One-armed golfers hit it big

by Paul Conneally | July 9, 2008 at 11:45 am

1540 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

As part of the lead up to this year's Ryder Cup Competition in Louisville an inspirational international golf event for one-armed golfers will take place. Louisville is the hometown of the legendary U.S. one-armed golfer Don Fightmaster. The tournament will raise funds for and aspirations of disabled sportsmen and women not just in golf but in all areas of sport and life.

For the first time ever, one-armed golf champions from North America will square off against their International counterparts in a Ryder Cup formatted competition. These 12-man teams of highly competitive golfers will play for three days at The Cardinal Club, located just outside of Louisville. Admittance to the competition is The Cup 2008 pin, which can be purchased at area Meijer stores, select retailers in the community or at the gate.

The North American One Armed Golfers Association http://www.naoaga.com and the Glasgow, Scotland-based Society of One-Armed Golfers annually hold numerous tournaments for members, including season-ending championships. Both organizations are gearing up to select their players for the 2008 Fightmaster Cup.

A Ryder-Cup style competition between teams of one-armed golfers dubbed “The Humana Fightmaster Cup,” is scheduled for September 12-14 at the Cardinal Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky.

The tournament is named after Louisville, KY-native Don Fightmaster, who, while serving in the U.S. Air Force, lost an arm in an accident in 1954. Fightmaster taught himself to play golf one-handed and became so accomplished that Time magazine referred to him as “the Arnold Palmer of amputee golf.”

Fightmaster, now 76, has inspired innumerable young men and women with permanent disabilities to improve their lives through golf. The Fightmaster Foundation has raised nearly $1 million for organizations that support children with disabilities.