They came from far away, literally and figuratively.
Tim Thrasher is the superintendent at Cedar Creek Corrections Center, a minimum-security facility in rural Thurston County, Wash. The facility is the final step in a long process for men who are nearing the end of their sentences, and Thrasher sees his main role as preparing the incarcerated individuals for a productive return to society.
And he sees the game of golf as one way of accomplishing this.
Three years ago, Thrasher started a golf program at Cedar Creek, as a form of the inmates’ rehabilitation. It is the only golf program of its kind in the U.S.
On July 29, Thrasher and a handful of plainclothes staff from Cedar Creek brought five inmates from the facility to The Home Course in DuPont, Wash. The excursion was arranged by Justin Gravatt, the PGA general manager at The Home Course, which is co-owned and operated by Washington Golf and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association.
Thrasher specifically wanted his five charges to meet with the golf course’s greenkeeping crew, to talk about their work. Dennis Roque, the course’s head superintendent, had his entire crew meet with Thrasher’s group at the maintenance facility. And the inmates had a lot of questions – who can apply for this kind of job; what kind of experience was needed; what does it pay; do you train people to do it.
The atmosphere was loose, conversational, and productive. At one point during the discussion with Roque and his staff, after Dennis had talked about golf balls being hit into the back yards of neighboring houses, one of the guests shook his head and said, “Oh, with my swing, I don’t want to take the chance of hitting someone’s house.” After which Thrasher, not skipping a beat, boomed out, “What difference would it make? They can’t do anything to you – you’re already in prison!” The entire room broke up in laughter.
Roque then led everyone to the large building that houses all the greenkeeping equipment, where equipment manager Zach Hudson showed them how each piece of machinery works, what its purpose is, how to fix it when it won’t work.
After a lunch break, everyone went to the driving range, where Mitch Runge, the course’s PGA head professional, gave swing tips and putting lessons.
They all seemed to fall right into the environment of the golf course, even speaking the language of golfers, talking trash about each other’s swings, not holding back with the teasing and the jokes.
This was all topped off by the five inmates playing three holes on the back nine. It was the first time most of them had ever set foot on a golf course.
Thrasher, 51, really loves golf. He’s been playing since he was 13, learning at Fort Lewis Golf Course (now Eagles Pride) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He’s been the superintendent at Cedar Creek for three years, and with the Corrections Department for 30 years.
“I know what golf does for me mentally, physically, even spiritually,” he says.
The rules of golf are the rules of life. That’s lesson No. 1 in the golf program he conducts for Cedar Creek inmates. “And we talk about that a lot,” Thrasher says. “You have to depend on yourself, instead of wanting others to do it for you. You have to do the right thing, even when people aren’t looking.”
Spending the day at The Home Course was something they had all looked forward to. “It’s all they talked about for several days beforehand,” Thrasher said. “The hope is that the impact of this day is something they’ll carry with them.”
The game can provide that kind of hope.