Kelley Hester Golf Academy - University of Georgia

Kelley Hester Golf Academy
Head Coach Kelly Hester

The first six-plus years of Kelley Hester’s career as a collegiate head coach were spent almost exclusively trying to put programs on the map. On June 6, 2007, Hester traded in the opportunity to build for the decidedly different challenge of helping maintain and further the status of a traditional national powerhouse. Hester was introduced as the head coach at the University of Georgia, her alma mater, just weeks after coaching Stacy Lewis, a relatively unheralded prep recruit when she signed with Arkansas, to an individual national title.

Kelley Hester and the University of Georgia are a match made in Bulldog heaven. To say that Hester, a three-time All-SEC performer for UGA in the mid-1990s, accepted her dream job would be a gross understatement.

“It’s hard for me to put into words how much this opportunity means to me,” said a beaming Hester when hired. “The University of Georgia has given me so much, and I’m excited about the opportunity to come home and give back. In my mind, there’s nothing better than being a Bulldog.”

If her results prior to returning to Athens are any indication, Georgia Golf couldn’t be in better hands. In six years at UNLV and Arkansas, Hester guided those institutions – one literally in its infancy and another mired in mediocrity – and quickly lifted them to heights previously thought improbable, if not impossible. Hester brought with her to Georgia the same work ethic and dedication that provided stellar results in Las Vegas and Fayetteville.

While she is excited about returning to UGA, Hester is anything but complacent. She is simply eager to add to Georgia’s storied history and pay homage to her predecessors such as Liz Murphey and Beans Kelly, who worked tirelessly to make Athens a centerpiece of the women’s college golf universe.

A proven track record

The path Hester took in returning to Athens was impressive. A native of Macon and a Bulldog fan since the day she was born, Hester was a standout golfer for Georgia from 1992-96. After two years on the Futures Tour (1996-97), a stint as an assistant pro at Idle Hour Club in Macon (1997-99) and a season as head coach at Mercer (1998-99), Hester returned the Bulldogs as an assistant coach for three highly
successful teams from 1999-01.

Hester was named UNLV’s initial head coach in February 2001 and was charged with building a team from scratch to begin competition the following fall. Hester’s recruiting efforts paid immediate dividends as she put together the nucleus of a roster that would make the NCAA Championships in just its second season of existence. In only the fourth tournament in UNLV history, Hwanhee Lee captured medalist honors at the Lady Aztec Invitational. The Lady Rebels wrapped up 2002-03 with a significant team milestone – breaking 300 for the first time in the final round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Though Hester left UNLV after one season to venture closer to her SEC roots, her influence on the Lady Rebel program continued. Sunny Oh, another Hester signee, led UNLV to an NCAA Championship bid in 2004. Oh won the 2004 West Regional and finished 11th at the NCAAs as a freshman. After placing UNLV on remarkably solid ground, Hester had a similar effect on an Arkansas program which by its own admission had lost its direction.

She upgraded the Lady Razorbacks’ schedule and recruiting efforts and quickly reversed Arkansas’ fortunes on the course. Arkansas won two team titles, produced one medalist and made just one appearance in the NCAA Regionals during its first seven seasons of existence. Hester led Arkansas to a pair of victories in her first fall in Fayetteville, a campaign that culminated with the Lady Razorbacks making their first of five straight NCAA Regional appearances. Arkansas advanced through Regional play for the first time ever in 2005 and posted its first top-10 effort a year later. All the while, the Lady Razorbacks were excelling individually as well. Four different golfers claimed a combined 13 individual titles under Hester, headlined by Lewis’ 2007 NCAA title.

Not that long a wait, really
Less than two weeks after helping Lewis to her national title Hester became the fourth head coach in Georgia women’s golf history. And after putting UNLV and Arkansas on the map, she took aim on taking the Bulldogs, a program she helped build both as a player and assistant coach, to even greater heights.

