An ace on wheels: Ron Maurer fires hole in one from wheelchair

Maurer fires hole in one from his wheelchair

Ron Maurer hasn't been able to walk for 32 years.

But that didn't stop the Cape Girardeau native from firing a hole in one July 2 at Riverside Golf Club in Fenton, Mo. Like his other athletic endeavors, Maurer accomplished the feat from his wheelchair.

Maurer, a Notre Dame Regional High School and Southeast Missouri State University graduate who has been confined to a wheelchair since age 17, used a 5-wood to ace the 145-yard par-3 sixth hole.

The 49-year-old St. Peters, Mo., resident was playing with his twin brother, Don Maurer; a nephew, Nathan Maurer; and a friend, Ken Bergman, when he recorded the eagle.

"I was the first one on the tee box," he said. "I hit my drive, and I didn't think it was going to get there. It bounced, took another bounce, then rolled up on the green and disappeared. I looked at the other three and just threw my club in the air."

Maurer is the first in his immediate family to hit a hole in one, and he said there has been much hype surrounding the ace.

"Everyone was pretty happy," he said. "I've been getting a lot of stuff at work; people have been calling and sending e-mails. It's been fun."

Maurer's brother-in-law Tom Seibert, who works at a local driving range, adjusts Maurer's clubs to provide a flatter head angle in order for him to get better contact with the ball from his wheelchair. Maurer hits from the ladies' tees and averages more than 160 yards on his drives. His best score is around 90, but he generally shoots between 90 and 110.

"It depends on the course and how well I'm hitting it that day," said Maurer, who was part of a foursome that scrambled for a 5-under-par 65 at the Central Booster Club tournament Friday at the Cape Country Club. "I shoot more in the higher 90s."

Putting is the biggest obstacle for Maurer, who said that some golf courses will not allow wheelchairs on their greens. If he's unable to wheel onto the green, he usually allows somebody to putt for him; if he does putt, however, he uses a short putter and leans over to read the line better.

"Each course is a little different," he said. "The majority of the greens, I'll stay off of just because I don't want to mess them up.

"When I putt, it's tough to get a good line on the ball. It makes it a little harder.

"But if I keep hitting holes in one," he joked, "I won't have to worry about putting."

Maurer hits every shot from his wheelchair, but his transportation from shot to shot varies. Most of the time he'll either hop on a cart and pull his wheelchair or just wheel himself down the fairway. Every now and then, he'll latch on to the back of the cart for a wild ride.

"One time I was getting in the cart from my chair, and the chair went rolling down the fairway," he said, laughing. "It gets pretty comical."

Maurer said that while his inability to walk doesn't slow the pace of the game, many golf course attendants have their doubts when he shows up to play.

"They watch me, and then they'll see me tee off, and they say, 'Wow, I guess he knows what the heck he's doing,'" Maurer said. "At one course, they told me, 'I don't think that would be a very good idea.' Then I teed off, and they said, 'You know what? Go ahead and give it a try.'"

Other than golf, Maurer has excelled in several other sports in his wheelchair. Since moving to St. Louis nearly 20 years ago, he has participated in basketball, tennis, racquetball and softball. He even tried road racing at one point.

"I did that until I crashed a couple of times and quit," he said.

His accomplishments include being a four-time all-conference basketball selection and a former nationally-ranked tennis player. Maurer also played third base on a softball team that won a national title.

"I didn't realize how big wheelchair sports were until I moved to St. Louis," he said. "I knew they played basketball, but I didn't know anything about the tennis and the softball."

Maurer broke his arm playing basketball in 1992 but came back and played a few more years "just to prove to myself that I could do it."

His athletic involvement slowed down significantly after the birth of his daughter in 1993, and he eventually took up golf.

Maurer was inducted into the Notre Dame Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. He was a standout athlete in high school, participating in basketball, baseball, track and cross country before being paralyzed from the waist down in an automobile accident after his junior year.

Although the paralysis has changed his way of life, Maurer has maintained his competitive nature and has certainly made the most of his handicap.

"It's kind of crazy to think about it," he said, "but it's providing me with a lot more opportunities that I wouldn't normally have. I've traveled around the country, I went to Australia. It gave me opportunities, and you just have to take advantage of them."