Ron Agostini on Golf: Helping injured veterans through golf

Jim Martinson carefully rolled his 3-wheeled para-golfer to the right spot, then adjusted the seat. With everything in place, he took a healthy swing with his driver, and the ball sailed straight and true down the fairway.

“There are so many variables in golf,” he said. “So many things that can beat you.”

Martinson referred to golf, not the fact he lost both legs following an explosion in Vietnam in 1968. Do not call him “disabled.” The man has won seven paralympic gold medals and the Boston Marathon and continues to ski and cycle.

He didn’t try golf until five years ago – after he slowed down a little.

“Golf is one of the most difficult things I’ve done,” Martinson said.

With all due and proper respect, I’ll disagree.

Martinson was one of three injured veterans, the focal points of a fundraiser Tuesday at Del Rio Country Club. Del Rio became the first golf club in the nation to hold an event for St. Andrews Legacy, an outreach group from St. Andrews, Scotland, that supports those who have been wounded or maimed in battle.

American flags decorated the cart paths leading to Del Rio’s first tee. That the event was held on Veterans Day couldn’t have been more appropriate.

“And we have the audacity to call these men ‘disabled.’ These are very, very able individuals,” said Graham Proctor, the founder of St. Andrews Legacy. “They are ill and injured, not disabled. They do things most of us are incapable of doing.”

Consider Martinson, a Puyallup, Wash., resident who developed wheelchairs after his days in the army. Or Scott Blaney, another golfer at Del Rio who lost his right leg in a land-mine explosion in Afghanistan. All he’s done is run three marathons, swim the English Channel and row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean with three other men earlier this year. Also at Del Rio was Marc Esposito, a seriously injured Air Force man who led a team of wounded veterans on a 4,000-mile cycling journey across the nation in 2010.

All three men were welcomed with open arms by a field of 40 local players eager to help their cause.

Proctor, the owner of the Deveron House, a bed-and-breakfast at St. Andrews, is inspired by the stories of these injured heroes. In fact, he started St. Andrews Legacy last year to help them with experiences through golf.

Money generated at Del Rio will be directed toward the St. Andrews Legacy Event, a team competition next year pitting four American veterans against a team from the Commonwealth (two from England, one Australian and one Canadian).

Proctor, a huge man who introduces himself with a firm handshake and a rich brogue, entertained local golfers Tom Cosentino, Mike Kinch and Mike and Chuck O’Brien a few years ago at his hotel. His idea was just taking shape at the time, and the locals stepped up. That led to Tuesday’s outing.

“All we could say was, ‘We’re all in,’” Cosentino said.

When Proctor brings these winners of Purple Hearts to St. Andrews, he knows it’s a worthy endeavor.

“To take the magic of St. Andrews and make it work for the benefit of these people, there’s nothing better,” he said. “We measure success by the smiles on their faces.”

The Shag Bag – The Turlock High School girls, who placed third at last week’s Sac-Joaquin Section Masters, finished eighth out of 11 teams Monday at the Northern California Regional Championship. Senior Sarah Garcia led the Bulldogs, winners of 11 consecutive Central California Conference titles, with an 87 at Crazy Horse Ranch (formerly Salinas CC). It was the first time Turlock had been represented at NorCals since Emily Szabo qualified as an individual in 2007. ... East Union junior Brooke Riley, The Bee’s two-time Stanislaus District Golfer of the Year, tied for third at the NorCals with her 1-under 71. Riley advanced to the CIF Championship next Tuesday at Red Hill CC in Rancho Cucamonga.

This story was originally published November 11, 2014 at 11:29 PM with the headline "Ron Agostini on Golf: Helping injured veterans through golf."