First Tee courses in Augusta, Ga., and Aiken, S.C., host the monthly golf clinics and 10th annual Adaptive Golf Challenge for those with acquired disabilities, such as blindness, amputation, and brain and spinal cord injuries.
The Walton Foundation for Independence, an organization dedicated to adaptive sports for those with acquired disabilities, such as blindness, amputation, and brain and spinal cord injuries, holds monthly golf clinics from March to October at First Tee courses in Augusta, Ga., and Aiken, S.C., the Augusta Chronicle reported.
William “Jake” Trier played golf for 15 years as a way to bond with his children – until January, when he lost his left leg after developing an aneurism from knee-replacement surgery, the Chronicle reported.
The 86-year-old disabled Marine Corps veteran from Aiken thought he might never play again. Then, he met this summer with the Walton Foundation for Independence, and the nonprofit organization outfitted Trier with a three-wheeled golf cart that lifts and tilts him to a standing position directly over the ball while buckled into a seat, the Chronicle reported.
After four months of free lessons, he returned to the course Monday with his son as one of the many success stories of the foundation’s 10th annual Adaptive Golf Challenge, the Chronicle reported.
“I decided it was time to get back on course with my life,” Trier said before teeing off for the 18-hole tournament at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta. “You give me a goal and I’ll do it. It’s been a fabulous experience.”
Trier’s never-give-up attitude was a popular theme among the 23 competitors in this year’s challenge, a season-ending celebration for Walton Foundation’s monthly adaptive golf clinics, which take place from March to October at First Tee courses in Augusta and Aiken, the Chronicle reported.
Thanks to the annual event, local and regional golfers with acquired disabilities have the opportunity to take part in fun, yet competitive tournament play, the Chronicle reported.
Participants are paired with three able-bodied golfers, who each pay an entry fee to support their new teammates and see firsthand what it’s like to live with a disability, the Chronicle reported.
Money raised from the event enables the foundation to continue its monthly adaptive golf clinics and hold Camp To Be Independent, an annual overnight summer retreat for children and young adults ages 8 to 21 with an acquired brain injury, the Chronicle reported.
“We are all about inclusion,” Vicki Greene, the foundation’s vice president of development, said of the mission of the volunteer program, which has reached golfers as far as Atlanta and Charleston, S.C. “We want to help as many people as possible facing disabilities learn or relearn ways to lead an active lifestyle.”
Greene said this year the foundation introduced two new adaptive golf carts, bringing its total to six, the Chronicle reported.
Trier started playing at age 70 in Ohio with his daughter and refuses to quit. “Through this program he gets needed exercise and a sense of self-gratification,” his son, Bill Trier, 64, of Aiken, said. “He’s much happier because of it.”
Greene said the foundation’s programs are offered free of charge to participants. To help or enroll, visit waltonfoundation.net/donate. The event is supported by the National Alliance for Accessible Golf and State Farm,the Chronicle reported.
“Self-esteem is critical on the road to recovery,” she said. “These folks can do a lot. Don’t count them out.”
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