alongside the world’s best adaptive players.

“Being on the other side of the ropes for a day and able to take time to truly watch and see all of the work that Sand Creek Station, KemperSports, the USGA and all of the volunteers put in to make this tournament happen for us; it gives me chills just thinking about it and rarely do things leave me short of words.”

But just as Kelsey felt like she was making strides with her game and her health, she faced yet another setback last August. Less than a week after representing the U.S. in the Cairns Cup, the adaptive golf community’s version of the Ryder Cup, Kelsey experienced a complication from her colostomy, which resulted in emergency surgery and forced her to miss the remainder of the season. But as fate would have it, this setback would prove to be a gift in the end.

“Life got difficult and the season was cut short, but it truly was the year I needed. A year that taught me strength I didn’t know I had, wisdom I didn’t know I needed and priorities I didn’t know mattered.”

Looking Ahead: A Fresh Start for 2025
During the 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open, Kelsey and her best friend and caddie Lyam had a serendipitous meeting with Chris Tuohey, KemperSports Regional General Manager and Host Chairman for the Tournament. Learning of her inspirational life story as well as the amazing feat of how she got to Sand Creek Station in the first place, Chris was blown away by Kelsey’s grit, determination and will to leave the game of golf in a better place than she found it using the power of her newfound community.

So, while Kelsey competed that week, Chris and Lyam, with the support of Callaway, worked together to help give Kelsey a fresh start. Shortly after getting discharged from the hospital following her August surgery, Lyam presented Kelsey with a brand-new custom fit set of Callaway clubs in an embroidered bag along with new golf shoes and golf balls.

“The timing was beautiful,” she says. “I had just been through one of the toughest stretches of my life, and then suddenly, I was given this incredible gift that represents far more than just a new set of golf clubs. More than that, it has provided me with a fresh and reinvigorated perspective that I needed to start this beautiful new chapter of my life. It’s hard to put into words how much this means to me. All I know is I’m motivated more than ever to pay it forward to the next person.”

“For Kelsey, these clubs are more than just equipment,” Chris says. “They represent confidence, independence and the ability to dream bigger than ever before. Her journey stands as a shining example of how access and opportunity can open doors to life-changing experiences and is living proof that the right support at the right time can change the course of a life forever.”

Above all else, Kelsey remains dedicated to growing adaptive golf and inspiring the next generation of athletes.

“I feel thankful to have played the game in so many ways throughout my life, but I’m even more thankful to be in the position to give back to the community that’s done so much for me. No matter how you play the game, there’s bound to be something beautiful that will come from it. Just like life, if you allow it.”

With every new challenge, Kelsey Koch continues to inspire. And with her fresh start in 2025, there’s no telling just how far she’ll go.