Press Releases

    Rolling Hills Country Club drives green to Ability Beyond Disability

    Ray Ford, a golf pro at Rolling Hills Country Club in Wilton, CT, had never golfed with someone with a disability.  Last year he was invited to teach a Golf for Life clinic at New York’s Central Park. It was at this clinic that Ford met Brad Hennifer, a young man with Down Syndrome, and developed a lasting friendship.  That friendship led to the recent "Golf for Life" tournament held at Rolling Hills Country Club.

    "Brad and I immediately hit it off," said Ford. "It was my first time working with people with Down Syndrome and it was a lot of fun – their motor skills were no different than any other junior I had taught and their enthusiasm to learn was exhilarating," he said.

    Ford knew at that moment that this wasn’t going to be a one time thing for him. He made a promise to Hennifer – that they would golf together again and that they would raise money so that others like him could have the opportunity to enjoy the game they both love so much.

    In June Ford hosted a Golf for Life tournament at Rolling Hills and together with club members raised $20,000 for the Brad Hennifer Golf for Life Foundation, Ability Beyond Disability and the National Down Syndrome Society.

    The Golf for Life Foundation was inspired by Hennifer who has been golfing since the age of three and raises money so individuals with Down Syndrome can learn the game of golf and enhance their skills with the guidance of PGA professionals.

    "I had a blast golfing with Brad again," said Ford. "Rolling Hills and its members were amazing and really rallied behind the event and raised a lot of money." 

    Rolling Hills and its members were so touched by Hennifer that a number of them are participating in Ability Beyond Disability’s 11th annual Greater Westchester Golf Challenge as a way of raising money to help make a difference in the lives of those like Hennifer in their community.

    Ability Beyond Disability helps over one thousand people throughout CT and NY to live with dignity, independence and hope.  The Greater Westchester Golf Challenge is being held at the exclusive Waccabuc Country Club in Waccabuc, NY on Monday, August 3rd.  For more information about participating as a player or sponsor to help make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities in your community, please contact Greg Bastek at (203) 826-3171.

     
Meet Peter “Peter became the first consumer to actually be hired as an employee at the facility. He loves his job; working as a patient transporter is everything he dreamed it would be.”