This Week at WorldGolf.com: Feb. 28, 2007

Golf helps bring a broken family back together at John's Golf Course in Montana

One discouraging thing about covering the golf world is seeing all too often a grand game turned into an industry or investment: with all the compassion and purity of a strip mall.

So when I hear stories like that of John's Golf Course in Eureka, Mont., it strikes an even bigger chord.

I was told the persevering story this week while in golfing in Las Vegas of all places. Over lunch with some officials at Desert Pines Golf Club, they told me about Steve Espinoza and his son John, who has Down Syndrome.

In 1999, John's older brother was killed in a car accident at the age of 20. Having already lost a daughter to a heart defect years earlier, John's father Steve was ready to quit on life. One desperate night he had a gun to his own head - before realizing he had to live on for the sake of his now only son. John soon took interest in an old golf club despite initially barely being able to hold it. The closest golf course near their house was 50 miles away, so Steve, with little money and the help of others in the community, built a golf course just for John in their yard.

Overcoming a severe handicap, John has become quite a golfer, and has earned over 20 Special Olympic medals in golf. When he came to Las Vegas recently, he reportedly broke 100 at Royal Links, one of the area's most difficult courses.

Over the years, John's Course has grown from one hole to ten, and now even Nick Faldo is helping to build a par-3 course for John and the Eureka community. Anyone is welcome to come and it is free to play. Fellow golfers with disabilities are especially welcome. Steve and John maintain the course together and a yearly tournament raises money to help fund maintenance costs.

I wish I'd known about John's Course sooner. But now I do, and this special place - where golf is in its purist form - is now on my list of must-plays.

Eureka, Montana might not be accessible enough for all golfers to consider a visit, but everyone with a hand in the game should learn more and tell others about John's Course and this wonderful story.

For more information, visit www.JohnsGolfCourse.com.

As always, WorldGolf.com welcomes your comments.

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