wins gold in
Olympic golf
By Larry Cheek
Of the Tobacco Valley News
John Espinoza has done it again.
Only this time, Espinoza took home the national gold medal in his division at the Special Olympics national games golf tournament in Lincoln, Neb., July 16-23.
It took him three years of gold state medals, thousands of tamales, and countless hours of practice to get there.
Not to mention, a little help from his friends.
A competitor must win at the state golf tournament for three years in a row before qualifying for the national tournament, said Espinoza.
This the Tobacco Valley native did over the last three years in Montana.
As for the tamales, Espinoza makes and sells them throughout northwest Montana along with his family to fund his golf travels and John’s Golf Course, a no-fee, 9-hole course for people with disabilities near the family home in the Tobacco Valley.
Practice was another matter.
Though John has access to the course at his backyard, this year, said his father, Steve Espinoza, “The greens are devastated.”
The last three years for the family have been tough, said Steve, with Steve himself undergoing repeated surgeries on his spine, hip, and knees. It seems that he has hardly recovered from one surgery before the next comes up.
Between his own physical inability to personally care for the greens and medical expenses, said Steve, John’s Golf Course has suffered. He plans to get it back on track next year.
Meanwhile, when John began practicing this spring for the national golf competition, the management at Indian Springs Golf Course north of Eureka caught wind of the situation.
The course management invited John to practice on their greens, free of charge.
“They said, ‘Here’s the key; go have fun,’” said John.
And have fun he did, practicing 10 hours per day, said Steve. “He went round and round and round,” said Steve. John would golf alone or team up with others, depending upon the day. “Without that practice there at Indian Springs, he would have had a tough time,” said Steve.
Come the national tournament, all of that hard work paid off.
It was the heartland of America, said Steve, and he was impressed with the welcome that competitors received.
“To see the openness and acceptance of the disabled and handicapped – it was heartwarming to see,” said Steve.
John joined 149 golfers from around the nation, golfing against three people per day, said John.
For him, he said, there wasn’t much for competition.
“I was on the green in the first shot,” he said. “On (his competitors’) first shot, they were in the sand box.”
Nonetheless, John felt good when that gold medal was placed around his neck.
John has been golfing for the past 13 years. It was in the wake of his brother Michael’s tragic death in a car accident that John first picked up the clubs. Michael was a star high school athlete at Lincoln County High School.
“I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” said John, who was born with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, which is similar to Down Syndrome, according to Steve.
With the help of community members, a golf course was born – along with a golfer.
“It’s a complete change in a person,” said Steve. “Special Olympics and golf have made John a different person.”
Once withdrawn, golf has brought John out of his shell, said Steve. John is now outgoing, golfing with friends across the nation and serving up tamales with a smile.
As John began improving his game over the years, moving from silver and bronze medals, people began to pay attention to the story of John and the community effort for his golf course. National golf magazines picked it up, calling his story “A monument to the kindness of strangers.”
John has spoken to crowds of 5,000 at various golf conventions around the nation, said Steve.
“This has been a wonderful time for John,” said Steve.
Meanwhile, John is resting up and building up his tamale fund for his winter golfing trips.
He plans to golf with friends and keep up his skills in Las Vegas and Las Angeles this coming winter.
“It’s fun,” said John. “Sometimes it’s frustrating.”
His next goal: Improving his chipping and putting skills, he said.