Adam Pierce will travel to New Jersey later this month to compete in a qualifier for the US Adaptive Open Golf Championship
A tee shot that shanks off to the right directly into the trees that line the fairway.
The putt that rolls tantalizingly around the rim of the cup and out, instantly changing a par into a bogey.
The iron shot that looks perfectly majestic off the club until it lands with a thud right in the middle of the fairway bunker.
These are all challenges that we face every day when we’re out in the sun for a day on the golf links. But they are nothing compared to the challenges that Adam Pierce has faced on his road back to playing the game he loves.
Pierce, a 53-year-old emergency room nurse at Cape Cod Hospital, was riding his motorcycle in July of 2018 when life as he once knew it changed in an instant. He was hit by a car, suffering major internal injuries to his left leg. Eventually the decision was made to amputate the leg below the knee.
While rehabbing after the surgery at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Sandwich, the father of two made a promise to himself. He would not let the amputation rule his life and would work his way back to doing everything he did before the surgery.
That very much included playing golf.
“After the accident, I knew I wanted to get back to playing golf,” said Pierce, who lives in East Falmouth with his wife Colleen and their two children, Devyn and Jared. “I’ve been playing again for about two years now. It’s been great for me both mentally as well as physically.”
Trying to use his recovery experience for the betterment of others, Pierce has become a certified peer visitor to help guide new amputees along their own road to recovery.
Pierce will put his golf game to the ultimate test at a regional qualifier for the US Adaptive Golf Open Championship that starts April 23 at the Haworth Country Club in Haworth, NJ.
Qualifiers from the eight tournaments around the country will be entered into the Open Championship, which is July 7-9 at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, MD.
Golfers are grouped into different categories depending on their disability. Categories include amputation, an intellectual impairment, or vision impairment. All golfers are allowed to use carts to get closer to the greens, but there are no other major accommodations offered other than that.
“I played (at Haworth C.C.) last year in an Open qualifier and the course is certainly challenging, but it’s beautiful,” said Pierce. “You have to be accurate with your shots, but everything on the course is well maintained. I remember that the greens were a little fast.”
Pierce started playing golf with friends 20 years ago when he was stationed overseas in the Navy. He continued hitting the links when he retired from the service, but had to make some adjustments to his game after his surgery.
“I did lose probably about 30 yards of my drive” because of the surgery, he explained. “A regular golfer rotates at the ankle on tee shots, but I rotate more at the knee now and I had to adapt my follow through, as well.”
Pierce said he tries to get out for about 30 rounds during the golf season, including playing in adaptive golf tournaments on Cape Cod and around the northeast.
“I love being out there and getting to play. I’ve met an entirely new community of golfers while playing in these tournaments,” said Pierce. “You run into a lot of the same people and you get to know them pretty well.”
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