Inspirational Jersey native Walters to be honored prior to U.S. Open
Dennis Walters has impacted the lives of local children and adults for decades.
Walters, a New Jersey native who regularly performs for TPC Jasna Polana Princeton’s Area-Wide Junior Clinic, will be honored by the USGA when he accepts the Bob Jones Award on June 13, 2018 during U.S. Open Championship week in Southampton, N.Y.
USGA officials noted that Walters remains “known for his never-say-quit attitude.”
The incredible golf showman and life teacher turned the tragedy of being paralyzed from the waist down at age 24 from a golf-cart accident into a personal mission to teach golf and life lessons to a worldwide audience.
“Dennis Walters exemplifies the values, dedication and passion for golf that all true champions of the game possess,” said Mike Davis, executive director/CEO of the USGA. “He inspires all of us with his belief that anyone can play the game, delivering life lessons through golf, and showing that anything is possible in both life and golf if you’re willing to work hard enough.”
The award ceremony will take place Wednesday evening of U.S. Open week at Sebonack Golf Club, in close proximity to historic Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, site of the 118th U.S. Open Championship. Among the featured speakers for the invitation-only event will be Jack Nicklaus, eight-time USGA champion, 1975 Bob Jones Award winner, and one of Walters’ longtime supporters and friends.
In 1967, at the age of 17, Walters won the New Jersey Junior Championship, Caddie Championship and Public Links Junior Championship, an unprecedented triple crown. He attended North Texas State on a golf scholarship and finished 11th in the 1971 U.S. Amateur Championship. He had reached the final stage of the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School when the accident changed his life.
Walters rebounded as a friend created a golf cart with a mounted swivel seat that allowed the golfer to sit and hit golf balls.
Walters created his own golf niche with a message that implores young people to chase dreams. “And if you’re first dream happens to not work out then — start a new dream,” Walters says frequently. His other life instructions requests hard work, dedication and perseverance.
The Florida resident has made numerous appearances in Princeton and Trenton during a career that has made more than 3,000 appearances in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
“I have been on tour for 41 years, just not the tour I imagined,” Walters said. “I started this path for myself as a mechanism to cope with what I considered to be a hopeless situation. I never knew what I could accomplish with my show or how many people it would reach. I made up my mind and was determined to do whatever I could to still make golf my career and a part of my everyday life. What I didn’t know was how it would extend past the golf community to show others what is possible under almost impossible odds.”
Walters received the Ben Hogan Award and the PGA Distinguished Service Award for his remarkable comeback. The International Network of Golf honored Walters by establishing the Dennis Walters Courage Award, which is presented annually.
“When [then-USGA president] Diana Murphy called me, I felt many different emotions but mostly disbelief,” said Walters. “I was filled with humility, gratitude and appreciation that the USGA would think that I had done something to earn or deserve an award like this, knowing the ideals and examples that Mr. Jones has set. Having my name added to a list of this magnitude, it’s the greatest thing to ever happen to me.”
Past winners include Francis Ouimet (1955), Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1957), Arnold Palmer (1971), Jack Nicklaus (1975), Ben Hogan (1976), Annika Sorenstam (2012), and Payne Stewart (2014).
(A USGA press release contributed to this article.)
L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist.