THE TAKE By Sean Fairholm
Kevin McKinley’s to-do list is long and meandering, the kind only a father of seven would understand. Beyond being a parent, his responsibilities extend to being the director of golf – 81 holes’ worth – at famed Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Mich., while also serving as president of the Michigan PGA section.
But that list is nothing like the one he paints into the club’s practice tee every year.
That one includes more than 200 names of fallen Michigan veterans, each one displayed with his or her first name in blue and last name in white. Below the list, the saying “Freedom Is Not Free” is painted in red, white and blue. Each year at Patriot Golf Day, it’s a gathering spot for families of fallen soldiers and veterans themselves to remember, reflect and honor.
The event started with 10 military members. Now it involves more than 100 of our nation’s finest, a full weekend golf event that has raised nearly half a million dollars for the Folds of Honor, an organization that provides educational scholarships to spouses and children of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
For McKinley, the effort to create something of this magnitude started in January 2007 when he heard Maj. Dan Rooney, founder of the Folds of Honor, speak about witnessing the remains of Cpl. Brock Bucklin being delivered to his family in Grand Rapids, Mich. It hit close to home for McKinley, who grew up in nearby Muskegon.
“After I heard Maj. Rooney tell that story, I knew I had to do something,” McKinley said.
That led to the Patriot Golf Day event, which led to a summer golf league for veterans, which led to a portion of every Treetops golf package sold online going to Folds of Honor. Although McKinley is quick to pass off praise to his wife, Jill, his general manager, Barry Owens, or the servicemen and women who participate in the outings, the success of the military initiative couldn’t have been achieved without him. It’s why in 2017, McKinley received the PGA’s national Patriot Golf Award, one of the highest honors a PGA professional can receive.
He remains humble and focused on developing even greater programs to benefit military.
“These men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” he said. “And what they have given me and my family (far exceeds) what I've given them.”
McKinley’s story becomes that much better when you learn his background and some of the obstacles he has overcome.
He grew up in a golf family, following his older brother and sister around with a cut-down 5-iron. Before young Kevin could drive himself, he would ride his bike – clubs being toted in a pull cart behind him – a mile up the road to a shoddy nine-hole course called University Park where he would pick the range and play. His brother Andy, six years older, would drive him to tournaments and keep the competitive fire burning as he developed.
Later on in high school, McKinley realized that making it as a professional golfer might be more difficult than it originally seemed. He still wanted to remain in the golf industry, however, and nearby Ferris State University offered one of the best PGA Golf Management schools in the country.
“There were of course tour aspirations there for a while,” McKinley remembers. “But it’s funny because the better I got, the more I realized how much of a challenge it would be and how good you actually had to be to get to that elite level. So around 11th and 12th grade, I thought it would be cool to make a career out of this even without being one of the guys on TV.”
But rather than pursue being a golf professional, McKinley had a change of heart. He went to play Division III college golf at Alma (Mich.) College and spent three and a half years working on an accounting degree.
That’s when he had another change of heart. Did he really want to spend his life in an office punching numbers into a computer? Or should he go back to his original plan of working at a golf course?
“So I changed everything at the last minute, basically,” McKinley said. “My classmates were interviewing for jobs and I decided to change course again.”
He got his start as an assistant professional at Pine River Country Club, what was then a small and struggling private facility near Alma College. The two years he spent there afforded him the opportunity to earn his PGA status. He still can remember being sent two heavy boxes in 1996 that were filled with many papers that needed to be completed in order to become a PGA professional.
He enjoyed his time there, but the golf season allowed for only so much time working at the course.
“What I didn’t like about it was the lack of what to do in the winter time,” McKinley said. “One year I waited tables in a restaurant and the next year I bagged groceries. I wasn’t so sure about it, and I am not a sun-chaser looking for multiple facilities. I like to set up shop in one spot and stay there.”
That led McKinley on the path to where he is now. He discovered that he could work at a course where overseeing the ski operation would be a part of the gig. After six years at Crystal Mountain Resort, he had learned the ski business and ascended to being a head golf professional.
“These men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. And what they have given me and my family (far exceeds) what I've given them.”
KEVIN MCKINLEY
He knew it was unlikely he would reach the director of golf position because the man in that chair was only a few years older than him. When he searched for a similar golf-ski resort opportunity, McKinley found the head-pro job at Treetops.
Although it was more of a lateral move at the time, he ended up reaching the director of golf position only four years into the job. And without having gone on that journey, much of what he has accomplished with Folds of Honor would not have been possible.
If there’s a busier PGA professional in America, we would like to see it. As if the Treetops job isn’t enough, McKinley often has to make a six-hour round-trip visit to the Michigan PGA headquarters near East Lansing to fulfill obligations there.
And of course, McKinley’s life also revolves around his seven children. Four of them are from his first marriage and the other three are from Jill’s previous marriage, a dynamic that means communication is vital in their household. Every two weeks, he runs a family meeting where all nine members provide updates on their lives and bring up issues that need to be addressed.
What advice does he have for us mere mortals when it comes to balancing many tasks?
“As a leader, you learn something really quick,” McKinley said. “You start to look at people who are going to be able to support you and people who can help you get jobs done. Early on in my career, I always looked for people who had time on their hands so they could help me, but I eventually learned that it’s the opposite – if you want to get something done, the best people to look for are the busy people. The people who have time on their hands, there’s a reason they have that time.”
In other words, the busy people are busy for a reason. They get things done and move the world forward.
McKinley would know. And we are all better for it.