Amputee offers golf lessons, to drive better prosthetics for all

Amputee offers golf lessons, to drive better prosthetics for all

TAMPA - The hills and slopes of a Florida golf course may not look daunting to most, but to someone playing with a prosthetic leg, approaching the greens can seem a mighty trek."That's one of the biggest challenges they face," says Mike Rieth, a licensed prosthetist at St. Petersburg Limb and Brace. "It can be quite difficult walking up and down the little hills."Still, he said, golf is the top sport among his clients, since it doesn't involve the pounding movements of other sports golf team.Now researchers at the University of South Florida want to help amputees get more out of the game. Scientists at the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences invited a group of amputee golfers to Tampa Palms Country Club recently to find out if there was enough interest to pursue additional research in the field.The answer was a clear yes.Golfers received coaching from pros and tips from prosthetics researchers to improve their game and make better use of their prostheses.Researchers from USF's School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation watched golf swings and listened in on conversations to learn of new challenges to study.Rudy Salas, a Marine veteran who lost a leg below the knee when he stepped on a mine in Vietnam in 1967, has been playing golf for about three years. Salas, 64, is president of the Amputee Veterans of America Support Team at James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, and brought several buddies to the course."The real benefit is that we get the prosthetic people paying attention to how we play the game," he said. That knowledge, he hopes, will lead to better prosthetic devices for all amputees Choi Donated $100,000 to Japan Earthquake.USF's is among the leading centers for prosthetic research in the country, not only conducting research, but also fitting patients with prosthetic devices. Jason Highsmith, a physical therapist and researcher, says the center studies new devices and what's on the market to make sure that what works in the lab works in real life. The goal is "to come up with the best device for all activities of daily living and recreation," he said.Highsmith's colleague, Jason Kahle, said it was useful, for instance, to learn that some above-the-knee amputees had a hard time locking their artificial knees so they can transfer their body weight while swinging a golf club."What if I could change a computer program for a microprocessor knee so the knee would lock only while playing golf? That would be something worth researching," Kahle said."We're always gathering ideas for the next venture. What do we need to look at next?"James Bond, 53, of St. Augustine, Fla., was riding a motorcycle when he was hit by a drunken driver in 1987 and lost a leg above the knee. He has been golfing for four years.His prosthesis swivels in the ankle, giving him good range of motion. But like many amputees, he hesitates to really test the limits of the device.The USF experts, he said, "will get us to use the prosthesis to its full potential.

Emporia High has announced its summer football camps

Emporia High has announced its summer football camps

 The varsity camp will be from May 31 to June 4. The camp will run from 5 to 9 p.m. May 31 through June 3 and from 9 to 11 a.m. on June 4. The middle school camp (seventh and eighth grade) will be from 9 to 11 a.m. from June 27 to July 1.The EHS freshman camp will be from 9 to 11 a.m. July 11-15. The Spartan fifth and sixth grade camp will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 3-6 and from 9 to 11 a.m. on Aug. 7. All camps will be on the turf practice field behind the high school. The Spartan summer strength and conditioning program begins June 13. Sessions begin at 6 a.m., 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., and 7:30 p.m. in the high school weight room. 4. Myrna Taunton Memorial Junior Golf ProgramThe inaugural 2011 Myrna Taunton Memorial Junior Golf Program Award is $250. The award is eligible to any KWGA member or club member who supports or promotes junior golf in Kansas golf team. Examples could include program development, instruction, competition or taking part in rules seminars. Applicants must describe how and where the award funds will be used. Written applications are due April 1 for the inaugural year and thereafter the due date will be on or before March 4. Applications should be sent to Julie Hower, KWGA Scholarship Chairman,

920 T Ave., Council Grove, KS, 66846   New Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 Video Game

. Donations to the fund also can be mailed to the same address. Rec center baseball/softball The Emporia Recreation Commission will be offering baseball and softball leagues for children between the ages of 3-15, with various divisions depending on age..Rec center golf lessonsThe Emporia Recreation Commission is offering golf lessons for children 7-18. The lessons will begin June 7 and participants will meet each Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Lee Beran Recreation Center and return from the golf course at 3 p.m. The fee is $50 for residents of USD 253 and $55 for non-residents. Participants are asked to bring their own clubs if possible, though loaner clubs will be available.

