Maize’s Kinslea Jones, granddaughter of Wichita golf legend, wins with record score
Another tournament, another victory and a new record.
That’s just how the debut season of high school girls golf has gone for Maize freshman Kinslea Jones, who broke the school record and course record at Derby Country Club on Tuesday with a 7-under round of 64 that won the AV-CTL Division I individual title by 17 strokes over the field and helped lift Maize to the team championship.
At age 14, Jones has already become one of the best golfers in the state and has backed it up in her first high school season by winning all eight tournaments she’s played in and shooting under par more times than not.
“What stands out about Kinslea is that she’s got a plan and she follows it,” Maize coach Ben Harlow said. “When she plays a practice round, she selects places each hole where to hit the ball to set herself up to birdie, not to par. That’s what Division I athletes do. Her commitment to the game for someone her age is incredible.”
That plan has been carefully devised for years with the tutelage from her grandfather, who just so happens to be Grier Jones. Maybe you’ve heard of him.
The same Grier Jones who won just about every amateur tournament in Kansas, spent 14 years on the PGA Tour and then put together a Hall of Fame coaching career that lasted nearly two decades on the Wichita State men’s golf team before retiring in 2019.
“A lot of golf people are like, ‘Oh my gosh, are you related to Grier Jones?’” Kinslea said. “I just smile and say, ‘Yeah, that’s my grandpa.’”
From the age of five, when she first picked up a club, Grier knew that his granddaughter could have a future in golf.
“From day one, the very first time she swung a club it went right where it was supposed to go,” Grier said. “That’s when I knew.”
Kinslea was a natural at the sport and she took a liking to it, not only because she was good at it, but also because she was able to spend time with her grandfather. Her father, Grier Jr., said the bond between Kinslea and his father, Grier Sr., has been a special one to watch grow over the years.
“It’s tough to beat when your teacher is a guy who played 14 years on the (PGA) Tour,” Grier Jr. said. “It’s been great for us to watch and if you know him at all, you know he’s pretty honest and he’s not going to sugarcoat anything. He was that way with her when she was young. He’s going to tell you the truth.”
Growing up, there were days when Kinslea might have been slightly annoyed at that particular brand of honesty. But in hindsight, she has no doubts that it made her a better player.
“He’s definitely not afraid to tell me the truth, which I think is really helpful,” Kinslea said. “There have been times when I think I hit a good shot, but then he’ll tell me, ‘Well, you could have done better.’ I think that helped me improve because it made me see that I could always do something better. He just knows how to say something so it will click in my brain.”
Even during the midst of a perfect season and fresh off a personal-best score, Grier Sr. wasn’t ready to commend his granddaughter just yet.
“I’m excited, of course, but it’s guarded,” Grier Sr. said. “She’s young. She’s only 14 years old. She hasn’t started dating yet. She doesn’t drive. So she’s got a few obstacles ahead of her still.”
But the repetition over the years in rounds with her grandfather has prepared Kinslea for every obstacle on the course she has faced. She’s become one of the most consistent players in the country for her age, recently finishing fifth for her age group at the Optimist International, an elite junior golf event held in Florida.
She is long off the tee, accurate with her irons, and has a deft touch around the green. It’s a potent combination, but perhaps her greatest strength on the course doesn’t involve a club at all — it’s her resiliency, another trait forged by her grandfather.
“You learn real quick that golf is an up-and-down sport and everything isn’t always going to go your way,” Grier Jones Sr. said. “She’s a good listener and she’s learning something new every day. You can tell them all about it all you want, but at the end of the day, they have to go through it themselves.”
You can bet her grandfather’s words were in her head when Kinslea faced the first adversity of her round on Tuesday. She was cruising, at 5-under, heading into the par-3 No. 14, but then scored back-to-back bogeys — the only ones of her round — followed by a lip-out for birdie on No. 16.
“I’m not going to lie, I was really frustrated after those holes,” Kinslea said. “But I try to keep a straight face whenever I get a bogey or even an eagle. I know I can’t let it affect me because once you get too excited or too down, that’s when you choke. You have to move on and focus on your next shot.”
Sure enough, Kinslea rebounded to finish out her round with an eagle on the par-5 No. 17 and a birdie on No. 18 to rally for a 7-under round that featured seven birdies and an eagle.
“I love how she never gives up and just keeps fighting and fighting,” her father, Grier Jr. said. “That’s just her mentality and the way she is. You can never tell how the last hole went. She doesn’t want to let one bad hole turn into another. She’s always focused on the next shot.”
After years of individual success on the junior circuit during the summer, Kinslea has enjoyed the aspect of competing on a team at the high school level. She’ll look to continue her unbeaten streak and try to help Maize advance to the state tournament at a Class 5A regional hosted in Hays next Monday.
And she’ll try to do it with the help and guidance from the only golf instructor she’s ever known.
“You kind of take it for granted when you’ve been around him so long, but it’s so great to see how much he enjoys helping her and how much they like working together,” Grier Jr. said. “She’s always asking, ‘Is grandpa coming?’ She knows what he does for her and she really enjoys having him around. It’s just special to watch.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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