LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Golf is often a frustrating game, but Louisville native Alan Gentry never stops smiling. After all, it’s the game he loves and nothing is going to keep him off the range, even if he plays a little differently than most.

While working as a 28-year-old geologist in 1993, Alan got his jacket sleeve caught in a drill rig. Doctors couldn’t save his arm, and while he was happy to be alive, he soon felt empty and alone once he got back home. A gifted golfer in high school, he gave up the game before college. Then, in recovery, he found solace in the sport that had once burned him out.

"Golf saved my life," He said in between practice swings. "I have a disability that’s permanent and I’ll have the rest of my life. But the physical challenges, for me, are nothing compared to the mental challenges."

Golf had such a profound impact on Alan’s recovery that in 1994, just one year after his accident, he began hosting an annual amputee tournament. Then, in the early 2000s, things took off.

Alan and a few other men founded the North American One Armed Golfer Association. The national group has become an international movement. Gentry and the club’s other members have inspired hundreds, if not thousands of disabled men and women to pick up a club.

Alan really does make it look effortless on the course, though he says he’s lost some power on his shot and his shoulder fatigues easier these days. But a few times a week you’ll find him at his home course - South Park Country Club on Louisville's outskirts - still hitting the ball straighter than most two-armed golfers; still inspiring others who might have found themselves in one of life’s sand traps, where he once found himself.

And for 25 years and counting, Alan Gentry gives them plenty of reasons to play on.