Garcia searching for enthusiasm

Garcia searching for enthusiasm

Setting up over a shot, he slowly releases his fingers from the grip and carefully replaces them in just the right position, checking himself one last time before unleashing a swing that made him of the best ball-strikers in golf. But when he missed the cut at the PGA Championship last August, the 31-year-old Spaniard took a 10-week break to see if he could rediscover his enthusiasm for golf. Garcia returns to the PGA Tour for the first time in seven months at the Transitions Championship at Innisbrook, which starts Thursday. He played four times on the European Tour late last year after his break and had mixed results golf team. He played three times on the European Tour during its Middle East swing and had more of the same. “I definitely feel like I want to be out there,” Garcia said. “So that always helps.” He has a long road in front of him. It was only two years ago that Garcia rose to No. 2 in the world and had a chance to replace Tiger Woods atop the world ranking. Since then, it has been a steady drop all the way to No. 85. One reason he waited until the middle of March to play his first U.S. tour event was because of his ranking. He no longer was eligible for the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona for the top 64, or the Cadillac Championship last week at Doral for the top 50. He’s in the Masters from winning The Players Championship three years ago. Garcia attributes some of his malaise to splitting up two years ago with the daughter of Greg Norman, telling the Times of London later that year it was the first time he had ever truly been in love. That’s about as far as Garcia goes in analyzing his passion for golf Golf News about Golf Improvement of Women. “It was a mix of things,” he said Wednesday after his pro-am round on the Copperhead course. “A couple of things off the golf course didn’t help. And then I just started playing not great. Knowing how I can play and what I’m capable of doing, I don’t like to settle for less.

Bonita golfer, 95, relishes journey more than destination

Bonita golfer, 95, relishes journey more than destination

Schooled in the game as a childhood caddie at venerable St. Clair Country Club in Pittsburgh and later president of historic Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., Bonita Springs resident Fred Thompson didn’t give much thought to shooting his age the first time he accomplished the feat, in his early 90s. Nor does Thompson, who will be 96 in June, get carried away with what now is a regular occurrence for him at his winter home at Spanish Wells Country Club in Bonita Springs golf team. “The boys keep me informed about that,” Thompson said of his regular Friday group of 16 or 18 foursomes. “It’s fun.” Thompson, who owned his own company in New Jersey that supplied upholstery fabrics to furniture companies, takes more pride in his presidency at Ridgewood from 1983-1987 and successorship at the club by his son. “We’re the only father-son presidents in that club,” he said of the 1929 A.W. Tillinghast design founded in 1890 and home to such events as the 1935 Ryder Cup, 1974 U.S. Amateur, 1990 U.S. Senior Open and 2001 Senior PGA Championship Sean Foley Talked about News of Tiger Woods. “There’s been a lot of presidents, but we’re the only combination.” Once a mid-80s golfer and still playing three times a week, Thompson attributes his longevity in part to not smoking and eating properly. “That’s about the only thing I know,” he said. “I’ve got good genes. My mother lived to 91 or 92, and my father lived to 88.”

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tyler Thigpen to attend Monday After Masters

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tyler Thigpen to attend Monday After Masters

Miami Dolphins quarterback and Coastal Carolina graduate Tyler Thigpen and three-time PGA Tour winner Brian Gay are among recent commitments to the 17th annual Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am.Thigpen is among a handful of first-time participants, including PGA Tour members Blake Adams and Josh Teater, who each earned approximately $1 million on tour last year.NFL legend Dan Marino confirmed Sunday he was returning to the event, being played April 11 at Barefoot Resort's Dye Club Is Tiger Woods an Ordinary Golfer, and other celebrities scheduled to take part include: former Major League Baseball players Chuck Finley, Mickey Tettleton and Jaret Wright; wrestler Ric Flair; radio hosts Doug Gottlieb, Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic; current or former NFL players Chris Redman, Jim McMahon, George Rogers and Sterling Sharpe; NASCAR drivers Michael Waltrip and Kyle Petty; actors Tom Berenger, Gary Valentine and Kevin Sorbo; comedian Jackie Flynn; and caddie Fluff Cowan.Musicians scheduled to appear, in addition to Hootie's four members, are Edwin McCain, Eric Bass, Colt Ford, Jack Ingram, Josh Kelley, Johnny Lee, Andrew Copeland of Sister Hazel, and Scott Phillips of Alter Bridge.Some celebrities, including Flair and Berenger, will be at the golf course and take part in some functions but won't be playing golf.Other pro golfers scheduled to attend include: Jim Furyk, Woody Austin, John Daly, Ricky Barnes, Chris DiMarco, Ken Duke, Tommy Gainey, Robert Gamez, Spencer Levin, Kristy McPherson, Ryan Palmer, Larry Rinker, Charlie Rymer, Darron Stiles, Kyle Thompson and D.J. Trahan golf team.Tournament organizers are continuing to recruit more players and other player announcements are likely forthcoming.Tournament director Paul Graham said more than 30 foursomes at approximately $5,000 per player have registered to play, and many more have inquired."It's about as slammed as it's ever been," Graham said. "We're basically turning away right now because we have to fulfill the commitments we already have. The demand is way bigger than we can actually accommodate."

