Kelly Huether’s story isn’t one of privilege or pedigree. It’s one of persistence. Raised on a farm in eastern South Dakota, Huether shares that he didn’t grow up with a family fortune or a well-worn roadmap to success. What he did have was something far more enduring: a deep-rooted Midwestern work ethic, a knack for seeing opportunity where others saw none and an unwavering desire to build something better.
Today, Huether is the founder of Buy Buy Golf Balls, a Florida-based family business. It offers high-quality used golf balls and cheeky novelty gifts under the Wise Ass Golf brand. However, most meaningfully to him, Buy Buy Golf Balls also offers a youth entrepreneurship program called Developing Young Entrepreneurs (DYE).
Hard work and hustle set the stage
It’s not his first company. In fact, Huether explains that it’s his latest in a long line of successful businesses over three decades. But what makes this one different, according to Huether, isn’t the product. It’s the purpose. “I grew up around the hardest-working entrepreneurs in America: farmers,” Huether shares. “That’s exactly what they are. They manage risk, time and money every single day. And that stuck with me.”
From the auctioneer’s cadence of his father to his own early experiences managing a taco restaurant at just 15 years old, Huether shares that he was always hustling: learning, building and putting every lesson to work. But even with a sharp mind for business, the road wasn’t always smooth. “We were broke most of the time,” he admits. “Even though my dad was the best salesman I knew, expenses always outweighed income. I saw firsthand what not managing your finances can do to a family and business. I promised myself that I’d change that.”
Bye Bye Golf Balls: A unique backstory
Huether asserts that it’s that same ethic that followed him through a 35-year career in the professional beauty industry. During this time, he launched, grew, and led multiple successful businesses, even becoming president of a nationally known beauty supply company. After selling his last company in his late 50s, Huether says he finally gave himself permission to slow down. He joined a country club and took up golf seriously for the first time. It didn’t take long for his entrepreneurial mind to get back to work.
“While practicing on the course, I went to retrieve my golf ball, and I found myself with many more balls that were left by other golfers,” Huether says. “That’s when I thought, there’s something here: an opportunity, a true need.”
What started as a hobby soon evolved into Buy Buy Golf Balls, a company that collects, cleans, and sells gently used golf balls at an affordable price. “While my golf game hasn’t improved much, the amount of time I’ve spent on the golf course has skyrocketed. Through this, I’ve been able to make a true impact on the industry, my team, and the entrepreneurs of tomorrow,” he says.
Building relationships and balance in business
Huether is a firm believer that successful businesses aren’t built on transactions, but on relationships. That’s one of the core philosophies he’s carried across every venture. “Everybody wants to look at the income statement because it’s sexy,” he says. “But the balance sheet tells you if you actually have a company. That’s where the real story is.”
He believes in treating people right, from customers to employees and partners. “If your customers are thriving, your employees are thriving, your vendors are thriving, your business will thrive. It’s that simple,” Huether states.
That belief system extends to every ball sold, every kid supported and every joke printed on a Wise Ass Golf gag gift. Huether believes this is how old-school values can be applied to modern-day entrepreneurship.
A journey to help the next generation
The company isn’t just a business for Huether. It’s a family legacy in motion. Whether it’s a professional salon distributor brand named after his daughter Riley or a nonprofit created in honor of his daughter Reese, Huether explains that everything he builds is a reflection of what matters most: family, community and the power of entrepreneurship to change lives.
Developing Young Entrepreneurs gives kids the opportunity to become entrepreneurs in their own right by helping them earn by ball hawking at their local courses. “We divide a course into sections and assign young entrepreneurs to retrieve balls nightly when pins are pulled. Once they’ve collected enough balls, we send a call tag and the kids get paid via direct deposit,” states Huether. Truly, DYE is giving kids the chance to work on their own terms, to make their own money and gain a sense of business in the process.
“I never drive past a lemonade stand without stopping,” he says. “That kid is out there hustling. I see myself in them. And if I can help them believe that anything is possible, that’s the real reward.”
Huether wants to show people that anything is possible. His belief is that it doesn’t matter where one begins in life—it only matters what they do with the time they have. As Huether continues to support the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, he strives to show that an entrepreneur’s journey can be about more than just themselves.
Photo courtesy of Kelly Huether
