Medina County Sports Hall of Fame: Brunswick's Kelly Moskal born to golf

Back in the summer of 1980, before Kelly (Moskal) Smith could crawl, parents Dave and Cindy Moskal put a customized golf club in her crib. When she was able to walk, Moskal dragged that club behind her everywhere she went, just like many toddlers do with a blanket or favorite stuffed animal. Before the future Brunswick High state golf champ was in kindergarten, she could place a ball on the grass, draw back her arms and hit it solidly, even displaying an extended follow through. "It was an actual golf club," said Moskal, a 1998 Brunswick and 2002 Ohio State graduate who will be inducted into the Medina County Sports Hall of Fame during June 25 ceremonies at the Galaxy Conference Center in Wadsworth. "I think I still have it somewhere. My dad cut it down for me, and as soon as I could walk, I just dragged that club everywhere. I couldn't put it down. I picked it up once and I was hooked." Now 73, Dave Moskal became a PGA Professional in 1977, is now a lifetime member and held numerous jobs at numerous places, including several businesses he founded, in nearly five decades in the golf business. Perhaps best known for being one of the founders of the Southwest Junior Golf Tour, he was floored the first time he saw his daughter swing a club. "She made a perfect turn with perfect leverage with her hands and arms," he said. "I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, I don't have to teach that.' She would make perfect contact with the ball every time." Better still, Kelly Moskal loved spending time on the course with her dad. By age 4, she was sitting patiently in a golf cart, knowing she'd get to whack a few balls when the day was over, as her dad gave lessons to 8- and 9-year-olds. "In her mind, she thought that was a normal thing," Dave Moskal said. "All kids play golf every day." Kelly Moskal played a lot in those days and never really stopped. Even now, the 46-year-old mother of two — Brady is 15 and a freshman at Brunswick and Blair is 12 and in sixth grade at Brunswick Middle School — plays at least 30 rounds a summer and last year won the women's club championship at Columbia Hills Country Club. When she was a kid, Moskal was either on a golf course or at the driving range, working on chipping or on a putting green. When the family moved from Brunswick to Hinckley Township when she was in fifth grade, her dad even built a short golf hole in the backyard. "I remember doing a lot of practicing at Medina Country Club and playing at Brunswick Hills, Briarwood and Pine Hills," the 5-foot-3 Moskal said. "Those were my four main courses, but I worked at Weymouth as a high school student and did a lot of practicing out there, too. Everybody was very accommodating. "All I knew was I was having a lot of fun playing golf. I was able to get myself from the tee box into the hole in a fairly low amount of strokes. Those early years, it was just fun to get out there and play the game and learn. I got pretty serious in high school, because I knew I had some type of skill set that could eventually turn into a college scholarship." Moskal, who started playing in local events when she was 8, competed at high-level tournaments all over the country the summer between her junior and senior years at Brunswick. On many occasions, her parents would drive her to the airport, walk her to the gate — you could do that pre-9/11 — and watch her get on a plane alone. Once she got wherever she was going, Moskal stayed with a host family or in a supervised dorm room set up for teenage golfers. "It was," she said, "a pretty awesome experience." ONE OF THE GUYS Brunswick did not have a girls golf team when Moskal was in high school, so she played on the boys team for four seasons, which meant hitting from their tees. Though many teammates hit the ball longer than her 240-yard drives, she more than held her own by relying on accuracy, consistency, a great short game and an even better temperament and mental approach. "When she showed up to play I wasn't even sure if she was allowed, but she fit in beautifully," said Bob Carson, Brunswick's golf coach at the time. "The big thing that stood out was her personality. Everybody liked her. Young boys have egos, so how are they going to feel about losing to a girl? It was never a problem. "Kelly was the nicest player I ever had in any sport, and I coached a lot of teams in a lot of sports. She always had a smile on her face and was a good sport, win or lose. It came down to her family. They were the nicest, most unbelievably good people." Moskal, whose younger brother Steve also golfed for the Blue Devils, wasn't sure what to expect when she showed up for her first practice as a freshman. Turned out she had nothing to worry about thanks to immediate or future teammates like Chris Lazuta, Chris Greenlee, Dan Somerville, Scott Ondo and Chris Lewicki. "I loved it," Moskal said. "I was nervous initially, but the boys were so kind to me. They would hit the ball 30 or 40 yards farther than me, but I was always really good around the greens. They made me better. I had to really focus and concentrate, but they made me a better golfer." In the postseason, Moskal was allowed to compete as an individual in girls tournaments, which started being sponsored by the Ohio High School Athletic Association in 1993, the year before she entered high school. As a sophomore in 1995, Moskal shot 79-85—164 on Ohio State University's Gray Course to finish fourth at the state tournament and earn first-team All-Ohio honors. There was only one division in those days, but Moskal realized on that cold, dreary afternoon that even bigger things were possible. "I thought, 'Wow, OK, I'm going to continue to work hard, stay in my own pathway and try to get it done next year,'" she said. STATE CHAMPION After another successful season on the boys team as a junior, Moskal returned for the 1996 girls state tournament in Columbus, where the weather was even worse than the previous year. First-round play had to be canceled, reducing the tournament to an 18-hole event on the Gray Course. Moskal was in a group that included two-time defending state champion Jessica Belskis of Worthington Kilbourne, a rival dating to their early playing days. Through 14 holes, Moskal held a two-shot lead. As she walked down the fairway after hitting her drive on the par-5 15th, Moskal felt an overwhelming need to use the restroom. She reached the green in three and was positioned to two-putt for par, but the need to use a nearby restroom got worse. Instead of marking her ball and taking a quick break, Moskal rushed to finish the hole. She rushed so much, in fact, that she didn't wait for her playing partners to mark their balls before putting. Lo and behold, Moskal's first putt hit another ball, resulting in a two-stroke penalty that dropped her into a tie for the lead with Belskis. "I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I