Utica Observer-Dispatch: SUNYIT grads help injured war veteran get back to golf
Published:
Wednesday, October 29, 2014 - 16:30
NEW HARTFORD
Swinging a golf club well requires practice and concentration.
But the basic motion is an easy one – unless, of course, you’ve lost multiple fingers and partial mobility in your hands like retired Sgt. Rick Yarosh.
At first, Yarosh, who was injured while serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq, had little hope of returning to his former pastime. Then he met two local mechanical engineering students who thought they could help.
On Tuesday, Nick Arbour of Herkimer and Adam Peters of New Hartford presented Yarosh with a special golf club designed specifically for him. The device will give him the chance to enjoy recreational golfing with his friends once again.
The meeting was an upbeat one, as Yarosh joked that since the first time he tested the final product, his swing has deteriorated.
“The first ball I hit actually went somewhere,” Yarosh said with a chuckle.
Yarosh, who is a Binghamton native, was introduced to Arbour and Peters after he began working at the Sitrin Health Care Center, assisting with the Military Rehabilitation program.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="650"]
Mark DiOrio / Observer-Dispatch: Retired US Army Sgt. Rick Yarosh, right, who was injured while serving in Iraq in 2006, was presented with an adaptive golf club by Adam Peters of New Hartford, left, and Nick Arbour of Herkimer, right, at the Sitrin Medical Rehabilitation Center, Oct. 28, 2014, in New Hartford, N.Y. Arbour and Peters designed and fabricated the golf club as part of an engineering project to complete their Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology while enrolled at SUNY Poly.[/caption]
The two SUNYIT students took on the project of creating a golf aid for him as part of their senior project. They continued working on it for more than eight months, even after they had graduated.
After visiting a golf pro, it was determined that Yarosh wouldn’t be able to use both arms to stabilize the club and swing. That meant the device would need a different shape to accommodate him.
“The grip needs to be the same diameter all the way through from top to bottom,” Arbour said.
The two designed three prototypes and had four or five trial runs before finding upon a potential solution.
A 3-D printer was used in prototypes to build plastic clamps to hold the club steady, but the pieces were eventually abandoned when it was discovered that the clamps would deteriorate quickly.
“The material was not strong enough. We found out he needed more support,” Arbour said.
In the end, they came up with an unexpected solution: stage lighting clamps.
The clamps were attached to a wrist brace with flattened bracing, allowing the golfer to use them to adjust their grip on the club.
“It was a huge exercise in problem-solving,” Peters said. “It was an awesome experience.”
Carolyn Bostick | Oct 28, 2014
Follow @OD_Bostick on Twitter or call her at 792-5013.
