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Golf pro Rob Strano uses sign language to teach deaf students | GoUpstate.com | Spartanburg, S.C.
Rob Strano has no past experiences, no family or friendly ties that would induce him to dedicate his life to the hearing impaired.
But the former touring golf professional has found a rewarding niche by filling a void - giving golf instruction in the deaf community using American Sign Language.
"I see greatness in every one of these kids," Strano said Tuesday afternoon after conducting a clinic at Greenville Country Club for 14 students from the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind.
"I see doctors and lawyers, nurses and successful businesspeople and maybe even a good golfer or two."
Strano was joined for part of the clinic by frequent co-host Kevin Hall, a deaf Nationwide Tour player who is participating in this week's BMW Charity Pro-Am. For more on Strano, you can visit ASL Golf - Rob Strano.
Daron Harrington, who plays football and basketball and runs track at SCSDB, laughed in replying "no" when asked whether he was going to give up his other sports for golf. But like his classmates, there was no doubt he was having a blast.
"I love to play golf, and me and my classmates like to learn how to do a different sport," Harrington said. "It's harder than it looks getting the ball off the ground, but golf is something you can enjoy for a long time."
Strano's professional golf career began in 1988 and ended in 2002 after having played on various tours, including the PGA and Buy.com (now Nationwide). It was after deciding to take the sport he'd played since the age of 6 in a new direction that he began to give and receive more than any winner's check.
Injuries had taken their toll on Strano, and he knew his competitive career was winding down when he received what he refers to as "a calling" to learn sign language and use his golf skills to help others.
He was a quick study in learning the intricacies of sign language, and in 2004 he held his first clinic for deaf players in the Florida Panhandle.
"Growing up playing pro golf and traveling the country as I did when this all started and I was led down this path, I don't think I'd ever met a deaf person, seen a deaf person or sign language in my life," Strano said. "And that's pretty astronomical odds.
"Now to see the point this has come to in just five years and now involving the PGA, Nationwide and LPGA tours and having their players come out and hit shots for the kids, it just reassures me that God's had me on the right path."
That path has led to host clinics in conjunction with recent PGA Tour stops at the FBR Open in Arizona, the EDS Byron Nelson in Texas, last week's Players Championship in Florida and, three weeks from now, the Memorial (hosted by Jack Nicklaus) in Ohio. Strano's "calling" originally led him to search the Internet for what kind of golf instruction was available for the deaf through sign language, and he came up with nothing. That void made his desire to teach even greater, as he realized it would be difficult for an interpreter not well-versed in the sport to translate a teacher's instructions.
"To somebody who can hear, you can tell them to swing hard or swing soft, but those are textures, (but) the word easy means something that's not hard to do," Strano said. "Through sign language I would equate that to 'only use half of your full power or half of your full strength.' A lot of times through an interpreter the message is lost. I can give the information the way it needs to be presented in sign language."
Bob Milligan, athletic director and coach of multiple sports at SCSDB, was at the clinic Tuesday and called it an "amazing" experience for the students, many of whom were setting foot on a golf course for the very first time.
"This is a big deal for them," Milligan said. "They've all heard of Tiger Woods, but they've never gotten to see the types of places he plays on, so this is really good. And having Kevin here brings things into perspective for them because now they can see, 'Gee, I can succeed' because of this deaf golfer playing the tour. They need more role models who are successful like that."
Strano's clinic involves several basic training stations, including a mirror so players can observe their own swing. The majority of the morning is spent hitting light tennis balls with plastic oversized clubs to help the students gain confidence that they can make solid contact.
By the end of the session, using real clubs and balls, very few of the kids swung and missed, and most hit very consistently for first-timers.
"(Strano) has just taken a special interest in the deaf community," Milligan said. "You don't need to hear to play golf. You don't really need to hear to play any sport, as we play against regular public high schools all the time. But I think golf is a game that lends itself to this particular community."
Rob Strano has no past experiences, no family or friendly ties that would induce him to dedicate his life to the hearing impaired.
But the former touring golf professional has found a rewarding niche by filling a void - giving golf instruction in the deaf community using American Sign Language.
"I see greatness in every one of these kids," Strano said Tuesday afternoon after conducting a clinic at Greenville Country Club for 14 students from the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind.
"I see doctors and lawyers, nurses and successful businesspeople and maybe even a good golfer or two."
Strano was joined for part of the clinic by frequent co-host Kevin Hall, a deaf Nationwide Tour player who is participating in this week's BMW Charity Pro-Am. For more on Strano, you can visit ASL Golf - Rob Strano.
Daron Harrington, who plays football and basketball and runs track at SCSDB, laughed in replying "no" when asked whether he was going to give up his other sports for golf. But like his classmates, there was no doubt he was having a blast.
"I love to play golf, and me and my classmates like to learn how to do a different sport," Harrington said. "It's harder than it looks getting the ball off the ground, but golf is something you can enjoy for a long time."
Strano's professional golf career began in 1988 and ended in 2002 after having played on various tours, including the PGA and Buy.com (now Nationwide). It was after deciding to take the sport he'd played since the age of 6 in a new direction that he began to give and receive more than any winner's check.
Injuries had taken their toll on Strano, and he knew his competitive career was winding down when he received what he refers to as "a calling" to learn sign language and use his golf skills to help others.
He was a quick study in learning the intricacies of sign language, and in 2004 he held his first clinic for deaf players in the Florida Panhandle.
"Growing up playing pro golf and traveling the country as I did when this all started and I was led down this path, I don't think I'd ever met a deaf person, seen a deaf person or sign language in my life," Strano said. "And that's pretty astronomical odds.
"Now to see the point this has come to in just five years and now involving the PGA, Nationwide and LPGA tours and having their players come out and hit shots for the kids, it just reassures me that God's had me on the right path."
That path has led to host clinics in conjunction with recent PGA Tour stops at the FBR Open in Arizona, the EDS Byron Nelson in Texas, last week's Players Championship in Florida and, three weeks from now, the Memorial (hosted by Jack Nicklaus) in Ohio. Strano's "calling" originally led him to search the Internet for what kind of golf instruction was available for the deaf through sign language, and he came up with nothing. That void made his desire to teach even greater, as he realized it would be difficult for an interpreter not well-versed in the sport to translate a teacher's instructions.
"To somebody who can hear, you can tell them to swing hard or swing soft, but those are textures, (but) the word easy means something that's not hard to do," Strano said. "Through sign language I would equate that to 'only use half of your full power or half of your full strength.' A lot of times through an interpreter the message is lost. I can give the information the way it needs to be presented in sign language."
Bob Milligan, athletic director and coach of multiple sports at SCSDB, was at the clinic Tuesday and called it an "amazing" experience for the students, many of whom were setting foot on a golf course for the very first time.
"This is a big deal for them," Milligan said. "They've all heard of Tiger Woods, but they've never gotten to see the types of places he plays on, so this is really good. And having Kevin here brings things into perspective for them because now they can see, 'Gee, I can succeed' because of this deaf golfer playing the tour. They need more role models who are successful like that."
Strano's clinic involves several basic training stations, including a mirror so players can observe their own swing. The majority of the morning is spent hitting light tennis balls with plastic oversized clubs to help the students gain confidence that they can make solid contact.
By the end of the session, using real clubs and balls, very few of the kids swung and missed, and most hit very consistently for first-timers.
"(Strano) has just taken a special interest in the deaf community," Milligan said. "You don't need to hear to play golf. You don't really need to hear to play any sport, as we play against regular public high schools all the time. But I think golf is a game that lends itself to this particular community."