Dennis WaltersFrom The Miami Herald August 6:
The setting isn't the majestic clubhouse of Oakland Hills Country Club, site of this week's PGA Championship. Nor will it involve the Wanamaker Trophy, reserved for Sunday's winner.
Most notably, Dennis Walters won't stand up to accept the award. He can't.
It has been 34 years since Walters' dream of chasing PGA Tour trophies lay crushed beneath the golf cart that threw him. Told he would never play again, he met the challenge the only way he could -- sitting down.
Walters perfected a new swing, remade himself as a showman and has spent three decades wowing audiences by mixing trick shots with a message of resolve.
''This isn't exactly the story I had in mind,'' Walters, a Jupiter pro, said. ``In a lot of ways, I was unlucky and had misfortune. But in other ways, I was lucky.''
Certainly golf is fortunate that Walters stayed involved.
On August 6, Walters takes center stage as the PGA of America presents its Distinguished Service Award at its annual gala. He is the 20th recipient of the association's highest honor, a list that includes two former presidents (Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush), Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and entertainer Bob Hope.
''In my estimation, he's a golf performer who's more inspirational than the guy who wins the Open,'' said Dr. Gary Wiren, a renowned teaching pro who helped Walters fine-tune his early shows.
"In some respects, what he's done is more meaningful than if he'd become the great winner that he pictured when he was growing up.''
The Dennis Walters Golf Show has played in 49 states and Puerto Rico, racking up some 2 ½ million motor home miles on the way to an estimated 2,700 performances.
