Ernie Els, Autism, and a Certain Caddy
“Ernie Els,” Jim says to me just before dinner.
“Yes, Ernie Els,” I respond: We’ve both read reports about Els’s 5-year-old son, Ben, having autism, me because the story came up on a news feed, Jim because he has a certain interest, or rather a history, in golf.
For many, many years (and even a bit more recently than might be supposed), Jim was a caddy at a certain club in New Jersey. Something about the walking with two bags of clubs (and two umbrellas, in the event of a storm) up and down on the grass under the summer sun helped him focus his ADHD energy. One of Jim’s longstanding friends is a professional caddy, with perpetually strong shoulders and a deep tan. Jim’s friend went to college (engineering school) for one semester and then it was back to the links and a life of odd jobs: Driving people to the airport, serving as the sexton for a church (for awhile), composing showtune-like music. He’s never been married, lived with his mother until she died a few years ago, keeps to himself. I had noted that his conversations with Jim always involved the repeating retelling of certain stories over and over, about the caddy master, or Mrs. B, or the General and his dog, and that Jim’s friend’s speech has a declarative, deliberative quality: Jim’s friend, it seems likely, has Asperger’s, undiagnosed.
A pleased smile always came over his face when Jim went through various stories of their days caddying together. When I first met Jim, he was still driving up to the golf course in the summers and waiting his turn in the caddyshack. And so, in the summer of 1994, I found myself watching the US Open for the first time and, to keep myself interested in the game, choosing a golfer to root for.
The golfer was—-for no particular reason—Ernie Els, and he won that US Open, all those years ago. And now it’s Ernie Els again.
Looks like Els is going to become the next celebrity autism spokesperson, and for Autism Speaks in particular: The Dallas News quotes Els talking about an “epidemic” and about searching for a “cure” (there go those buzzwords), and about his son being a “lovely boy.” The paper also describes a PGA Tour commercial in which Els plays a math teacher adding the scores on a golf card and his 8-year-old daughter, Samantha, plays a student, and I’m hoping that education and teaching autistic kids in ways suited to their learning and sensory needs can be as much a part of Els’s message about autism.
That would be a double eagle, at the very least.
Tags: asd, asperger, athletes, autism, ernie els, golf, Parenting, pdd-nos, Sports, us openRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Sports
3 opinions for Ernie Els, Autism, and a Certain Caddy
jypsy
Mar 8, 2008 at 6:30 pm
from that article - “NHL players Olaf Kolzig, Byron DaFoe and Scott Mellanby all have children with autism and founded Athletes Against Autism, which is part of Autism Speaks.”
Golfer Mike Weir is an “Athlete Against Autism”. I emailed him about his stand and got an incredibly ignorant and offensive reply. Until then I had been a fan (of this fellow Canadian)
I wonder what Ernie would say about Moe Norman and I wonder if he’d say it to his face if Moe were still alive.
From http://www.moenorman.com/
“”John Daly, Ernie Els, Nick Price, they all ask me to hit balls, since out of the 40 million people playing golf, I’m the only one with the ’secret.’
Only Moe had the perfect grip and controlled 365-day-a-year swing.
“No one else knows the move, the feeling of greatness, I’m the machine, poetry in motion, the only man on earth who can hit the ball straight every time. I haven’t hit a ball out of bounds in 11 years,” Moe claims with a laugh, equally proud of his playing with the same tee since 1989.
In a 2004 USA Today Q&A interview, VJ Singh was asked this question: Who’s the best golfer you’ve ever seen?” Singh’s answer: “Moe Norman. I’ve hit balls with him lots of times. He was incredible. Whatever he said he could do, he could do. If you talk to Lee Trevino and the other greats of the game, they’ll tell you how good he was. He could talk it, and he could do it. God gives people little gifts, and Moe had a gift for golf.”"
Says Moe
“I’m good with numbers . . .”
“Number of courses played: 434″
“Number of courses I can remember the exact hole yardages: 375″
“Age when I saw my first doctor: 68″
“Most balls hit in one day: 2,207″
“Total balls hit in my lifetime: About 5 million, not counting chips and putts.”
————
from http://www.failuremag.com/arch_sports_moenorman.html
“Growing up in a working class family in Kitchener, Ontario, in the 1930s, Moe (a.k.a. Moe the Schmoe—a self-appointed nickname) was considered an oddball child. He had difficulty interacting with other children and was ridiculed relentlessly by his peers. His tendency to talk very fast and repeat words or phrases is still prominent today. For example, Moe might say, “Mine is just straight down the middle, straight down the middle,” his singsong voice rising at the end of each statement. Friends have speculated that Moe is a higher functioning autistic, likening him to Dustin Hoffman’s character in the movie “Rain Man.” “
Discussing Autism » Blog Archive » Ernie Els Tees Up for Autism
Mar 9, 2008 at 10:57 am
[…] a more personal story and a little tug on your heartstrings read Kristina’s post on Ernie…because even though my husband has always been a golfie and can drive the ball […]
baboo essa
Apr 22, 2008 at 12:07 pm
plse get eirne els to contact me on mobile 0027823720981 as i have a doctor lady who specialising in ausiom and she will help asap plse contact me twinstar @mweb.co.za my name is baboo essa rds
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