Redmond High Golfer Takes Her Game One Stroke at a Time

It is 3 p.m. on a windy Thursday afternoon at the Bear Creek Country Club in Woodinville, and Kelly Kennewick is in a state of mind somewhat foreign to her personality: she's relaxed.

It's the day after the Redmond/Newcastle girls' golf match to determine the KingCo 4A title has been interrupted by a random April snow/hail flurry, and head coach Jake Crowley is addressing the team on the ruling that will ultimately hand the Mustangs their eighth straight conference title.

While Crowley talks, various members of the team chime in with their thoughts. Kennewick is mostly quiet, arms at her side, listening to her coaches' explanations. She hardly looks the part of the hyper-intense overachiever that has become the face of the vaunted Redmond High School girls' golf program. That's because, after three years of competing against herself, Kennewick has learned to relax some.

"I've never seen her happier," Crowley said. "She's more relaxed, she's enjoying it more."

But though she's learned to pump the brakes just a bit, Kennewick is still intensely focused on bringing the state title back to the Mustangs. And with a stacked, experienced team and Kennewick at the helm, Redmond may be ready to reclaim the top spot.

Internal Battle

Kennewick is the rare high school overachiever that does not feel the pressure from outside sources. Every bit of weight on her shoulders is self-applied.

"It's all from myself," Kennewick said. "It kills me not to get A's."

That kind of outlook can be even worse than someone who feels the need to satisfy a parent or coach. The only person who can tell Kennewick she's done a good enough job is Kennewick herself.

Not to say that the pressure Kennewick has applied to herself has not helped set herself up for success. She set her college sights on a slew of ivy-league schools including Dartmouth, Duke and Brown. Armed with a 3.98 GPA (she got one B-plus) and a 2100 SAT score, Kennewick fell short of her ivy-league aspirations and "settled" for attending the University of Washington.

She had offers to walk-on at the Ivy-League schools she aspired for and would have a good chance at making the roster at a number of D-I schools, but she does not plan to continue the sport in college — not because she's burned out or questions her ability. She just needs more time to focus on a pre-med degree that will hopefully be the first step toward becoming a surgeon.

"I won't play for varsity; I'll probably play intramurals," Kennewick said. "To do pre-med and a varsity sport, it might be a little bit much."

The Natural

Kennnewick is not the typical youth golf standout. You will find no Tiger Woods-like videos of her hitting balls at age four, or even a picture of her playing her first round after reaching double-digits in age. That's because Kennewick did not pick up the game until the eighth grade when a soccer injury forced her to focus her sights on a different sport.

Even then, Kennewick did not dive into the sport headfirst. She estimates that she did not start taking it seriously until her sophomore year of high school. She began to play much more during her junior year, including tournaments in the American Junior Golf Association, where she topped out with a third place finish at a tournament in North Carolina.

"Once I figured out that I could compete, I started to play a lot," Kennewick said.

And with that increased amount of play began the pressure. In her first three years on the Redmond golf team, Kennewick has been part of three top-10 state teams, including a state title winner in 2008. That kind of pedigree has left her with a bit of a target on her back and heightened expectations from those that follow the team. Kennewick said the pressure has gotten to her in the past, but the presence of so many seniors on this years team has helped her deal with it and let her relax for what seems like the first time.

"I know that my team has more depth than anyone else," she said. "To have that support, knowing that even if I don't do well, they'll pick me up ... if it was just me, then it would be a lot harder." 

Continuing Tradition

High school sports often center around tradition. Games against rivals take on extra importance; the identity of a team is tantamount. For the Redmond girls' golf program, maintaining tradition really comes down to one word: winning.

The Mustangs have won eight straight KingCo 4A titles and have not lost a league match during that time. After finishing second in the state in 2007, they won it all in 2008 and finished fourth in 2010, making the program one of the state's most successful over the last decade.

“We definitely take honor in that, it’s a pretty big deal," Kennewick said of continuing the conference winning streak.

This year could be the best chance for Redmond to add a second state title to its resume. The Mustangs have eight seniors on the squad, including seven who have been together since 2008.

“It’s going to be so weird when it ends because me and six other girls have been together since freshman year, so we’re all really, really tight," Kennewick said. "It’ll be really sad when it ends.”

With a relaxed Kennewick at the helm, that group could go out on a happier note with a state title in tow.