Midnight Golf to Receive Special Award
BIG RAPIDS – Jennifer Kangas-Brody, a former LPGA Tour player originally from the Upper Peninsula, Art McCafferty, a multi-media golf publisher and producer, and the late John Molenda, a longtime Knollwood Country Club professional who won the Michigan Open and the Michigan PGA Professional championships, have been elected to the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.
The trio will be inducted on Oct. 16 at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Club, home of the Ken Janke Sr. Golf Learning Center that houses the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. The 2022 class will bring the number of inductees to 134.
In addition, the MGHOF has voted to present just its fifth Special Award in history to the Midnight Golf Program and its founder Renee Fluker, whose landmark program since 2001 has used dedicated volunteers and PGA professionals to teach golf and life skills and help guide over 3,700 Detroit youth into colleges and professional careers.
“This talented threesome reflects the best of Michigan golf in playing ability, service to the industry and the making and telling of Michigan’s wonderful golf stories, and Midnight Golf is one of those stories because of its remarkable impact on Detroit’s youth and the community,” said Greg Johnson, MGHOF committee chairperson, in announcing the 2022 class. “Mark your calendars now to come help us celebrate in October at the Hall of Fame.”
Kangas-Brody, 48 and a golf shop owner, merchandizer and LPGA instructor at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc with her husband, PGA professional Doug Brody, is a former LPGA Tour golfer and Michigan State University standout from the Upper Peninsula. She earned all-state honors at L’Anse High School, was an All-Big Ten golfer and team captain at MSU. She won the Michigan Women’s Open soon after graduating from MSU, turned professional in 1997 and in 1998 played full-time on the LPGA Tour. She won four times on the now Epson Tour, and in 2004 started teaching and coaching. The mother of two is a member of the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame.
McCafferty, 81, is a familiar figure in Michigan golf with his wife Jennie making the rounds of tournaments and events. The owner of Great Lakes Sports Publications has produced almost 6,000 YouTube interviews, reports and shows on all aspects of the game, published the Michigan Golfer magazine from 1983 to 2003 with Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member Terry Moore as editor and continues to collect and produce content and distributes a well-read digital Michigan golf newsletter. An educator at Eastern Michigan University by trade, he and Jennie have also produced and published content on running, skiing and travel.
Molenda, who died in 2004 at the age of 65, was a Detroit native and Novi resident who played golf at the University of Arizona and on the U.S. Army golf team. In 1961 he was the runner-up to Dick Sikes in the U.S. Public Links Championship. He was a PGA golf professional serving the membership at Knollwood Country Club for 29 years. A standout player throughout his career, he won the 1968 Michigan Open, the 1971 Michigan PGA, played in the national PGA Professional Championship 10 times, played in two U.S. Opens, played in the 1972 PGA Championship and won the 1990 Michigan Senior Open Championship. He was named the Michigan PGA Golf Professional of the Year in 1985.
The MGHOF is a heralded collection of portraits, plaques and memorabilia that currently commemorates 131 members, including Walter Hagen and Chuck Kocsis and Al Watrous, and more current notables Dan Pohl, Meg Mallon and Kelly Robbins. The collection is housed and displayed in the Ken Janke Sr. Golf Learning Center at Ferris State University’s Katke facility. The late Ken Janke Sr. is co-founder and a member of the MGHOF.
The MGHOF is administered by the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Committee, which is funded through the non-profit Michigan Golf Foundation (501(c) (3) since 1996) and includes 17 people representing a cross-section of the state’s golf associations as well as golf media. The MGHOF committee conducts an annual election to recognize the achievements of competitive Michigan golfers, but also accomplishments of individuals who have contributed to the growth of the game. For more information and to learn about the current members of the Hall of Fame, visit mghof.org.