When Ann Arbor resident Tim Lang had the lower half of his right leg injured so badly by a roadside bomb in Iraq he had to have the lower half of his right leg amputated, he feared his handicap would forever define him. Eight years later, Lang is happy to for that to be the case, but not the one he suffered on the battlefield.
The one he gains on the golf course.
After returning from Iraq, Lang was lying in a hospital bed in Bethesda, Md. when he was approached by former PGA golfer Jim Estes. Estes is a co-founder of the Salute Military Golf Association, non-profit aimed at providing golf experiences and family-inclusive golf opportunities for post-9/11 wounded war veterans in an effort to improve their quality of life.
Tim Lang
Montana Pritchard | PGA of America
“He was resistant. Thought it was a sissy game,” recalls Estes.
Estes had heard Lang was a good athlete before his injury, so he returned to the hospital with a strategy.
“I said ‘if you’re such a great athlete’, why don’t you show me something. Show me how easy (golf) is,” Estes said.
Lang took Estes up on the challenge and, predictably, he struggled.
“I said ‘I thought you were this great athlete and golf wasn’t a sport?’” Estes said. “I think that kind of lit a fire.”
Lang, who is a student at Eastern Michigan University, became an avid golfer, using the game as both mental therapy and physical exercise, two things he desperately needed after suffering his injury in war. Lang now shoots in the 70s, has aspirations of winning the National Amputee Golf Championships, and tells his story to inspire others.
Lang’s story will be one of several featured on CBS Sports on Sunday (2-3 p.m.) as part of the PGA of America’s Beyond the Green.