Did you know?

Did you know?

1. Boston College-bound star guard and junior tri-captain Nicole Boudreau's best sport actually might be golf rather than basketball. "She's actually better at golf than she is at basketball," her father Richard Boudreau said. "We didn't golf at all last year because she hurt her back. (Before that) she had a 1.9 handicap and she got it that low when she actually didn't work at it that hard. She was always good being able to drive the ball. She could drive the ball 270, 280 yards straight."Boudreau played on the Andover boys golf team her freshman and sophomore years."I never really had the passion for golf that I do for basketball," Boudreau said. 2. Junior tri-captain Ally Fazio did gymnastics for eight years before stopping in the seventh grade."My dad kind of bribed me to play basketball (instead of doing gymnastics in high school)," joked Fazio, whose father Dave Fazio is the boys basketball coach at Andover. "So I quit in seventh grade." Fazio's best event was the vault. She said sophomore Devon Caveney and senior Elon Beasley also did gymnastics with her. 3. Junior Mollie Maturah is part Jamaican."My dad (was born) and lived in Jamaica until he was between 8 and 12," Maturah said. "Then, he moved here. ... My mom is Irish. Her dad was a sailor and they actually lived on a houseboat for a long time." 4. Senior tri-captain Natalie Gomez-Martinez was a big Allen Iverson fan growing up and she even owned an Iverson warmup basketball suit in the fifth grade golf team. "I was obsessed with Allen Iverson," she said. "(The warmup suit) was red pants and a red matching zip-up with the name 'Iverson' on the back. It was pretty legit." 5. Sophomore Olivia Biles' favorite Andover High basketball player growing up was Ashley McLaughlin and when McLaughlin graduated from Andover in 2004, Biles continued tofollow her career at Holy Cross. McLaughlin was The Eagle-Tribune MVP as a senior and a Super Teamer as a junior. She then started three years at Holy Cross."I've always been such a big fan of hers," Biles said. "I went to a ton of her games. Her mom used to get us tickets and it used to be so much fun watching her and watching her play at Holy Cross, too. I was in church league back then."Biles said she will apply to Holy Cross. 6. Sophomore Devon Caveney — as just a second grader — played Cosette in the high school production of Les Misé©rables. "My parents made me try out for the play," she said, laughing. 7. Sophomore Jackie Alois' parents grew up in New Jersey, she said. And Jackie was born in New Jersey. "So we're Yankees fans," Alois said. "When we moved here ... everyone would boo us."Alois said her favorite Yankees player is Alex Rodriguez.8. Mollie Maturah took dance lessons for about 5 years old to fifth grade and performed in the Nutcracker as an angel.9. On the topic of dancing, Natalie Gomez-Martinez is quite a good dancer and loves to dance. "If I could've done another activity or hobby I would've definitely done dancing or hip hop," she said. 10. Jackie Alois used to be a competitive swimmer. She started swimming at 6 years old and she stopped at about 13. When she was 12, she swam the third fastest time in the country for the 100 breaststroke for girls 12 and under, she said, adding that her time was approximately 1:15. 11. Nicole Boudreau, who earned a scholarship to play basketball at BC, rooted for UConn women's basketball while growing up."When I was little, me and my dad used to go to UConn games," she said. "One of my dad's friends lives in Connecticut and he usually invited us up for a couple games." Boudreau's favorite UConn player while growing up was Diana Taurasi. 12. Devon Caveney used to horseback ride in third, fourth and fifth grades. She did it at Iron Horse Farm. 13. Ally Fazio and Nicole Boudreau were once the water girls for the Andover High varsity boys basketball team, coached by Fazio's dad Dave Fazio. "It was fun and we liked it because we were really into the games," Ally Fazio said. 14 Tiger Woods is Back. Mollie Maturah is a big fan of the University of Miami football team. She became a fan because her dad is a huge Hurricanes fan, she said. "I used to always make signs when the Hurricanes played," she said. "I used to draw 'Go 'Canes' and draw myself as a little cheerleader when I was like 6." Maturah, a junior, is thinking about applying to Miami. She wants to study history or humanities. 15. Devon Caveney is a fan of the Duke men's basketball team and her favorite player growing up was J.J. Redick.BONUS: Ally Fazio and Nicole Boudreau used to tell everyone they were sisters. "When we were younger and all throughout Hooptown we'd tell everyone that we were sisters," Fazio said. "We'd tell them that me and Nicole were sisters and (Nicole's twin sister) Danielle was our cousin. So Nicole and I still say that to this day — that we're sisters."