Robert MacDermott
Golf Achievement - Inducted 2007
Robert “Bob” MacDermott resumed playing golf, at the age of thirty, as a form of therapy. Since then, he has had victories at the provincial, national and international levels, as well as many top finishes. What is remarkable about Bob is he achieved all this after surviving an accident on the farm, when he was twenty nine years old, that took his left leg, left arm and right thumb. Prior to his accident, Bob had been a 7-handicap golfer. Once he started to hit golf balls again, it soon became apparent that not only could he play golf again, but he could play good golf.
Bob has competed in both amputee and able-bodied events. He won the British Amputee Championship in Dublin, Ireland, and has won the annual Alberta Amputee Pro/Am Tournament more than 10 times. He has multiple second-place finishes at the Canadian Amputee National Championship and multiple third-place finishes at the United States National Amputee Championship. He shot a 65 to win the Belvedere Golf & Country Club Championship in Edmonton in 2003. He won the championship again in 2004 and 2005 and broke the all-time course record while doing so. Bob is still competing and his list of golf achievements continues to grow.
Bob works full-time running programs for the developmentally disabled. He also assists at golf clinics to encourage future amputee golfers. He has been a guest speaker at numerous functions talking about overcoming adversity and using sport as a means of rehabilitation. Bob has served as a board of director for the Alberta Amputee Sport and Recreation Association for the past seven years and is currently the Vice President. The City of Edmonton awarded Bob MacDermott the Salute to Excellence’ Award in 2000, for his contributions as an athlete and for his community service. Bob has brought recognition of the sport of Amputee Golf to the forefront in Alberta, and continues to pursue his golf ambitions while encouraging others to do the same.
After Induction
In 2007, Golf Magazine named Robert MacDermott the “World’s Most Amazing Golfer”. Bob has continued to play competitive golf. In 2010 he won the Canadian Amputee National Championship. Bob’s success in 2016 was outstanding. He was the Belvedere Country Club Senior Champion (Able Bodied), the Edmonton Golf Association’s Senior Champion (Able Bodied); the US National Senior Amputee Champion, the US National Multiple Amputee Champion, the Canadian National Amputee Champion and the Canadian National Amputee Senior Champion. Amputee golf has given Bob the opportunity to travel the world throughout the years and in 2017, he competed in the Canon South African Disabled Golf Open – where he finished second, and at the USA’s 63rd Annual National Amputee & Senior Golf Championship at Rio Verde, Arizona. He was the Alberta Amputee Open Champion in 2018.
