Golf pro overcomes obstacles

ESTERO, Fla. – Kyle Young would say he tries to blend in as much as possible, but that’s not exactly an easy task for this young golf pro. He gives lessons at the Grandezza in Estero, and plays pretty well himself! Except he does it a little differently.

“My dad taught me at a young age,” Young told WINK News, “He taught me to swing it with one hand.”

Since he was a baby, Young has learned to overcome a condition that would normally set a person back.

“I have cerebral palsy,” he said. “From what I know, I’m fortunate enough that it’s a pretty mild case.”

Some cases of cerebral palsy affect a person’s brain or spine. For Young, it’s his legs. He learned to walk with a cane. Even when he plays golf, he uses it on every shot.

“First time I’ve ever played with him I was amazed,” said Shane Basso, Young’s coworker, “because he’s hitting drivers out there way farther than I thought he could.”

After walking up to his shot that was sitting in the middle of the fairway. Young calculated his drive: 225 yards. He also said he averages a round in the low 80s, a great score for any caliber golfer.

“People joke like, ‘I can’t do that with two hands!'” Young said, “and I say, ‘I can’t do it with two hands either!'”

Young says at one point, he embraced what made him different.

“(It) sounds cliche, but I can remember my parents saying to me, ‘If there’s a will, there’s a way,'” Young said, “and I’ve always tried to find a way to do something if I want to do it.”

He also hopes he can inspire others to do the same.