Outlook Magazine - Fall 2024

Fit to a Tee New Pat Kell Golf Center perfect match for Blue Devil golf teams, GEM majors while honoring longtime golfer, family of supporters

Blue Devil golf team members and stu dents majoring in golf enterprise manage ment have a new, high-tech playing and learning hub on campus — the indoor Pat Kell Golf Center. The center, in the Recreation Complex, has two state-of-the-art monitors that provide instant swing and ball data paired with two golf course simulators for year-round practice. In an adjoining room is a putting green, about 35 feet by 12 feet, and chipping area. In late June, members of the Kell family joined Mike Kell to dedicate the center, built in two former racquetball courts. Mike’s gift in honor of his wife, Pat Kell, who died in 2022, made it possible. “She would be thrilled, tickled pink about this whole complex,” Mike Kell said. The idea grew out of Pat’s lifelong love for golf and the multiple ben efits that could be realized at UW-Stout. Along with players receiving instant swing feed back — such as ball speed, spin rate, distance — they can prac tice indoors during winter months and play simulated rounds of golf on holes projected onto a giant screen, a version of the game that has grown in popularity across the country as technology has advanced. GEM majors, trained to take on man agement positions at top golf facilities, can use the center as a lab to learn about swing instruction,

club fitting, event management and more. In addition, the center will be available to the general student body, faculty, staff and the community to reserve. “There are a lot of things we can do that we couldn’t do before,” said Andrew Delong (’00) , men’s team coach and GEM program director, who noted that Blue Devil golfers by the nature of their sport didn’t have a locker room — until now. “It’s such a great opportunity for our kids to experience the highest level of technology.” Men’s golf team member Andrew Bauer was on hand for the dedication and was practicing his chipping and putting with other men’s and women’s team members. “This will allow

Container and GNC have a long history of collaborating with UW-Stout. Multiple Kell family members are alumni, includ ing most recently Charlie Pierce (’23) , grandson of Mike and Pat. Charlie grad uated in Business-Sales & Marketing and works for GNC. “The Kell family appre ciates UW-Stout and always will,” Mike Kell said. “Stout made this happen.” The Pat Kell Golf Center is the first of many expected changes at the Recreation Complex, where a renovation supported by students is UW-Stout’s next major capital project awaiting state approval.

us to improve our games and gain an edge. It looks like a Division I facility,” Bauer said after personally thanking Mike Kell. Athletics Director Duey

Naatz called it a “top tier” facility and said the univer sity was “thrilled you chose to honor Pat in this way.” Mike Kell is the son of Paul Kell, who founded Kell Container in Chip pewa Falls. In 2004, Kell Container was purchased by Great Northern Corp. Kell

(Top) Pat Kell and her father at Nakoma Country Club in Madison around 1958.

31

Outlook 2024