“I teed it up for the first time as a Bulldog in 1992, and I think knew then I wanted to be a coach and ultimately coach here,” Hester said. “So this has been a while coming in those terms. But this is actually only my 10th year coaching. I’d love to say that I’ve waited a really long time to do this, but I feel like I’m so fortunate to be here at 33.”

In many ways, the hiring of Hester emulated a tried and true method of success in Athens. Georgia has been extremely successful entrusting youthful head coaches, most with collegiate playing careers as Bulldogs, and watching as their programs blossomed into nation’s elite in their respective sports.

Among those: Jack Bauerle, who has won four NCAA titles and was head coach of the 2008 U.S. Women’s Olympic Swimming Team; Andy Landers, a four-time national coach of the year whose Lady Bulldogs have reached five Final Fours; baseball’s David Perno, who has led UGA to three College World Series in just seven seasons; Jeff Wallace, who has led Georgia to two NCAA titles in women’s tennis; and Suzanne Yoculan, whose Gym Dogs have captured nine NCAA titles including the last four crowns.

Hester’s history in Athens was a solid indicator of her potential to match those performances. She was a member of Bulldog squads that finished fourth at the 1993 NCAAs and won the 1993 and 1994 SEC Championships. During her tenure as an assistant, Georgia placed second and seventh at the 1999 and 2000 NCAAs, respectively, and won the 2001 national title shortly after she departed for UNLV. Hester also was a standout off the course. As a senior, she served as the female student-athlete representative to the University of Georgia’s Athletic Board and also was president of UGA’s Student- Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).

A peek at the future
With the storied history of Georgia Golf already secured, there aren’t many “firsts” left for the Bulldogs to achieve as Hester’s teams have in her previous coaching stops. However, even a quick conversation with Hester about her Athens aspirations includes the words “national titles”...with a distinct emphasis on that “s.”

Assistant Coach Véronique Drouin

Véronique Drouin, a standout golfer and then graduate assistant at Kent State, joined the Georgia coaching staff during the winter of 2006 and is currently in her fourth season with the Bulldogs.

“Véro is a great asset to our program,” head coach Kelley Hester said. “We have very similar golf philosophies and she has a great rapport our players, so she brings to the table sort of an extension of what I want do. Quite often, she can complete my sentences without me finishing them. We are very much on the same page, and I feel fortunate to keep her around as long as I can.”

Prior to coming to Athens, Drouin was a graduate assistant at Kent State for two and a half years. She also enjoyed a standout playing career with the Golden Flashes. Drouin was the 2000 Mid- American Conference (MAC) Freshman of the Year, the 2003 MAC Golfer of the Year and a three-time first-team All-MAC performer. As a senior, Drouin helped lead Kent State to a second place finish at the 2003 Central Regional and a 19th place showing at the NCAA Championships. Two years earlier, she helped lead the Golden Flashes to a 15th place finish at the 2001 NCAAs, the program’s best effort ever.

During Drouin’s first full season in Athens, the Bulldogs won two prestigious events – the Golf Daytona Beach Fall Preview and the SEC Championship. Drouin also served as interim head coach during the 2007 Central Regional and NCAA Championships, leading the Bulldogs to second and eighth place
finishes, respectively.

Drouin continues to compete as an amateur, and she finished 2006 at No. 8 in Canada’s national rankings. Drouin was runner-up at the 2006 Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship after tying for medalist honors and falling in a playoff. Her additional amateur highlights include: advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2005 British Ladies’ Amateur; representing Canada at the 2003 Commonwealth Games and the 2003 and 2005 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship; winning the 2001 and 2003 Quebec Amateur Championship; finishing eighth at the 2004 Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Amateur; and finishing fifth in stroke play qualifying at the 2004 British Ladies’ Am.

A native of St. Anges, Quebec, Drouin received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Kent State in the spring of 2003 and her master’s in sports management from Kent State in 2007.