Joel Oltman took his first shot at the John Deere Classic Pro-Am without any feeling in his arms and legs.
What had started as excitement when the John Deere Harvester Works continuous improvement coordinator first heard he had been chosen to play in CEO John May's spot in the pro-am had been tempered with nerves, and all he hoped for was a good first showing.Â
"'Okay, just got to hit a good shot off the first tee.' That's all I could think about from there," Oltman said. "And actually, I hit a great shot off hole one, but we never found it."
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Despite losing his first ball, Oltman said he played a good game alongside professional golfers Lucas Glover and Rory Sabbatini and the rest of the group, and they finished at 19 under. He hit some big drives and had a ton of fun with the group.Â
May, who gave away his spot in the Pro-Am for the second year, acted as Oltman's caddie. He gave his spot away last year to Deere employee Allison Farrell and was her caddie as well.Â
"(May) downplayed his caddie skills, but maybe with some of the experience he had last year, he pulled the right clubs out, he was shooting the yardage for me," Oltman said. "He did excellent."Â
Oltman submitted a video for the "Take the Tee for Me" contest detailing his lifetime love of golf and how he's shared it with his family.
Oltman's wife and children — all eight of them — took up two golf carts as they followed him around the course. While the whole family enjoys the game, 6-year-old Isaac is the most avid golfer among the kids.Â
The family was excited to hear that Oltman had been chosen. The couple has been attending the tournament for more than a decade and saw Glover win last year's classic.Â
"He was pumped," Teresa Oltman said. "This is a dream for him."Â
They made it to 16 holes to watch Oltman play, he said, and pushed through the heat like troopers. He may have heard a little bit of noise from the sidelines, but they couldn't have thrown him off his game.Â
"The kids, every time I saw them they were smiling," Oltman said.Â
His plans after the Pro-Am were to enjoy a drink and some air conditioning, hug and thank his wife for bringing the whole family out to support him, and relax.
Despite his full day on the course, Oltman isn't done with the John Deere Classic yet. He's volunteering on the course Friday and will come back Sunday for a date with Teresa.
Oltman told May on the course that he would have been happy to just win the chance to be the CEO's caddie, but to play with professionals and Deere customers was an amazing opportunity.Â
"Overall it was just a wonderful experience," Oltman said.
