By Jim Workman
Assistant Managing Editor
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS —
Dennis Walters delivered just what he promised — a lot of good shots and a lot of bad jokes.
The golf trick shot artist, who is also paralyzed from the waist down, joined PGA TOUR pros Ricky Barnes and Charlie Hoffman for an entertaining display of skills for about two hundred enthusiastic youth at The Greenbrier on Tuesday.
It was part of Youth Day activities surrounding The Greenbrier Classic this week.
Walters is a spokesperson and national ambassador for The First Tee.
He often supplied his own rim shot sound effect for his variety hour-style jokes. But Walter’s message also had serious tones.
“If I can do this … I’m challenging everyone out here to do something in their life that they thought was impossible,” he said.
Walters strapped himself to the edge of a golf cart and swatted several dozen balls for the kids. He used novelty clubs shaped like a dog bone and a cell phone and employed extra tall tees as well as ‘sweet teas’ — which was hitting a ball off the top of a can of tea.
He also hit one tee shot with a left-handed club, turning the club over during his swing.
Walters is the author of the book “In My Dreams, I Walk With You.”
He encouraged the crowd to ‘Have a dream. And if that dream doesn’t work out, get another dream.
"I'm not talking about a dream you have at night,” he added. “To me a real dream is having a positive thought in your head and in your heart and doing whatever it takes to make that come true.
Before an accident that left him paralyzed in 1974, Walter’s dream was to play on THE PGA TOUR.
“There were a lot of things I couldn't do, but there was no way I was giving up playing golf.”
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Barnes and Hoffman used humor in their exhibition too. But more practical advice such as practicing at a driving range properly, using wedges more than woods in practice, aiming at a target instead of just whacking away, and using an alignment stick to line up your body — will potentially serve the youth gathered around the two pros for years to come.
The pros answered several questions from the children while hitting a variety of shots.
At the request of one youngster, they even tried to emulate a “Happy Gilmore” tee shot — which is approaching the ball on the run and swinging while in motion. Barnes whiffed on his first attempt, but both nailed one successfully to the satisfaction of their gallery.
— E-mail: jworkman@
register-herald.com
