BILLINGS — The Masters: a tradition like no other.
If you’re a golf fan, this is on your bucket list, but keep in mind that it’s also one of the most expensive tickets in all of sports.
Well, let me tell you about my only trip to the Masters in 2006. And, by the way, thanks to my friends John and Steve Espinoza, Randy Gerringa and I didn’t even have to pay for our tickets. Not only did we get free tickets, but Club Car paid for our house rental next door to the one Sports Illustrated had rented for the week.
Plus, John Daly’s chef even came to cook us dinner one night.
It was the Wednesday practice round and after a few hours we headed to the 15th green. Now if you can find seats on the other side of the stands you also have a great view of the par 3 16th hole. Since it was a practice round after the golfers tee off they drop a ball in front of the water and have it bounce towards the hole.
While we were waiting for the next group to arrive, four ladies sitting behind us asked our friend John what shirt he was wearing. It was a John’s Golf Course shirt.
John, who was born with Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes cognitive and physical disabilities, was more than happy to let them know that it was his private golf course in Eureka, Montana.
This was my moment to share with the group the incredible story of John’s golf course.
A few years before our trip to Augusta National, Randy volunteered to help out at the Montana Special Olympics golf tournament. He showed up at the City Exchange Par Three in Billings and was introduced to his group of three golfers.
His job was to keep track of their scores, help find lost golf balls and remind them that the maximum score on each hole was 10.
Well, this first hole, Par 3, is about 180 yards. All three players in Randy’s group had to take a 10.
This is where things get real.
As Randy was leaving the green, he heard a thud and noticed that a golfer in the group behind him had hit the green. He thought it was just a fluke, but on the next hole, the same golfer hit the green again.
Randy had to meet this young man. He found out his name was John Espinoza, he was from Eureka, and he had just won a gold medal in golf at the Special Olympics.
Randy said, “John, there’s no golf course in Eureka. Where do you play?” (Indian Springs Golf Course opened in 2009).
John smiled. He was playing Eureka. On John’s golf course.
The story of John’s golf course began with tragedy.
In 1993, John’s father, Steve, a disabled Vietnam veteran, and his wife, Juana, learned that another son, Michael, 20, had been killed in a car accident.
Having lost his infant daughter some twenty years earlier, this blow was almost too much for Steve. Soon after, John discovered Michael’s clubs and declared that he wanted to learn the game.
Steve set it up in their backyard outside Eureka. He couldn’t believe how far John hit the ball, given that his disease was particularly affecting his range of motion.
Eventually, they went to a class in Kalispell.
John did not know the rules of golf and was a beginner. This first trip did not end well. The crowds in front and behind him made him nervous. On the way home, John looked at his father in tears and told him that he wished he had his own golf course.
The next day, Steve drove to Eureka to pick up seeds and materials to build a green for John. Soon they had a 10-hole golf course.
This is where I come in.
I met John and Steve and produced a program in 2005 as part of my national sports show Montana Sports. Long before MP3 files, Steve made over 1,000 CDs and broadcast this story across the country.
Soon, major companies were donating equipment and seed for golf courses. Club Car not only provided free golf carts, but also tickets for the four of us to attend the Masters.
John’s remarkable story has been written about in People magazine and Sports Illustrated, and also featured on ESPN.
That year, I was asked to introduce Steve and John at the annual National Golf Course Superintendents meeting in Orlando, Florida. I did so by saying that it’s not every day you meet a man who built a golf course for his son.
After Steve told his moving story, I stood up to introduce John. Over blaring music, I announced that it was time to meet a ten-time Olympic gold medalist.
John came from the back of the room and walked to the stage with a big smile amidst a standing ovation.
That Wednesday at the Masters, as Fred Couples prepared to tee off and John told his story, I couldn’t help but notice tears on one of the ladies’ faces.
She reached out and hugged John and told him that was the best golf story she had ever heard.
