Welcome! Where are you, you ask. I’m calling this weekend 9. Think of it as a place to warm you up for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will have thoughts. We will have advice. We will have tweets. But only nine in all, though sometimes perhaps more and sometimes perhaps less. But who am I? The following paragraphs tell some of the story. It can be reached at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
Why do you want to write this story?
A big question. And one that I usually don’t have a hard time answering, since you go places with at least some sense of what’s going to unfold. For example, Masters? Because they are the Masters. Easy enough. Everyone gets it. But standing in front of a dozen prisoners and a warden inside their prison, I stopped this time. I had prompted the question – I simply asked: What do you want to know about me? And the question in the above paragraph was the first one I got.
To take a quick step back here this week on GOLF.com, a story titled “I never thought I’d play golf, let alone prison: Here, golf offers a second chance” was published. In one sentence, the story is about how a prison in Washington state is using golf as a rehabilitation tool – but it would take me several paragraphs to fully explain what it all entails. You might be wondering:
What does this look like?
How did it start?
Should prisoners be allowed to play golf in prison? Should they be rehabilitated? Or should they be punished?
And why is this written?
It took a while to respond. I wanted to say the right words. This was my chance to bond, I thought. That I wasn’t there for the benefit of getting a story. That I was there to share it.
I remember saying this then:
“Because you’re all playing golf too.”
And, over the course of a few days, they did, and GOLF.com videographer Darren Riehl and I were invited. Cedar Creek Golf Club played on its home course — an old softball diamond at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center — where shots were hit on the field and some discs were placed over a 15-foot wire fence. And CCGC also played their first ‘real’ round, during a day trip to The Home Course in Washington. Sometimes, they wanted to see us hit too, and we did—and we trash-talked them, and we trash-talked them. (More on that in a second.)
It’s all golf, isn’t it?
And since it is, there is a chance that some of the inmates will adopt some of the principles of the game that the sports romantics believe in. Tim Thrasher, Cedar Creek’s superintendent, thought when he started the program.
This all sounds like a story.
With that, I’m changing things up this weekend 9. There will still be a mix of items – some easy and some not so easy. But today, it’s all going to be centered around Cedar Creek Golf Club, if that’s okay with you.
Let’s see if we can find eight more.
2. If you are not familiar with the story, you can read it here.
3. As part of the story, I interviewed Professor Kimora, a full adjunct professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York who has studied and worked in prisons around the world. One question I asked her was why isn’t golf played in more prisons. Her answer is below.
“It actually helps people. I’m just being open. Rehabilitation is not a big part of this country. I’ve been teaching in prisons and jails for over 30 years. … This country doesn’t believe in rehabilitation when it comes to corrections. What it believes in is a lot of punishment, thinking it’s going to make someone better, and it doesn’t.
“Rehabilitation, when done right, is a good thing for everybody because it helps build character. It helps build people. It gives them a sense of taking responsibility for the problems they’ve caused others and making amends. That’s why we have a lot more interest in restorative justice; that’s a whole other topic. But we don’t have enough of these kinds of programs because it really means they get to go golf in general. Get a lot better overall.” people who work in corrections, unfortunately, are not concerned about this. They just aren’t. They think of punitive things. They don’t care about the people who are there. It’s very sad to watch, very sad to watch.”
4. Another reason why Thrasher started the program?
For him and his staff.
According to an article found on the Department of Justice websitethe average life expectancy of a prison worker is 59. Non-prison workers, meanwhile, live to be 75 years old on average.
“Golf is the secondary byproduct of that,” Thrasher said. “It’s about golf, but it’s not. It’s about inmate and staff growth. Interactions, just improving those communications. We work in an environment that can be negative, and sometimes it is, but every interaction doesn’t have to be negative. So, improved communication. Yes, it’s good that they can learn another program like this, but that’s another reason. that improve communication, that increase laziness reduction, that all of these things do – reduce the tense tone of an environment, which I hope will ultimately help staff to be less stressed. And hopefully they leave having a better day.
“The studies are different and the numbers are a little different, but the life expectancy of a corrections officer is under 60. And part of that is the stress of the job, so if we can work with programs like this to reduce the stress of this environment and live longer, that was another motivator for doing this program.”
5. What was it like inside the prison?
Mostly quiet, although Cedar Creek is in the woods of Washington. (Actually, there were no cell phones.) There was also a lot of pickleball, and on one of the days we were there, some inmates were taking GED tests. There are occasional problems, but there have also been mostly peaceful interactions between prisoners and guards. Thrasher said he tried to remember the names of each of the inmates.
Cedar Creek also has a program where inmates rehabilitate turtles – you can read more about it here here – and a photo of one of the turtles can be found below.
A turtle at Cedar Creek Correctional Center.
Nick Piastowski
6. In the story, I wrote this:
Should ex-prisoners be allowed to play golf with their prison warden?
Brandon has. He played at CCGC while incarcerated, and one recent Sunday afternoon, he played nine holes on a real Thrasher course. He was nervous; it was his first actual round in years and, as he put it, “when you’re part of the underworld, you don’t exactly have time for golf.” Brandon dressed like a Tour pro — red Titleist hat, white polo shirt, blue pants — though Thrasher wondered if the patriotic-looking ensemble was a nod to the late Hulk Hogan.
Thrasher, who is a single-digit handicap, also told Brandon on the sixth tee that if he could beat him just one hole down the road, he would give him one of the tees he had recently made for CCGC. Thrasher’s first shot found water; Brandon laid down. The game is on. But Brandon’s second shot also found water after he went over it. Then he chopped one. Thrasher grabbed his phone and hit the play button. David Bowie and Freddie Mercury began to sing.
The pressure
Pushing me down
Pressing on you
No one asks
Under pressure
However, you may be wondering: Did I catch it on video?
Yes, I did. And it’s below.
7. There was more from the round with Brandon and Thrasher.
On the second hole of our round, on my second shot, I was holding the ball up. I do it often. My friends do too. The usual line is “it’s winter somewhere”, a reference to ‘winter rules’. But as he sat down in a cart a few feet behind me, Brandon said,
“I can’t believe you cheated on a cop.”
So the CCGC is big on the rules of golf.
8. At Cedar Creek, we were also asked to pitch during a pitching competition. And I won. My prize?
A war.
Thrasher awards toiletries during games – they are appreciated, as personal items are limited – and the biggest one is the loofah. However, I let the runner-up take it.
9. Did you talk trash? yes.
After the round on the home course, I asked Rodron, one of the inmates, for some thoughts and the exchange can be found below. Sorry for the language.
10. Let’s make 10 articles.
If you’re interested in watching a movie with a similar theme to what’s happening at Cedar Creek, please check it out “Sing Sing”. It features the theater program for inmates at Sing Sing Correctional Institution in New York.
11. Let’s make 11 items.
Several people have asked how they can help the program. To do this, please email me at nick.piastowski@golf.comand I can put you in touch with the prison.
12. Let’s make 12 items.
On Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after releasing our Cedar Creek content, I spoke with Thrasher.
He said Tejuan, one of the main ‘characters’ in the story and video, was brought to his office by Tejuan’s therapist and together they watched the video. After a few minutes, Tejuan began to tear up. He was happy that people could look at him.
The therapist then told Thrasher that this was why the therapist had entered his line of work.
;)
