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MiddletownJournal.com

Walters brings show to Franklin

His dream was to become a PGA touring professional.

An injury on a golf course near his home in Neptune, N.J., prevented him from making that dream come true, but Dennis Walters still makes his living as a professional golfer.

Walters was left paralyzed from his waist down following the 1974 accident in which he was thrown from a golf cart. But he now makes 90-100 appearances each year at PGA tournaments, corporate outings and junior golf events teaching more than just the game of golf.

Walters has a custom-made swivel seat on his golf cart and, through lots of experimentation, has perfected many trick shots including a 225-yard drive straight down the fairway while blindfolded.

He has a three-headed club, which he calls his "3-iron," and he hits pure shots with an assortment of clubs made from a crutch, a baseball bat, a fishing pole and a radiator hose.

"I was stunned when I saw him perform," said Bob Hayden, director of The First Tee of Greater Miami Valley.

Hayden took last year's First Tee group to NCR Country Club during the U.S. Senior Open to see Walters' 60-minute performance.

While his clinics are centered around golf, his message is far from the game.

"What he is saying is even if you have a disability, you don't say that you can't do something," Hayden said. "You can do anything you want if you try hard enough. It is truly an amazing show for kids and adults."

Walters will return to the southwest Ohio area this Saturday for an 11 a.m. performance at The Practice Center in Franklin. The show is free and open to the public.

MAGYC has three more junior golf events

The Middletown Area Golf for Youth Council has three more junior golf events this summer, all sponsored by SK Construction. Each event is an individual stroke play event with three age groups each for boys and girls — 10 and under, 11-12 and 13 and up.

The events will be held on the following dates:

July 6: Tee times begin at 9 a.m. at Armco Park in Lebanon. Cost is $5 per golfer. Registration deadline is June 30.

July 20: Tee times begin at 8 a.m. at Wildwood Golf Club. Cost is $10 per golfer (includes lunch). Registration deadline is July 14.

July 31: Shotgun start at 10 a.m. at Forest Hills Country Club. Cost is $10 per golfer (includes lunch). Registration deadline is July 26.

Upcoming schedule

The following local golf tournaments are scheduled to be played at Weatherwax Golf Course:

July 7-9: Middletown Senior Men's City Championship

July 10-14: Middletown Junior Match Play Championship

July 24-25: Middletown Junior Stroke Play Championship

Aug. 7: Mary Alice Mack Senior Women's City Championship

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852 or sweaver@coxohio.com.