Where the good news shines

Barney Adams is best known for a golf club invention that turned 25-handicappers into 10s — the “Adams Tight Lie” fairway wood.

For weekend hacks, the club doubled as a magic wand.

His pairing of golf and charity is why the part-time Colorado Springs resident is being inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame. It was 1992 when a police officer visited Adams’ tiny golf shop in Richardson, Texas. The cop’s 4-year-old son had been diagnosed with Mucopolysarcharidosis, a rare disorder, and doctors suggested the boy wouldn’t live past 10.

Being a father himself, Adams sprung into action.

“I had zero money to give him,” Adams told The Denver Gazette. “But I did know a lot of golfers, and the thing about golfers is they are the most generous people in the world.”

Barney’s solution: “We’re going to run a golf tournament fundraiser and go from there.”

“That little boy is now 34 years old and lives in Dallas with his wife, a schoolteacher,” he says.

Golf fans will enjoy Adams’ book, “The Wow Factor,” on how he took a great idea and turned the Adams Tight Lie into a golf revolution.

Congrats to Mr. Adams on his hall of fame induction — complete with his hall of fame wit.

“(The honor) is certainly something I’m proud of,” Adams says. “On the other hand, if I could trade it for 20 yards off the tee, I would probably trade it. Maybe even 10 yards.”

“Colorado Sunshine” celebrates the good news in sports. Suggestions encouraged through Denver Gazette sports editor Paul Klee at paul.klee@gazette.com.