Coral Springs, Fla.- Former Georgia women's golf coach Beans Kelly
recently received the Gladys Palmer Meritorious Service Award, the National
Golf Coaches Association's (NGCA) most prestigious honor. Kelly was the 2007
recipient of the honor but received the award at the 2008 NGCA Hall of Fame
Banquet last week in New Orleans.
Kelly, who last week returned to the collegiate coaching ranks when she
was named head coach at Coastal Carolina University, is perhaps best known
for promoting the "journey of college golf." For Kelly, it was never about
wins and losses, but about the experience that her players had along the
way. Her main goal was for her players to receive a quality college golf
experience that stressed both the student and the athlete.
Kelly's record at Georgia from 1986-2000 ranks with the upper echelon of
coaching greats. Her teams captured seven SEC Championships and posted eight
top-10 NCAA finishes. Individually, her players' accomplishments included 19
NGCA All-American honors, 38 All-SEC honorees and 20 NGCA All-American
Scholar recipients. Her coaching accomplishments have been honored through
her receipt of prestigious honors including the 1998 NGCA Coach of the Year
and 1996 LPGA Coach of the Year. In 2000, the NGCA inducted Kelly into their
Coaches Hall of Fame.
The Gladys Palmer Meritorious Service Award is given in recognition of
outstanding service above and beyond the call of duty. Outstanding service
may take the form of years of unselfish involvement in promoting golf at any
level, or highly significant service of far-reaching proportions. Gladys
Palmer's contributions to women's collegiate golf were highly significant.
As Chair of the women's division of Physical Education at The Ohio State
University, she organized the first women's golf championship in June 1941.
Kelly is the second member of the Georgia Golf family to receive the
Gladys Palmer Award. Former coach and UGA Athletics Senior Woman
Administrator Liz Murphey was the 1996 recipient.
recently received the Gladys Palmer Meritorious Service Award, the National
Golf Coaches Association's (NGCA) most prestigious honor. Kelly was the 2007
recipient of the honor but received the award at the 2008 NGCA Hall of Fame
Banquet last week in New Orleans.
Kelly, who last week returned to the collegiate coaching ranks when she
was named head coach at Coastal Carolina University, is perhaps best known
for promoting the "journey of college golf." For Kelly, it was never about
wins and losses, but about the experience that her players had along the
way. Her main goal was for her players to receive a quality college golf
experience that stressed both the student and the athlete.
Kelly's record at Georgia from 1986-2000 ranks with the upper echelon of
coaching greats. Her teams captured seven SEC Championships and posted eight
top-10 NCAA finishes. Individually, her players' accomplishments included 19
NGCA All-American honors, 38 All-SEC honorees and 20 NGCA All-American
Scholar recipients. Her coaching accomplishments have been honored through
her receipt of prestigious honors including the 1998 NGCA Coach of the Year
and 1996 LPGA Coach of the Year. In 2000, the NGCA inducted Kelly into their
Coaches Hall of Fame.
The Gladys Palmer Meritorious Service Award is given in recognition of
outstanding service above and beyond the call of duty. Outstanding service
may take the form of years of unselfish involvement in promoting golf at any
level, or highly significant service of far-reaching proportions. Gladys
Palmer's contributions to women's collegiate golf were highly significant.
As Chair of the women's division of Physical Education at The Ohio State
University, she organized the first women's golf championship in June 1941.
Kelly is the second member of the Georgia Golf family to receive the
Gladys Palmer Award. Former coach and UGA Athletics Senior Woman
Administrator Liz Murphey was the 1996 recipient.