Bringing golf to amputees

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TO LEARN MORE

Six tournaments are scheduled for the 2012 Salute Military Golf Association season:

▶ Saturday, May 19, Highland Greens Golf Club, Brushton.

▶ Sunday, May 27, Partridge Run Golf Club, Canton.

▶ Friday, June 8, Pioneer Hills Golf Club, Ballston Spa.

▶ Saturday, June 16, Watertown Golf Club, Watertown.

▶ Wednesday, July 18, Malone Country Club, Malone.

▶ Wednesday, Aug. 22, Championship play-offs, Malone Country Club.

For information on programs, tournaments or becoming an instructor, contact Regional Manager Frank Dorchak at 483-6272 or by email at ss572dbf@twcny.rr.com.

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January 2, 2012

▶ East Dickinson golf pro hoping to help returning disabled veterans

DENISE A. RAYMO Press-Republican The Press Republican Mon Jan 02, 2012, 02:28 AM EST

DICKINSON — A local man is headed to Florida to become an adaptive-golf instructor to help military amputees learn the sport and regain their athletic ability.

Harold Webb, golf pro and general manager of Highland Greens Golf Club in East Dickinson, will travel to Orlando in late January to learn how to work with physically challenged golfers.

Only one in region

Webb will be the only certified instructor north of Albany to teach amputees how to play, using adapted clubs, said Frank Dorchak, regional manager of the association.

The program, created by Jim Estes and Judy Alvarez in cooperation with Penn State University, is designed to help wounded veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan returning to the North Country.

"I think it's a great program, and I'm looking forward to working with the very brave men and women in the prime of their lives who left for a year and came back where their entire life changed, losing an arm, a leg or both," Webb said.

'Game for a lifetime'

"I'd like to help them where I can because golf is a game for a lifetime for a lot of people," he said. "I want to help them adjust to civilian life."

Free eight-week clinics are being set up around the region for up to eight amputees at a time to learn the game.

All those who finish the class receive a full set of adaptive golf clubs.

Dorchak said he wants several certified instructors trained and available so the returning vets can have easy access to clinics.

Already, three clinics are scheduled for Thursday, May 10; Thursday, July 12; and Thursday, Sept. 6.

Groups and individuals

Individual golf lessons are also available for wounded warriors not attached to the Fort Drum Warrior Transition Unit.

Adaptive golf was first introduced to veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital where a large number of amputees were recovering from their injuries.

Some who opt not to take lessons while they are hospitalized might change their minds once they get home.

'Positive experience'

"They might be struggling when they get back or have PTSD," Dorchak said, referring to post-traumatic-stress disorder. "But if we can get them into classes and teach them to play golf, it could help them have a positive experience."

That is why it's important to have several certified persons available so the amputee won't have to wait to get started.

The association recently launched a website, www.smga-ny.org, to keep amputees and their families updated on tournament news and other events and activities.

Email Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com