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On August 4, 2021 during a ceremony at the Treetops Resort in Gaylord, The Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame celebrated the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021.

They inducted four new members, including three Grand Rapids area coaches—Ken Bokhoven, Don Lancaster and Brian Telzerow—along with North Farmington’s Bruce Sutton.

Telzerow, who coached Forest Hills Eastern’s girls golf team to Division 2 state championships in 2010 and 2012 and the Forest Hills Northern boys to the 2019 state crown, is familiar with Egypt Valley’s courses, as the club serves as the home course for Forest Hills Northern Boys and Forest Hills Eastern Girls golf teams.

Telzerow has been a golf coach in the Forest Hills Public Schools since 1994, beginning as the boys’ and girls’ junior varsity coach at FHN for five years. In 2004, he became the boys’ and girls’ varsity coach at FHE, where he has continued as the girls’ coach. He became the boys’ varsity FHN in 2006.

During Telzerow’s 44 seasons of coaching, his teams have won 13 conference championships (7 girls and 6 boys); three district titles; six regionals (3 girls and 3 boys) and have played in 22 state tournaments (13 girls and 9 boys). His teams have played in 181 tournaments, winning 33 and finishing in the top-four a total of 93 times.

Telzerow was named the MIGCA Boys District Coach of the Year in 2011, MIGCA Regional Coach of the Year for girls in 2007 and 2013 and for the boys in 2014 and 2016. He was also named the MIGCA Girls Division III Coach of the Year in 2012 and the MIGCA Boys Division II Coach of the Year in 2018. Telzerow is an ordained minister, has his doctorate and is a professor of youth ministry at Kuyper College and now serves on the pastoral staff at Fifth Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. He and his wife Becky live in Grand Rapids and have a daughter Stephanie, and one grandson from his son Evan and wife Kelsey.

Join us in congratulating Brian and the other three coaches being recognized this year!

Egypt Valley member Bradley Smithson has experienced great success with golf, and it’s not hard to see why—he’s been playing the sport since he was around age three or four.

A junior studying advertising at Michigan State University, Smithson is also a member of MSU’s golf team and credits his father as the reason he got involved with golf.

“My father being a golf professional made me want to start golfing and once I started, I fell in love with it,” said Smithson, who has always called Grand Rapids home. “I have played all my life growing up.”

Smithson and his family are going on their second year as members at EVCC, an experience Smithson said has been great to be a part of.

“I have been able to form some very good friendships and I was able to win the club championship this past summer,” said Smithson, who also recently won the Turtle Casino Michigan Open in June. He’s only the fifth amateur to win the professional event in its 104-year history.

Though Smithson will be a junior this coming fall at MSU, he’s considered a sophomore eligibility wise because of the COVID year students received.

“Once I finish up with school, I plan on turning professional and trying to play golf,” Smithson said.

When he’s not golfing, Smithson enjoys fishing, spending time by a lake or on a boat, and spending time with his friends that he gets to see during the summer months.

“Playing golf while at school is tough with how busy we are, so it’s nice during the summer to catch up with my friends that I haven’t seen in a while,” he said. 

Smithson explains he enjoys playing golf at Egypt Valley because the courses are great and always in excellent condition.

“My favorite parts about the golf courses are that the greens are always so firm and so fast, which is a lot like what we play on during the school year,” Smithson said. “Both courses are very challenging and keep my game in good shape all summer for different tournaments and getting ready for school.”

When not on the course at Egypt Valley, Smithson could be found with friends at the pool or on the patio having dinner. 

“Occasionally, you could find me on the tennis courts with some friends, as well,” he said, noting that ultimately what makes Egypt Valley special is the people.

“I have formed many great friendships over the last couple of summers that I will have for life,” he said. “I also think EVCC is so special because of the staff and all the work they do, whether it’s for the golf course, restaurant or by the pool, everyone is super friendly and welcoming.”

If you see Bradley around the club, be sure to say, “Hello!”

Lindsay Hams, Assistant Pool Manager at Egypt Valley, discovered the club thanks to her older brother Kyle, who worked here as a lifeguard two years prior.

“I was also approached with a job offer by the pool manager at the time, Katie Clarin, who was my water polo coach,” said Hams, who greatly enjoys being able to work with the children at Egypt Valley. “I always love the fun energy that the kids bring every day to the pool. I can always rely on their out-of-pocket questions, jokes and happiness to provide me entertainment and laughs.”

Because Hams wants to work with kids in the future, she appreciates that working with a diverse set of children at EVCC is providing her with great experiences. Outside of the summer months, she attends Grand Valley State University.

“I’m currently going into my final year of the Communication Sciences and Disorders program and I’m getting ready to apply to graduate school for Speech-Language Pathology,” explained Hams, who is also observing three Speech Therapists. “One is in Michigan, and due to COVID-19, I had the opportunity to observe two Speech Therapists in Massachusetts over Zoom. They are providing me with great experiences in both the public and private sectors of the field.”

Hams, who friends would describe her as kind-hearted, dedicated and selfless, is no stranger to the pool. Her father was the head swim coach for Catholic Central High School for 28 years and she accompanied him to many of his practices throughout that time. She eventually started swimming competitively her freshman year of high school—when she joined the Rockford High School team.

“I swam on the team for four years, creating amazing friendships and finding a deeper love for the sport,” Hams said, noting her love for the water really stuck with her when she started playing water polo. “I started playing in 6th grade for the Rockford Middle School team and continued at Rockford High School and into college at Grand Valley State University. In high school, I was on the varsity team all four years and was the starting Hole Set player.”

Hams received All-State, All-Region, All-Conference and All-District awards, in addition to her team going to the State Championships every year and placing second, third, fourth and fifth.

“After high school, I became the Rockford Middle School Girls Water Polo coach while I was attending Grand Rapids Community College,” Hams said. “In my second year of college, I transferred to Grand Valley and joined their club team.”

Hams is very passionate about music—especially live music and going to concerts—though she claims to have no rhythm and barely passed her required band class in middle school.  

“My favorite concerts I have been to include Vance Joy, Post Malone, Panic at the Disco, and Hozier,” she said. “I’m very excited that concerts have started to resume and am looking forward to going to the Harry Styles concert as my first concert this year.”

Hams loves finding new music on Spotify using the “Discover Weekly” playlist that’s created based on the music genres that she listens to the most. Another favorite playlist of hers is called “My Life is a Movie,” which includes many of her favorite artists such as BORNS, The Lumineers, and Peter McPoland.

“At the pool, I’m the designated DJ during the day and typically play our ‘Egypt Valley’ Spotify playlist that is almost 15 hours long,” Hams said, explaining the playlist is robust and was originally created on an iPod Classic around 2009 and has been added to every year. “Around 2017, all of the music was transferred to the Spotify playlist, is still updated every year, and played down at the pool almost every day!”

If she could trade places with anyone for a day, Hams would choose Oprah Winfrey.

“I would like to experience her everyday life of helping others, kindness and generosity,” she said.

If you see Lindsay around the Club, be sure to say, “Hello!”