The course in Birmingham, Ala. has set up a partnership with Alex Fourie, a certified PGA golf instructor. As part of the deal, Highland Park will be Fourie’s home course and the course logo will appear on his competitive apparel and golf bag. Fourie will assist the course’s junior programs and help the site’s instructors teach the course’s monthly disabled veterans clinic. Fourie was born in 1992 in the Cherkassy Region of Ukraine without a right arm, and had a cleft lip and palate due to the damaging effects of radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
Highland Park Golf Course, Alabama’s top municipal course, has formed a partnership with Alex Fourie, the number one, one-armed adaptive golfer in the world and a certified PGA golf instructor. As part of the agreement, Highland Park will be Fourie’s home course and the course logo will appear on his competitive apparel and golf bag. Fourie will assist the Highland Park junior programs and help Highland Park instructors teach the course’s monthly disabled veterans clinic. Fourie will also make regular social media posts from or about Highland Park Golf Course.
Fourie was born in 1992 in the Cherkassy Region of Ukraine without a right arm, and had a cleft lip and palate due to the damaging effects of radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. The radiation seeped into the rivers near Fourie’s hometown of Zvenyhorodka, affecting his birth mom. As a result, Fourie now 29, has undergone 26 surgeries in his lifetime. At the age of 7, he was adopted by the Rev. Anton Fourie and his wife, Elizabeth, who were South African missionaries serving in Alabama. At the time of his adoption, in 1999, Fourie weighed only 35 pounds and ate soup for nearly every meal. Soon after arriving in the U.S., he began swinging a golf club and eventually became an accomplished golfer. He played in the number two spot on his high school golf team at Shades Mountain in Hoover, Ala., before ultimately becoming a PGA golf professional. Fourie is currently level one certified for the Titleist Performance Institute and associate member of the TPI.
Fourie recently signed an apparel agreement with Loud Mouth Golf and will soon appear on a podcast with golf legend John Daly. He also has plans to shoot an instructional video with famed YouTube instructor Rick Shiels.
Highland Park Golf Course is the state’s oldest public golf course and the golf course property is owned by the city of Birmingham, while Highland Park Golf, LLC and its managing partner Bob Barrett own the long-term lease. The operation is managed by Troon.
Highland Park Golf Course’s history dates back to 1903, when Nick Thompson designed the 18-hole course. In 1998 the course underwent a significant rejuvenation and was renovated by Honours Golf Founder Bob Barrett and golf course designer Bob Cupp. In late 2019/early 2020, the course was again updated with renovation work focusing on modernizing golf course bunkers and putting surfaces. Throughout Highland Park’s storied history, it has played host to numerous celebrities and high profile guests including Bobby Jones, Theodore Roosevelt, & Tiger Woods.
Highland Park Golf Course measures nearly 5,900 yards and plays to a par of 70. The course’s elevation changes, creeks, lakes, movement and small greens combine to challenge golfers and helps the course to play longer than the yardages on the scorecard. A new back tee on the par-4 15th sits on the property’s highest point and provides a fantastic view of downtown Birmingham.
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