Amputee is champion on golf course

SPRINGFIELD — Without the slight graying of the closely cropped hair around his temples, Roe Skidmore’s boyish face and friendly demeanor might lead new acquaintances to believe he hasn’t been golfing all that long. But the Decatur dad and businessman has been involved in the sport for more than 30 years, since he was 7, playing competitively in high school and college.

Last year, Skidmore emerged as the grand champion of the 62nd National Amputee Championship in Nashville, an annual tournament sponsored by the National Amputee Golf Association. It was his first time competing in the event.

The 41-year-old Decatur resident has had a prosthetic leg for 35 years. At birth, his right leg was shorter than his left, and he underwent an above-the-knee amputation as a small child.

According to Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, the company that sponsored Skidmore’s participation in the tournament, he was the first above-knee amputee participant to win the overall championship in more than 20 years.

Skidmore will soon take to the course at the Rio Verde Country Club in Rio Verde, Ariz., with hopes of reprising his role as champion.

Skidmore recently attended an appointment with Bob Scharf, the prosthetist and orthotist who manages the Hanger practice in Springfield, to make sure he was in good shape for the tournament. Skidmore does not use a special leg for golfing, nor are there any specific adjustments that must be made for the sport.

Scharf said he simply works to adjust and correct everyday wear and tear Skidmore puts on his leg and to help him achieve proper gait and balance for his everyday activities.

“My big thing is balance,” Skidmore said. “Balance is a key thing every day.”

At the most recent appointment, Scharf made some minor adjustments to help Skidmore with an issue regarding shifting his weight.

The men work together to help Skidmore achieve his mobility goals as an athlete, businessman, musician and dad.

“He tells me what he thinks he needs, and then we put our heads together and figure out how to do it,” said Scharf, who outfits athletes of all ages for a variety of sports.

Changes in Skidmore’s personal needs and in materials and technology for prosthetic limbs have brought some different things into his path over the past few decades, but he said he has approached life with much the same confident attitude.

“I like to think I haven’t changed a whole lot,” he said.

As a child, Skidmore’s first prosthetic leg did not have a knee, so he learned to walk by swinging it out to the side. In the sixth grade, he made the switch to walking with two knees instead of one.

In the past few years, Skidmore transitioned again, going from a hinged knee — “like a glorified door hinge,” he said — to one with hydraulic technology, which stores more energy and prevents some of the wear and tear associated with other systems.

Skidmore’s children Audrey, 7, and Ryan, 9, enjoy playing golf with their dad and learning the game through local programs.

Skidmore said he was looking forward to his second year at the tournament, which he planned to attend with his wife, Penny, and his mom, JoAnn Swansen.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Skidmore said of his first year at the tournament.

This time, he said, he had a better idea of the mix of fun, friendship and inspiration he’d find on the course. Once all the hype of last year’s tournament calmed down and the players actually went out on the course, the golf was great.

“It’s still the same game,” he said.