Byron Crawford Article, "Who are your Golf heroes?"

Byron Crawford is a columnist for the Courier Journal, a daily newspaper in Louisville Kentucky. By criss-crossing Kentucky, finding interesting people and places and telling their stories, his articles are delightful tales of Kentucky and its people.

The following article was published the week before the 2007 Amputee Tournament Player's Championship.

Who are your golf heroes? Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Michelle Wie, Annika Sorenstam?

Some of mine are Henry Brown, Mark Calvert, Willie Buchanan and Tina Carey – a foursome that has only three legs among them.

They are some of the 70 players who'll tee off in the Amputee Tournament Players Championship at the Shelbyville Country Club on Saturday to raise scholarship funds for amputees across the country.

Nearly all will have traveled to the tournament at their own expense, the play won't be televised and no one from a slick sports magazine will be photographing their every move.

The nearest sports writer may be miles away, watching a high-profile PGA event on TV and contemplating the nuances of each superstar.

Photo courtesy of Bob Weis

Willie Buchanan, 61, has
difficulty wearing a prosthesis,
so he stands on one leg to tee off.

Maybe it's just my age, but I'd rather watch 61-year old Willie Buchanan of Tennessee lay down his crutches, hop up to the tee and drive one 245 yards with a 3-wood than see Tiger drive 400 yards and sometimes stalk off in frustration.

Buchanan lost his right leg almost to the hip because of cancer, and has difficulty wearing a prosthesis.

Mike Hudson, 60, who lives near Tampa, Fla., is a four-time national champion in the "below the elbow" division. He said one of the reasons he travels to the tournaments is to visit with other players. Often it's the time they spend in conversation after the games that he enjoys most.

Brown, 69, the president of Amputee Golf Charities, lost his left leg above the knee in 1980 when the tractor-trailer he was driving struck a steer that bolted onto a highway.

Calvert, 49, lost both legs below the knees in 1989 after the feed truck he was driving came in contact with a 7,200-volt power line. Both he and Brown now live in Shelby County.

About the only time these golfers use the word handicap is when they're figuring golf standings, said Karen Seeders, a non-amputee who serves as secretary-treasurer of the charity. Some shoot in the 70s and some in the low 100s, she said.

Saturday's championship is one of the most popular tournaments on the National Amputee Golf Association tour, which includes divisions for golfers with amputations above and below the elbow, above and below the knee and multiple amputations.

Tournaments are governed by PGA rules. Sponsors include prosthetics companies, banks, hospitals, other businesses and individuals.

To learn more about the tournament, call Henry Brown at (502) 321-0501 or go www.ampgc.com.

And if you'd like an autograph from some golf heroes, about 70 of them will tee off Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. at Shelbyville Country Club.

Byron Crawford's column appears on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach him at (502) 582-4791 or bcrawford@courier-journal.com. Comment on this column, and read previous columns, at www.courier-journal.com/byron.