Profile: Making a Difference
Alumni Association Award recipient EQ Sylvester ’57 turned his own tragedy into triumph for others.
Jeffrey Selesnick
In 2012, Edmund “EQ” Sylvester ’57 left New York’s Roosevelt Hospital a triple amputee.
Admitted with an infection from a kidney stone that resulted in sepsis, Sylvester awoke from a two-week-long coma to discover doctors had been forced to remove both of his legs and his left hand in order to save his life. A slew of additional surgeries followed, as did a grueling five-month recovery at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
Sylvester eventually started to regain his strength, began swimming, and was even able to ride a horse on his own. But when it came to golf, his favorite sport and greatest passion, he was barely able to make contact with the ball. In his search for instruction, Sylvester was inspired to not only reinvent his own golf game, but help others like him find joy through the sport.
“My research indicated that there were nearly 20 million physically disabled people who could not find adaptive golf instruction, and were unwelcome or being turned away from golf courses,” says Sylvester, who was chosen as the 2020 SPS Alumni Association Award recipient. That was all the motivation he needed and, in July of 2012, Sylvester founded the Freedom Golf Association (FPA) with a mission to use the game to create community, confidence, and a sense of joy to others. “I knew I had found a new mission in life and, in its first year, FGA provided adaptive golf lessons to 178 disabled individuals.”
That number more than tripled over the next two years as Sylvester expanded the reach of the FGA, partnering with organizations such as the Special Olympics, the Wounded Warrior Project, and the First Tee. While attending a para-long drive competition in Mesquite, Nev., in 2014, Sylvester was awestruck by the athleticism of the Para-Golf competitors and inquired about their desire to compete in the Paralympics. Discovering it was a hot topic within the group, Sylvester accepted their request to lead the initiative and founded the United States Adaptive Golf Alliance (USAGA), which he considers “a natural outgrowth of the FGA, which was its first member.” What started in 2015 with five member organizations has blossomed into a national entity, boasting 38 members groups and providing competitive pathways to more than 36,000 disabled golfers every year.
The highlight of the 2020 USAGA schedule is currently set for October 20-22, 2020, when the organization plans to hold its fourth global para-golf competition, the USAGA International in Dallas, Texas. Public health guidance pending, nearly 100 competitors from more than 10 countries will vie for the USAGA World Cup in a tournament supported by the United States Golf Association and co-sponsored by the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of America. Fans will likely even be able to catch the action live on the Golf Channel. In collaboration with the Japanese Golf Association and Japanese Disabled Golf Association, USAGA had also been slated to hold a para-golf exhibition in Japan as part of the ongoing effort to have golf recognized as a Paralympic sport.
“There’s no end to the joy seen on the faces of the disabled, who have overcome their personal setbacks and then taken on the challenge of golf,” says Sylvester. “These individuals never ask, ‘why me?’ or say ‘I can’t.’ I’m proud to be a member of this group, and proud to make a small difference.”