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Originally Posted by Fred Brattain
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Hi YodasLuke,
I am trying to build a road show to travel and help people with disabilities play the game. Some to return to it, some to take it up. I am a disabled vet myself. Anyway, I found your story both touching and enlightening. I will obviously be seeking your counsel more and more, my dear Jedi....
Fred Brattain
aka Obi WunPutt
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I've had many different challenges in close to 10,000 golf lessons: one affected by polio, some that have had strokes, some missing limbs, and some simply affected by aging. We all get the luxury of the latter.
I get confirmation everyday that I've chosen the right career path, but one man truly comes to mind. I had an Episcopal minister come to me for a lesson when I was teaching in North Carolina. He had no disabilities other than age and years of absence from sports. He had the most defeated look on his face I'd ever seen. I started the way I normally do in a lesson, and said, "tell me a little about yourself." He told me that he had been a minister for 35 years. He said that he had just retired, and it had been his dream to take up golf when he retired. He had never played, but had a passion for the game. He loved watching it on TV, and never passed a golf course without trying to catch a glimpse of someone hitting a ball. He had made the decision to devote himself fully to the ministry and thought golf would be a major distraction to his work, so he waited until retirement to take it up.
Now, comes my challenge. He said that he had been retired for about a month, and had been struggling to play the game. That was a colossal understatement after watching him hit a few, but I'll save that for another discussion. Then, he placed the ton of bricks on my shoulders by telling me that if I couldn't help him, he was going to give up on his dream. I'm not kidding that this man was almost in tears every time he thought he might have to quit.
The good news is that he took about five lessons, practicing diligently between lessons, and became a very good ball striker. He found the love for the game that knew he had always had. He told me before he moved from North Carolina, "you have given me the greatest gift any man could give me." Coming from a minister, I thought his words were straight from the heart.
It's a blessing to me to be able to help anyone enjoy the game as much as I do. And, with TGM it's possible.
I'd be honored to help you or anyone else that has a disability. It doesn't have to slow you down in life or in golf.
Hybrid Mode
