It all began when Rudy saw a picture of a golf club on a brochure for Fore Golf Sacramento's summer clinics. He immediately turned to his mother and said, "Mommy! I want to do that." Rudy's excitement to pick up another sport came as no surprise to Tricia Lozano. Her son had always been a sports enthusiast, playing on summer baseball leagues and frequently eager to pick up a game of basketball. However, golf offered a unique opportunity for Rudy to thrive individually. Without hesitation, Tricia Lozano leaped on the idea of providing her son with an activity to relieve some of the anxieties he had faced due his continuous struggles with Spina Bifida.

It did not take long for Rudy's fascination by the picture of the golf club on the brochure to transform into an undeniable enthusiasm for the challenges and triumphs he faced on the golf course. Soon, you could find him on the course up to three times a week, whacking away not only at the ball but at barriers his disability had unjustly set up prior. While previously, Rudy had been known to shy away from new experiences, his mother has noticed that he now revels in the opportunity to share his long drive with a new face. Short, choppy answers about what he feels about the game have now turned into long explanations of why he chose a particular club for a particular shot or which rules set up an interesting situations for his play.

Rudy's mother has largely attributed the successes of her son to the adaptability of the game. Lozano truly praises the game and Fore Golf Sacramento as an arena to celebrate differing abilities. "What's great about golf is that your success does not depend on how well you are able to physically adapt. It's about finding a way that works for you," commented Lozano. Rudy's cheering section at Fore Golf is filled with many differently abled individuals who have used the game to showcase their talents.

As a third grader, Rudy is one of the youngest players in his program. Yet, this determined youngster has served as an inspiration to his fellow golfers. The participants feed off one another's desires to master the game. Words of encouragement spur on Rudy's confidence while, concurrently, his youthful fortitude and infectious smile, egged on by a line drive, motivate other participants as well.

Yet beyond simply embracing that initial thrill after making solid contact with the ball, Rudy's rapidly improving golf game has allowed him to embrace a new sense of confidence off the course as well. Recently, Rudy was chosen as a participant in his school's "Sowing Seeds" program, a conflict management program geared towards teaching leaders how to assist their peers.

Seeds truly have been sown as a result of Rudy's developing love for the game of golf. When asked what Rudy's greatest lesson has been through golf Rudy's mom responded, "Get out there and apply yourself when there is a desire. Don't let others determine your abilities."

For additional information about Fore Golf Sacramento, visit Disabled Sports USA Far West.