At Deere Run Junior Clinic anything's possible

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By Craig DeVrieze | Saturday, May 12, 2007 12:45 AM CDT | () comments

Dennis Walters, a golfer who is paralyzed, shows an audience of children from Rock Island schools some trick shots Friday at TPC at Deere Run in Silvis.

SILVIS, Ill. — Benji Hogan awoke from his mid-morning nap beneath a golf cart to do some math for an audience of school kids on the practice tee at the TPC Deere Run on Friday.

Simple multiplication is more entertaining than you might think.

It is, at least, when the multiplier is a dog.

Even Benji, smart pup that he is, might have had his paws full counting heads at Deere Run, though.

An audience of 1,700 Rock Island school children was bused over Friday for the golf course’s annual area-wide youth clinic, by far the biggest audience in the short six-year history of the event.

With a nod to the John Deere Classic, Dennis Walters — Benji’s boss and the paraplegic trick shot artist who was the star of the show — dubbed the clinic, “The second biggest golf event in this town.”

Walters and Benji performed for 800 more school children than had turned out previously for the PGA Tour-sponsored youth clinics at the Silvis course.

And first-year head professional Andy Stoterau said the Deere Run folks hope to welcome more kids to future clinics.

“We want to accomodate as many as we can,” Stoterau said, noting future events might target one grade level and involve schools from throughout the Quad-Cities.

“We are trying to make this something special. We are hoping as we move forward to make this for 2,000 (students) or more.”

Friday’s audience came from six Rock Island elementary schools — Eugene Field, Denkman, Horace Mann and the Intermediate and Primary academies.

Mike Russell, directory of academic development for both academies, said the field trip was viewed as a beneficial educational experience for the more than 600 academy students who were bussed to Deere Run.

He said students and teachers talked beforehand about lessons the trip might yield and said they would talk again on Friday afternoon.

“We make sure this is an event we can take back to school and make sure it is an event they can build upon,” he said. “There will be a very rich discussion.”

Among the lessons, Russell said, was the exposure to a new means of physical exercise for many students not previously familiar with golf.

Too, he said, there was the chance to extend the students’ life experience beyond Rock Island’s borders.

And, there was the chief lesson Walters’ program imparts — the notion that obstacles can be overcome.

An aspiring professional golfer when he was paralyzed in a golf cart accident 33 years ago, Walters travels the country, doing 90 to 100 trick shot shows a year.

He once finished 11th in U.S. Amateur, but his PGA Tour aspirations changed in the blink of an eye.

“I had to get another dream,’’ he said of his message to the assembled students. “I wanted to encourage them to pursue their dreams and never let anyone tell them anything is impossible.’’

Golfing from a specialized cart with a swivel seat, Walters imparted that message with an array of shots from a special arsenal of clubs.

That included a “3-iron” he used to hit three balls at a time; a club with a cellphone head — “for long distance,” Walters quipped — and, in honor of Benji, one with a chew-toy bone as a head.

“My dog would love that,’’ said 9-year-old Eugene Field student Rebecca Thomson.

Eugene Field student Devin Day, who said he was “all right’’ as a golfer, learned the day’s most important lesson.

“That it’s not impossible to do stuff,” he said.

Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com