Kelly Risling

Kelly Risling began golfing in 1967 at what was then the 9-hole sand-green course in Redcliff. Three years later, at the age of 14, he won his first tournament: the 1970 Redcliff Junior Championship. Fast-forward to 2019 and Kelly has amassed more than 160 tournament championships, recorded seven holes-in-one and two double-eagles and has golfed competitively in every Canadian province, except for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Kelly was born May 23, 1956 in Wilkie, Saskatchewan, but moved to Medicine Hat 10 days later. He has called Medicine Hat and Redcliff home ever since. From an early age, competitive sports played an integral part of his life: Little League and Pony League baseball (1966-1971); Peewee-Juvenile hockey (1966-1972); junior high football, basketball, volleyball, track and field, badminton and cross-country running (1968-1971); high school basketball and track and field (1974-1976); college basketball (1974-1976); and boxing (1976-1980) under coach Ev Nieman, a fellow Medicine Hat Sports Wall of Fame inductee. Kelly was a runner-up at the Alberta Golden Gloves boxing championships in 1980, only because officials forbid him from competing in the final match due to a broken nose he sustained earlier, a decision he still finds troublesome.

Kelly attended Medicine Hat College on a two-year basketball scholarship before transferring to the University of Alberta where he obtained his Bachelor of Physical Education degree in 1978. He furthered his academic education at the University of Lethbridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Education degree in 1980. A 23-year teaching career would ensue until 2003 when he ventured into real estate sales, which he practices to this day.

To many, Kelly’s name is associated with the sport of golf. Locally, he was the Medicine Hat City Champion 25 times in 37 years, including nine consecutive years between 1996 - 2004. He holds 30 Club Champion titles, including 22 at Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club, five at Connaught Golf Club and three at Desert Blume Golf Club. Kelly has won 47 Open Championships, including 13 Victoria Day Opens, nine Southeastern Opens and 25 Redcliff Opens. He has gone an astounding 52 consecutive years of winning two tournaments per year, and had a career high of eight wins in 1996.

Provincially, Kelly was named the Alberta Mid-Amateur Champion in 1996 at Rocky Mountain House, and the runner-up in the Alberta Amateur in 1982. Kelly was named the Alberta Mid-Amateur in 2009. He has represented Alberta on five provincial teams (1996, 1997, 2002, 2004 and 2009) all of which competed in the Canadian championships.

Nationally, Kelly was a member of Alberta’s Mid-Amateur Provincial Team which won its first-ever National Championship in Halifax, NS in 2002. He was also on Alberta’s Willingdon Cup Provincial team in 1997 when they lost the Canadian Team Championship by a single stroke in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Individually, Kelly was the silver medallist at the Canadian Club Champions Championship in 1999 in Prince Albert, SK and the low medalist runner-up at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship in 2001 in Kamloops, B.C.

As an amateur in 1976, Kelly qualified for the Saskatchewan Open, a Canadian Tour event at the time. He finished the tournament in 10th place, which qualified him for the Alberta Open the following week. There, he finished in the top 10, which earned him an exemption into the B.C. Open, where he made the final cut. Seeing his accomplishments, local businessman Bill Yuill offered to sponsor Kelly on the Canadian Tour the following year.

Unfortunately, the Canadian Tour disbanded for several years after a conflict with the tour sponsor and effectively ended Kelly’s professional golf aspirations.

Achieving this degree of success in golf – or any endeavor – requires self-motivation, determination, a strong work ethic and a lot of family support. Kelly attributes his motivation and resolve to his father, Lambert. He was originally a farmer in Saskatchewan, and then worked 44 years at the I-XL brick plant in Redcliff, starting as a loader operator before becoming plant foreman and eventually the superintendent. Kelly’s wife’s job as a flight attendant took her away from home for days at a time, but his mother, Rose, could always be counted on to babysit their young daughter, Kelsie, which allowed Kelly time to golf.

Achieving this degree of success in golf – or any endeavor – requires self-motivation, determination, a strong work ethic and a lot of family support. Kelly attributes his motivation and resolve to his father, Lambert. He was originally a farmer in Saskatchewan, and then worked 44 years at the I-XL brick plant in Redcliff, starting as a loader operator before becoming plant foreman and eventually the superintendent. Kelly’s wife’s job as a flight attendant took her away from home for days at a time, but his mother, Rose, could always be counted on to babysit their young daughter, Kelsie, which allowed Kelly time to golf.

Long-time executive director of the Alberta Golf Association, Brent Ellenton, describes Kelly as “a respected sportsman of fine deportment, a terrific ambassador for his home club, city and province, and one of the top skilled golfers ever to come from southern Alberta. He was always well liked by his competitive peers, and considerate of officials, host-club volunteers and media members.”

Kelly is known for saying, “If you decide to do something, then do it right” and is relentless in his pursuits and accomplishes what he sets his mind to.