can't believe I just did that,'" she said. "It was a moment of not being fully present and not focusing on what I was doing. I really did have to use the restroom. I should have just marked the ball and went, but in that moment I just didn't." Such a big mental and physical gaffe at such a crucial moment would crush a lot of players, especially when playing in the same group as the two-time defending champ, but Moskal wasn't most players. She pulled herself together and she and Belskis parred the final three holes to shoot identical rounds of 78, sending the state championship to a two-person, sudden-death playoff that started on the first hole. "I just told myself to breathe and know I was prepared for those last three holes," Moskal said. "I was taking one shot at a time and trying not to think about the end outcome. I just wanted to have three solid holes to finish and let the chips fall where they may." Back on No. 1, Belskis hit first, with both players finding the fairway. Both also reached the green in two, with Belskis away. She hit a good lag putt that basically assured her of par, then Moskal got set for a birdie putt that, if it went in, would give her the state championship. Nearly 30 years later, the estimated length of that putt is the subject of some fun debate. Carson remembers it as being a 15-footer, maybe even a 20-footer. Dave Moskal puts it in the 12-foot range. The 16-year-old who had to hit it recalled it as being a 6-footer thanks to a great 5 iron into the green, then said it could have been as long as 10 feet. The one thing everyone agrees on is it was read perfectly, hit at the correct speed, went dead-center into the hole and Kelly Moskal was a state champion. "Oh, my gosh, that was pure joy," she said. "I screamed with excitement. I remember hugging Coach Carson and my parents. It was just a really exciting moment." COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP Moskal, who made it back to state as a senior and shot 84-85—169 to finish 22 shots behind winner and future Ohio State teammate Mollie Fankhauser of Columbus School for Girls, spent her first college season at the University of Florida, which was coming off a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships. How she ended up in Gainesville was a trip in its own right. Moskal was playing summer tournaments all over the country, with her parents accompanying her to as many as possible. After one, Dave Moskal had to return to work, so Cindy was in charge of getting their daughter to the next event in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Mother and daughter ended up getting terribly lost, drove all night and finally arrived at their hotel at 7 a.m. After a quick check-in and change of clothes, they headed to a tournament that started at 9. Kelly Moskal ended up playing extremely well, the Florida coach happened to be watching and the end result was a college scholarship. Unfortunately for Moskal, the coach who recruited her left the program a month before the 18-year-old arrived at Florida. The new coach wanted to bring in her own players, so Moskal transferred to Ohio State — a number of other Florida players also left — after one fairly miserable college season. "That was a tough experience," she said, "but it certainly made me a stronger person." Good news followed quickly. One, the NCAA ruled Moskal did not have to sit out a season after transferring, which was the standard procedure in those days, due to the coaching change. Two, legendary Ohio State coach Therese Hession, who had recruited Moskal, still had a spot for her. "It wasn't even a question," said Moskal, who adored and admired Hession, who ultimately coached the Buckeyes from 1991-2021 and led them to 11 Big Ten championships. "She welcomed me back with open arms. That initial call, when I told her I was going to Florida, we both cried. She had watched me since I was 9 or 10. I'm so thankful for that relationship. We still talk to this day." Moskal played three seasons at Ohio State, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors each year. Her senior year, the Buckeyes won the Big Ten title and finished eighth at the NCAA Championships. "I remember a young lady who had great mechanics," said Hession, now in her third year as captain of Team Ohio, a feeder system for the national team that is working to develop male and female golfers ages 12 to 17. "Her dad had a lot to do with that. She was just very athletic and her potential was very high. She could tee it up tomorrow and shoot a really good score. She just has it." At Ohio State, Moskal was best known for being consistent and reliable. She might not shoot 64, but she certainly wouldn't shoot 84. "She was Steady Eddie," said former Ohio State teammate Lisa Strom, who played on the LPGA Tour for a number of years and eventually succeeded Hession as head coach of the Buckeyes. "There was nothing too flashy, but all parts of her game were really solid. She was just really consistent and a great teammate." STILL A GOLFER In addition to raising two children, Moskal currently works for Croghan Colonial Bank as its Cleveland commercial marketing manager. She also works part time at Brunswick-based Sharpen Skills Management, where she provides athletes with physical and mental training designed to improve their confidence, decision-making and ability to handle pressure. The owner of a journalism degree from Ohio State — she wrote for The Lantern, the school newspaper, and also had a number of articles published in area newspapers — Moskal later earned a master's degree in business and finance from Ashland University. Golf, however, remains a big part of the Brunswick resident's life, and for that she thanks her parents, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in October. "My dad was my mentor and my coach and someone I was able to rely on to provide me with good advice and guidance," Moskal said. "We would discuss every round of golf and analyze every shot and all the decisions I made on the golf course, and that helped me get better. His support was something I craved and needed. "My mom was my biggest fan, for sure. Golf in Ohio is sometimes super challenging weather-wise, but I remember her being out there in some really cold and rainy weather. She was right by my side the entire time. She helped me be well-rounded, to have friendships outside of golf, and she made sure I was focused on my grades." Moskal was a member of National Honor Society and treasurer of student council at Brunswick, but doesn't mind being thought of as a golfer. Still giving lessons through the CYO program at St. Ambrose Catholic School, the only state golf champion in Brunswick High history quickly said "never" when asked if she ever got tired of the sport. "It was just a passion," Moskal said. "It's still a passion. There's something about that game that I just can't let go of. It's the greatest." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.