Harris, Lindert and Ostrander inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame

MICHIGAN GOLF HALL OF FAME: Michael Harris, John Lindert, Roger Ostrander inducted

BIG RAPIDS – Michael Harris, championship winner at the junior, collegiate and professional golf levels, John Lindert, a PGA golf professional whose dedicated service to the game includes election as president of the PGA of America, and the late Roger Ostrander, a respected rules official from local to international levels, are members of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame (MGHOF).

The trio was inducted Sunday at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Club, home of the Ken Janke Sr. Golf Learning Center, home to the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame (MGHOF). The Class of 2025 brings the number of inductees to 143.

In addition, the MGHOF presented just its seventh Special Award in history to Loretta Larkin of Dexter, who served as the MGHOF administrator for 29 years.

“We had a wonderful celebration of a trio that reflects the best of Michigan golf in terms of playing skills, national leadership and dedication to the rules, and presenting Loretta Larkin with a special award for the special things she does helped make it a perfect day,” said Greg Johnson, MGHOF committee chair.

Harris, 47, formerly of Troy and currently living in Brookfield, Wisconsin, began winning championships at the junior golf level, twice winning the Michigan Junior Amateur Championship. As an amateur, he won the GAM Championship, the Horton Smith Invitational Championship, was runner-up to Flint’s John Lindholm in the 1997 Michigan Amateur Championship, won the Northeast Amateur, played in two U.S. Amateurs and was a standout at the University of Michigan, where he won eight tournaments, including the Big Ten Conference individual title in 1999. As a professional, he was a 2005 Canadian Tour Order of Merit winner, won the 2005 Michigan Open and returned home from tour golf five times to win the Michigan PGA Tournament of Champions at Boyne Mountain. He also played in the US Open twice, in 2000 and 2006, before injuries ended his competitive golf career.

Lindert, 68, a Grand Ledge resident and head golf professional at the Country Club of Lansing, moved to Michigan in 1993 to become head golf professional at Spring Lake Country Club, where he served until becoming head professional at the Country Club of Lansing in 2002. He has served in multiple leadership roles for the Michigan PGA, including chapter and section president, actively worked with the First Tee of Mid-Michigan and has held various positions with the PGA of America since 2006. He was elected president of the PGA in 2022, becoming only the third Michigan PGA member to ever serve in that position. He also became the first member of the PGA of America in history to serve as an appointed member of the Board of Control, district director and president. He has won multiple service awards, including Michigan Golf Professional of the Year and the Michigan PGA Player Development Award, and is a member of the Michigan PGA Hall of Fame.

Ostrander, best known in the golf world as Dr. O, died of cancer in 2015 at age 74, but not before a career as an oral surgeon in Grand Rapids, and then a second career as a rules official, mostly volunteering his time. He softened the hardline of the rules of golf with an approachable, outgoing personality and served as a rules official for more than twenty years. As Governor of the Golf Association of Michigan and Chairman of the Championship Committee, he worked at multiple Michigan Amateur Championships and championships for all age groups and genders, worked for the Michigan PGA Section at their top championships including the Michigan Open, and then served with the USGA, where he was responsible for six US Opens, nine US Senior Opens and 14 U.S. Amateurs, while also serving on the USGA Mid-Amateur Championship Committee for 18 years. He enjoyed helping young golfers, especially aspiring PGA professionals, when he administered PGA playing skills tests for the professional golf management students at Ferris State University. His grandson Matthew is now a student in the PGM program and accepted the Hall of Fame plaque on behalf of his grandfather on Sunday.

Larkin, 62, has been administrator of the MGHOF since 1996. She manages and maintains the financial administration, the non-profit status of the hall of fame, the nomination and voting procedures, the organization and administration of the induction ceremonies, the preparation of the annual program publication, the coordination and cataloging of the memorabilia collection and all communications to current members and committee members. She also currently serves as director of organization and human resources for the Golf Association of Michigan.

The MGHOF is a heralded collection of portraits, plaques and memorabilia that currently commemorates 143 members, including Walter Hagen, Chuck Kocsis and Dave Hill, and more current notables Dan Pohl, Meg Mallon and Kelly Robbins.

The MGHOF is administered by the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Committee, which has been funded through the nonprofit Michigan Golf Foundation (501(c)(3)) since 1996 and consists of 16 people representing a cross-section of the state’s golf associations. as well as golf media. The MGHOF Committee hosts annual elections to recognize the achievements of competitive Michigan golfers, as well as the achievements of individuals who have contributed to the game. To learn more and learn more about current Hall of Fame members, visit mghof.org.

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