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LOCAL GOLF: Colombo's pair of aces are special
Macular degeneration has robbed Wendy Colombo of most of her vision, but it hasn’t ended her 40-year love affair with the game of golf.
Since her vision began deteriorating four years ago, Colombo has achieved a feat some golfers spend their lives trying to accomplish. Twice.
A member at North Tonawanda’s Tan Tara Golf Club since 1988, Colombo has aced the 82-yard ninth hole two times. That gives her four career holes-in-one, with two coming before her vision loss.
“You just shoot and hope for the best,” she said.
That’s something she’s continued to do at least four times a week, despite being diagnosed in 2004 with macular degeneration, a medical condition in which the center of the inner lining of the eye, known as the macula area of the retina, suffers thinning or atrophy.
“When my eyes went bad, my dad said, ‘Don’t you quit playing.’ I’ve played for so long and I really like it,” Colombo said. “We came up with ways for me to continue playing.”
Part of that ingenuity involves placing fluorescent tape at the top of her clubs, so she knows where the sweet spot is. And, of course, help from others has been key to Colombo continuing to play.
“They tell me how far I’m out and where the pin is, things like that,” Colombo said of her playing partners.
On her second hole-in-one at Tan Tara, however, Colombo and her friend weren’t able to track her tee shot. They searched all sides of the green until Colombo stumbled across the ball — in the hole.
“I stopped and said, ‘Carol, I found my ball. It’s in the hole,’ ” Colombo said. “She said, ‘I can’t believe you hit a hole-in-one and I didn’t see it.’ I said, ‘Welcome to my world.’ ”
Colombo, 55, began playing golf at 15. She was taught the game by her father, Wayne Snyder, who encouraged his daughter when she decided to play golf for the North Tonawanda High School boys varsity team, since a girls team wasn’t available. Her love for the game hasn’t waned, and she’s even able to play all year now, as the current Town of Niagara resident winters in, fittingly, Winter Haven, Fla.
Her vision troubles have prevented her from driving, and she doesn’t like to play in tournaments or leagues because she’s afraid to slow up her playing partners. But she has no plans to quit playing recreationally.
“She’s happy when she’s on the golf course,” said Bill Platter, Colombo’s boyfriend. “She’s actually teaching me how to play.”
Platter, a City of Tonawanda native, just started working on his game in October. Colombo is able to watch his swing and give him some pointers. When they’re on the course together, he tells her the distance and location of the pins.
“With her knowledge of her clubs and what she can hit, she just lines up and fires away. I wish I could get on the greens as well as she does,” Platter said.
With that, the pair hopped in their cart. They were next on the tee.
Contact editor Jay Skurski at 693-1000, ext. 117.
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