A Hillsdale College men's golf program that's on the rise has a new leader.

This week, the Hillsdale College athletic department officially announced the hiring of Luke Kelly as the head coach of its men's golf program. Kelly becomes the fourth head coach of the Chargers golf program since its reinstatement as a varsity sport at Hillsdale College in 2013.

"I'm grateful and excited for the opportunity to become a head coach in the sport I love, and at a great school like Hillsdale, that stands for the right things and does things the right way," Kelly said. "There's amazing possibilities here with this program and I can't wait to get started."

Kelly comes to Hillsdale College as a first-time head coach, but his path to the Chargers has been filled with extensive and high-level experience in the sport in a variety of roles that equip him with the knowledge and skills to be an excellent fit for the job.

"Luke is someone who really caught our eye right away as we were evaluating candidates, both because of his background in golf and also just the person he's shown himself to be," Hillsdale Director of Athletics John Tharp said. "He's someone who has been a part of a winning program and he understands the importance of building culture and relationships, being a teacher of more than just golf, and of working with his players to improve the whole person, not just the golfer.

"That said, he's also someone who also understands and plays the game of golf at a high level, and someone with real experience teaching the game to others. He really matches everything we were looking for in a head coach."

Prior to Hillsdale, Kelly has worked at Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear, Arizona, where he was a certified professional at the club, serving as an individual and group instructor to club members while also organizing the operations of the club and managing tee times.

While holding down the position at Palm Valley, Kelly also has played golf professionally on PGA Tour Americas, a developmental series for the PGA Tour, with high-level tournaments in South America and Canada that allowed him to compete against some of the top golfers in the world, including several current members of the PGA Tour.

Originally from the Midwest, Kelly is familiar both with collegiate golf in the region, and also with NCAA DII golf and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference that Hillsdale participates in. A 2020 graduate of the University of Findlay with a bachelor's of science in Business Finance, Kelly finished his career with the Oilers as one of the top golfers in program history.

In 2020, Kelly was named a CGAA All-American, the only Findlay golfer to receive All-American honors in the program's NCAA DII era. His 71.67 scoring average for 18 holes during that season still ranks second all-time in program history, and he also earned two All-Midwest Region and four All-Conference honors during his time at Findlay, as well as medalist honors in three invitationals.

Along with his individual success at Findlay, Kelly also spent five seasons on the inside of a successful NCAA Division II golf program, and one that is a perennial contender in both the G-MAC and the Midwest Region. That firsthand experience should prove invaluable as he takes charge of Hillsdale, also a relevant program in both the G-MAC and the region and one with big ambitions.

"College golf, it goes by so fast," Kelly said. "Four years are gone in the blink of an eye.

"I think knowing that, it's important to me to have a program that's going to allow our players to get the most out of their four years here, on the course and in the classroom, so that they leave here better as a person than when they arrived. That was my experience as a college player, and I want the same thing for the players that I'm coaching."

Kelly takes over a program that seems well-positioned for success, coming off a NCAA DII Super Regional berth in 2024-25 and with four of its five scoring golfers from that event slated to return for the 2025-26 campaign.

The completion of the Salmans Golf Performance Center this past spring as a home base and year-round practice facility for the program is another huge milestone, Kelly said.

"The completed indoor facility is going to be huge for recruiting and for player development," Kelly said. "In giving our players a way to consistently work on every aspect of their game year-round, it's giving our golfers the ability to maximize their potential and get as good at golf as they can be without the weather being an obstacle.

"It's a huge addition to the program and one I think is really going to help our squad over the next few years."

The 2025-26 men's golf season will begin in September. Keep an eye out on hillsdalechargers.com as the full 2025-26 schedule for the Hillsdale College men's golf team will be released soon.