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Rain does not dampen golf tourney for wounded

Navy Times
By Karen Jowers, Staff writer
04.29.08

Aside from having to constantly wipe the grips of their golf clubs, the wounded troops at a quick golf clinic at Lansdowne Golf Club in Virginia didn't pay much attention to the cool, steady rain.

They just wanted to get in some golf and get some tips on improving their game from Ken Peck, an instructor who has lost both legs. He gave Army Sgt. 1st Class Dave Cook some tips on shoulder movement, and complimented him on his shot from the practice tee. When Cook complained that his shots weren't consistent, Peck replied, "The only consistent thing about golf is that it's inconsistent."

Eleven wounded troops from Bethesda Navy Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Medical Center joined about 200 other golfers at the country club Monday for the Fisher House annual charity golf tournament. The tournament is raising money for the nonprofit organization, which builds comfort homes near military and VA medical centers that serve as free lodging for families of troops recuperating in the medical centers.

Thirty-eight Fisher Houses are now operating around the country. The Fisher House Foundation will finish at least four more this year, said David Coker, president of the foundation. The four are in Richmond, Va.; Puget Sound, Wash.; San Diego (the second Fisher House in that area), and Dallas.

A Fisher House also is being built in Los Angeles, but it may not be completed by the end of the year.

Another six are in the works to start construction this year in Boston; Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Chicago; St. Louis; at the VA Center in the District of Columbia; and a second facility at the Minneapolis VA Center. Coker said these 11 Fisher Houses represent a $56 million construction program.

Marine Cpl. Ryan Dion, who lost his leg April 25, 2007, in Fallujah, Iraq, said he has been participating in a golf clinic at Walter Reed with professionals who help the troops on the driving range.

"It's different, golfing with a prosthetic," he said. "It's just rotating, and balance. It's transferring weight. There are different ways to work that. It will take a while to get used to it, but it won't stop me."

While he has played golf eight times this year, this was his first time on a golf course, he said, and he was looking forward to it, even in the rain.

"The great thing about golf is that you can play even with a disability," said Peck, noting that more and more rehabilitation clinics and physical therapy clinics are using golf as therapy, and some therapists are learning to be golf instructors.

This is Peck's second year providing a clinic for wounded trips at the Fisher House golf tournament, working with them individually on their stances and their movements. "The troops I have talked to love the opportunity to get out here and relearn - and some, learn - the game," he said.

For next year's tournament, he said he would like to arrange a day-long golf clinic the day before the regular tournament starts.

Retired Army Staff Sgt. Dale Beatty said the last time he played golf was at last year's clinic. "Mostly, I come to see all my friends at the Fisher House who took such good care of me, and to build awareness of what the Fisher House does," he said.

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