Driving Ambitions : Sunny Hills Orthopedic Services’ ‘First Swing’ Clinic and Tournament Begin Friday

Despite losing most of her right leg several years ago, Debbie Wimmermark is an avid skier and cyclist. The San Juan Capistrano woman has also para-sailed and scuba-dived on her way to adopting a philosophy she sums up as “the determination to try anything at least once . . . the way I see it, I might as well go for it.”

That attitude took Wimmermark to the driving range recently for her first golf lesson. Wimmermark, 36, soon found out what golfers everywhere already know: The old saying “tee ‘em high and let ‘em fly” isn’t as simple as it sounds. The sport can be hard, very hard.

“I’ve only gone miniature golfing and, of course, this was very different,” Wimmermark said, laughing. “And (because of the amputation) I found that it was difficult to balance while swinging. You have to figure out ways to compensate, to get your power through the ball.”

So how did she do?

“Well,” she sighed, “I just hope I didn’t look like a fool.”

Her instructor, W.C. Fields of San Juan Capistrano, said she did fine. At least well enough to compete in the annual Sunny Hills Orthopedic Services’ “First Swing Learn-to-Golf Clinic” at the Fullerton Golf Course that begins Friday, continues Saturday and ends Monday with a tournament at the Imperial Golf Course in Brea for both disabled and able-bodied players.

Fields, 43, a double-leg amputee who’s been golfing since 1987, will join Wimmermark and dozens of other participants for the clinic and 18-hole competition.

The program, sponsored by Fullerton’s Sunny Hills, the Orange County branch of the American Physical Therapy Assn. and the 3,800-member National Amputee Golf Assn., will raise funds to support golf clinics for the physically challenged nationwide. It also hopes to emphasize to the disabled that there are few restrictions where sports and recreation are involved.

“Last year’s clinic was so rewarding that we knew this would be one of the most beneficial activities we could support,” said Randy McFarland, a co-owner of Sunny Hills. “We feel that Orange County can become a region known for its involvement in making golf available for an ever-increasing number of (disabled) individuals.”

On Friday, teachers from NAGA will instruct recreational and physical therapists on how to teach adaptive golf techniques to the disabled. To provide insight, participants will be asked to hit from the tee while balanced on one leg, with a hand tied behind their backs and from wheelchairs. The program will close with an exhibition by Denise Walters, described as a “paraplegic trick shot artist.”

The next day focuses on the disabled, with instructors teaching them the game’s basics. Most of the lessons will come from the therapists who learned techniques on Friday. The $125 fee for Monday’s tournament includes green fees, carts, gift packs, awards and dinner.

Fields, a former Disneyland security guard who lost his legs in a motor home accident in 1976, said he began golfing as another outlet for his sporting nature. His favorite pastime is skiing, which he teaches to both disabled and able-bodied students, but golf isn’t far behind.

It’s good recreation for the disabled, he explained, because most golf courses are responsive to their needs. For one thing, the omnipresent golf carts make it easy for amputees to get around. Another thing is that almost everybody, able-bodied or not, looks a little silly when they first take up the sport.

“It is so challenging, and all golfers know this,” he said. “Sometimes you do great, most other days not so great. Everybody realizes right off that they aren’t going to look good in the beginning.

“But it really is enjoyable. It’s a very introspective, personal game. With all the serenity and peacefulness between shots, it becomes a game within oneself. I also love the socialization, where you get to wander (through a park-like setting) for a few hours with friends.”

At first, though, a golf course can be intimidating, especially for someone with a disability, he conceded.

“Like with skiing, you just have to talk them through their apprehensions,” Fields explained. “For Debbie, she was saying that she’s afraid of falling down, of losing balance on her prosthetic side. That’s understandable, because it takes time to figure out the range of motion you can use, where your body is in space in relation to the ball and the swing.

“Also, there’s that thing of looking foolish . . . but the gains are great because it’s an opportunity to create normalcy, to mainstream and not feel like you have too many limitations,” he said.

As for the tournament, Fields said regular rules will apply, but he expects some leeway when a golfer gets in trouble, like in the sand trap or the rough. To make it easier, and to move the game along, balls may be moved for a better shot.

There is, however, one firm restriction: no golf carts--and no wheelchairs--on the putting green. All course managers are sticklers about the tidiness of their greens, so instead of putting, any player who uses a wheelchair will get two strokes added to his score when he chips onto the green.

There’s another option, one that may be used by the truly dedicated wheelchair golfer. “Sometimes they get out of their chairs and crawl (to the ball to make their putts); I’ve played with guys who do that,” Fields said. “I don’t think there will be a problem with that if they want to try it.”

As for Wimmermark, she’s just looking for some fun. Several friends who are amputees plan to attend the tournament with her, and Wimmermark expects a day of camaraderie.

“I’m just going to do what I can,” she said. “If I try to look good, I’ll fail for sure. The point is to enjoy yourself, right? Anyway, I always find humor in screwing up.”

For information on the golf clinic or tournament, call (714) 738-4769 or (714) 541-2152.