Western Amputee Golf Association brings game to adaptive golfers

The Western Amputee Golf Association (WAGA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing golf and its community to amputees and golfers with special needs across eleven Western states, including California.”Sometimes life throws you a par. Sometimes a bogey,” said Tim Healea, the association’s president. “It’s therapeutic. It’s self-driven. It’s self-competitive.”Healea has found parallels between life and golf over his many years of play. Circumstances in both, he says, can change in an instant.“I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I’ve always been a competitor,” he said. “In 2001, rheumatoid arthritis started eating my ankles and had to have my right leg amputated in January. And then the following year in January, had to have the left leg done.”Despite having both legs amputated, golf remained constant for Healea. Now he’s focused on bringing adaptive golf to others facing a wide range of physical and mental challenges.”It was five weeks and I had my prosthetic on and I was swinging the golf club,” he said.WAGA supports adaptive golfers with more than a dozen disability classifications, ranging from limb differences to neurological conditions, like Down Syndrome.Established in 1968, it provides support to adaptive golfers through tournaments, workshops, and events.”We all love the game and if we haven’t discovered the game, when we do, they love it,” Healea said.The organization relies on community support to continue its mission.Golfers who have lost a limb or the use of a limb are encouraged to get involved.This April, WAGA is teaming up with the United States Adaptive Golf Alliance for a tournament and public golf clinic at Sierra View Country Club in Roseville from April 19 to 21. Registration for adaptive golfers is still open.As part of our 70 Years of Service initiative, we’re highlighting organizations that are making a difference all year long. See more stories in the series here.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

The Western Amputee Golf Association (WAGA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing golf and its community to amputees and golfers with special needs across eleven Western states, including California.

“Sometimes life throws you a par. Sometimes a bogey,” said Tim Healea, the association’s president. “It’s therapeutic. It’s self-driven. It’s self-competitive.”

Healea has found parallels between life and golf over his many years of play. Circumstances in both, he says, can change in an instant.

“I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I’ve always been a competitor,” he said. “In 2001, rheumatoid arthritis started eating my ankles and had to have my right leg amputated in January. And then the following year in January, had to have the left leg done.”

Despite having both legs amputated, golf remained constant for Healea. Now he’s focused on bringing adaptive golf to others facing a wide range of physical and mental challenges.

“It was five weeks and I had my prosthetic on and I was swinging the golf club,” he said.

WAGA supports adaptive golfers with more than a dozen disability classifications, ranging from limb differences to neurological conditions, like Down Syndrome.

Established in 1968, it provides support to adaptive golfers through tournaments, workshops, and events.

“We all love the game and if we haven’t discovered the game, when we do, they love it,” Healea said.

The organization relies on community support to continue its mission.

Golfers who have lost a limb or the use of a limb are encouraged to get involved.

This April, WAGA is teaming up with the United States Adaptive Golf Alliance for a tournament and public golf clinic at Sierra View Country Club in Roseville from April 19 to 21. Registration for adaptive golfers is still open.

As part of our 70 Years of Service initiative, we’re highlighting organizations that are making a difference all year long. See more stories in the series here.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel