Steve Braun had a golf career that he could justifiably look back upon with pride.
In high school, he played a major role as Flint Southwestern won back-to-back state Class A golf championships in 1962 and 1963. Braun was the Colts’ No. 2 player as a junior and the No. 1 player as a senior, finishing second in the state individually.
As an amateur golfer, Braun reached the finals of the 1979 Michigan Amateur, losing to 2 and 1 to four-time champion Peter Green.
“I was a eld player who happened to putt well that week,” Braun said. “For me, it was a big deal. For him, it was nothing.”
That’s a modest assessment, because Braun was also the Flint City Amateur runner-up four times and the Flint Golf Club champion 10 times.
But while Braun had a playing career that most golfers would envy, he is even more proud of his other achievements in the sport. Because of Braun, countless youth golfers were exposed to the sport and had opportunities to pursue their dreams in golf.
It’s because of this work that Braun is entering the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Service inductee.
His resume for community service within the sport of golf is longer and even more impressive than his list of accomplishments as a player.
He helped grow the sport at the local level as director of the Flint Junior Golf Association and the national level as a tour director for the American Junior Golf Association.
Braun helped establish the Genesee County All-Star Classic, the Flint area’s premier golf tournament. As golf pro at Belvedere Golf Club in Charlevoix, he established the Charlevoix Community Junior Golf Association. He has raised money for the organization by playing 100 holes of golf in one day for donations.
Braun said that “by far” he is more proud of his work growing the sport of golf than he is of his own playing accomplishments.
