BIG RAPIDS – Greg Johnson, an award-winning sports journalist and Hudsonville resident, Stephen Kircher, the President and CEO of Boyne Resorts in Boyne Falls, and Kevin VandenBerg, a multi-time amateur golf champion originally from Mattawan, were inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame (MGHOF) Sunday at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Course.
The threesome brings the number of inductees to 140. The ceremony was conducted in the Ken Janke Sr. Golf Learning Center at Katke, which houses the MGHOF.
Johnson, 67, worked for almost 30 years with the Grand Rapids Press and is currently a media consultant for the state’s most prominent golf associations. He has authored newspaper and magazine stories on all aspects of the game and has covered Michigan’s biggest golf tournaments for four decades.
In addition, during his newspaper career he was a columnist covering sports at every level in Michigan and nationally as well, including major championship golf, the Olympic Games, Super Bowls and more.
A longtime committee member of the MGHOF, Johnson was instrumental in establishing its new home at Ferris State and currently serves as chairperson and president of the Michigan Golf Foundation.
Kircher, 59, is the son of Michigan Golf Hall of Famer Everett Kircher and followed in his father’s footsteps in leading the largest family-owned four-season resort company in North America. They are the third parent-child duo in the MGHOF joining Bruce Matthews and Jerry Matthews, and Pete Green and Suzy Green-Roebuck.
Kircher was a player first, winning an individual state high school championship for Boyne City High, earning letters at two universities (Northwestern and Michigan State) and maintaining a scratch handicap for over 30 years.
His numerous contributions to golf include leading efforts to grow and develop the industry in Michigan. He is a past chair of the Michigan Travel Commission, a founding member of the America’s Summer Golf Capital Association, co-founder of the unique Tournament of Champions, co-designer of the Hills Course and Bay Harbor Golf Club courses and works closely with the Boyne team on new projects.
VandenBerg, 58, has demonstrated playing excellence at state and national levels.
The former Kalamazoo Golf Association president most notably is the only golfer to win the Michigan Amateur, GAM Championship and GAM Mid-Amateur Championship in the same year (2000).
He moved to Pulaski, N.Y., in 2007 and focused on building a financial management business, but after turning 55 started playing senior competition, including two U.S. Senior Opens and two U.S. Senior Amateurs. He was runner-up in Golfweek’s Senior Player of the Year rankings in 2022 before being named Golfweek’s Senior Player of the Year in 2023, a year in which he had 13 top five finishes in 20 tournament starts.
VandenBerg regularly returns to play in Michigan tournaments by maintaining his Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) membership, and earlier this year he won the GAM Senior Match Play Championship.
The MGHOF includes a heralded collection of portraits and memorabilia that commemorate the leading Michigan golfers and contributors to the game.
The MGHOF is administered by the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Committee, and funded through the non-profit Michigan Golf Foundation (501(c)(3)) since 1996. It includes 17 people representing a cross-section of the state’s golf associations as well as golf media and conducts an annual election to recognize the achievements of competitive Michigan golfers, but also the accomplishments of individuals who have contributed to the game. For more information and to learn about the current members of the Hall of Fame, visit mghof.org.