All About Ability
Grace Anne has become an iconic figure in Virginia golf .”
— Rick Jeffrey , president of Special Olympics Virginia
SPECIAL OLYMPICS VIRGINIA |
“ I was forced to have an amputation to save my life and I lost my left leg in 2006 a few months before turning 65 ,” said Brush . “ In a lot of ways , golf helped me to get well because I wanted to play golf again and to continue working in my garden and I hoped to be active with grandchildren .”
While she was in the hospital following her surgery , one of the Belle Haven golf professionals called Brush and told her he was consulting with another professional who had experience teaching golf to amputees .
“ He said , ‘ By the time you are ready , we will be ready to help you learn how to play golf again [ as an amputee ],’ and I told him that was a deal !” said Brush , whose handicap index has been as low as 19 , and is currently 25.7 .
Brush ’ s return to golf was a slow , arduous process that involved getting insurance-company approval for a more technical prosthetic leg designed for athletic activity . Once she had a prosthesis that provided stability on unlevel terrain , Brush began “ playing smarter golf ” and
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learning to manage her game around hazards . Eventually , as her confidence and strength increased , she had no fear of extracting shots from bunkers or from the backs of greens .
Three years after her amputation , she was the women ’ s champion at the 2009 Pennsylvania Amputee Open . She also won the women ’ s division of the 2013 and 2014 Eastern Regional Amputee Golf Championship .
Brush added national senior amputee champion titles at the 2011 National Amputee Golf Association ’ s event in Phoenix and the 2014 championship in Virginia Beach . She was also the women ’ s champion in her division at the 2019 U . S . Disabled Open Championship in Midlothian and has won a half dozen women ’ s tournaments at Belle Haven . In addition , she has recorded two holes-in-one following the loss of her leg .
Needing early-summer preparation leading into the U . S . Adaptive Open in mid-July , both women found June tournaments to play . Braxton headed to the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando , Fla . ( June 5-12 ), while Brush got her competitive reps at the 2022 U . S . Disabled Open Championship at Laurel Hill Golf Club in Lorton ( June 6-9 ).
“ The Adaptive Open at Pinehurst is going to involve lots of different people with many different disabilities , which is important because it ’ s an opportunity for the athletes to show others what ’ s possible ,” said Jeffrey .
In fact , the championship will offer competitive divisions for : arm impairment , intellectual impairment , leg impairment , multiple limb amputees , neurological impairment , seated players , short-stature players , and vision impairment .
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ), 61 million ( 26 percent ) of all adults in the United States have a disability of some type . Of that number , 36 million American women , or one in four individuals , have disabilities .
“ I ’ m excited that all of these people who have worked very hard are going to get the opportunity to play in this new championship and to be celebrated in the same way other people are celebrated ,” said Brush .
“ It ’ s a great opportunity to show others that just because life doesn ’ t deal you the cards you wanted , doesn ’ t mean you can ’ t play the cards you have ,” she added . “ You can still have fun , you can still have a certain amount of success , and you can have a happy life in spite of the fact that you might have to do things a little differently than others .”
vsga . org J ULY / A UGUST 2022 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 29