Thankfully, Natasha Stasiuk is a visual learner. She has an intellectual "difference", as she refers to her disability, because "I just learn differently." It means that in group environments, words get lost. She also has autism. When she was eight, neither had been diagnosed.
At the time, little attention was paid to the incidence of autism in girls, and her learning difference was not yet known. Natasha didn't feel like she belonged, but everyone put that down to shyness.
Now 24, Natasha's autism was not identified until last year.
Things were stacked against Natasha from the very beginning. She was adopted at 13 months, weighing only 13 pounds.
At 5, she moved to Oakville.
Luckily for Natasha, when she was only eight golf pro Nick Starchuk came to her school to teach golf in gym class. Nick saw something and spoke to her parents, who signed her up for lessons at Glen Abbey Junior Academy.
The group learning environment was far from ideal: losing words meant she didn't always understand. Her visual learning skill more than made up for that. She quickly grasped golf techniques and began to show talent.
Interestingly, she didn't like the feel of a glove and plays without one. Only recently has she learned that this is a sensory issue related to autism.
She worked with Carrie Vaughan’s girls' group for many years until Vaughan finally decided, as she says, to “throw her into a tournament” for the first time.
Natasha describes it as terrifying. She wasn’t even able to keep her own scores so she would accept whatever the other players said that she got. Not always the best way to do well in competition, notwithstanding golf's reputation for honour and integrity!
Her dad, who always went to watch her play, then picked up on scores that didn’t make sense, but as a junior she wasn’t allowed a caddie, so she just continued to accept what they said.
It’s been a long journey, never quite feeling like she belonged, even though Vaughan kept encouraging her and helping her move forward.
When what everyone thought was shyness was actually diagnosed as autism in October 2021, everything finally all made sense, such as her not liking the feeling of the glove (sensory) and her not feeling like she fit in (communication was and still is very difficult).
What never changed was her parents' pursuit of any and all help to give her the best life and allow her as many opportunities as they could to help her succeed.
A bronze medal at a Maple Leaf Junior Tour Copetown Woods tournament was her first recognition of achievement. It came with many tears of joy.
Natasha never believed that she could do it, but she did.
She went on to win different trophies at events. Most recently, Natasha won the Clublink Heron Point Women’s Championship (2019 and 2020), Golf Ontario Disability Women’s Championship (2019, 2020 and 2021), and the inaugural Canadian All Abilities Women’s Championship in 2021.
When she heard of the USGA having their Inaugural Adaptive Open at Pinehurst No. 6 this year, she put her name in immediately.
There are very few golfing opportunities for those with a disability where they can feel comfortable and not judged.
With a 4.1 handicap, Stasiuk was chosen as one of seven Canadians (and the only female) to take part in the event from Jul 18-20. The 3-day event was no cut and included 96 golfers from ages 15-80. There were 11 countries represented and 8 impairment categories (arm, leg, multiple limbs, intellectual, neurological, seated, short stature and vision).
Stasiuk finished 5th of 18 female players and 2nd in the intellectual impairment category (2 strokes behind the winner).
The USGA decided to hold this event to advance the game for the growing numbers of adaptive players, lobbying for its inclusion in the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
Pinehurst was chosen so that from a rules and playability standpoint it would be the same for every player.
- There were 4 different teeing grounds and changes to course boundaries to accommodate different mobility methods.
- Changes to rules, such as visually impaired players, allowed a person to stand behind them to help with alignment.
- Men and women played together in groups mixed with different impairments and yardages.
- Each group also had a player’s assistant that would rake bunkers, look for balls or anything else that required some help.
Stasiuk said that the atmosphere was pure joy the entire time. It was a first-class tournament where players had fun, encouraged each other and never judged. The golf ABILITY shone everywhere, and many friendships were made.
There was one overall trophy winner for low 3-day total scores (male and female), as well as silver runner-up medals, and then each impairment category had bronze medals for top male and female low scores.
Stasiuk is sad to see it over (even though the weather was extremely hot), but no one left that championship without a smile and feeling that they witnessed something amazing and life-changing.
Even Tiger Woods tweeted, “We all should be inspired watching the #USAdaptiveOpen. Good luck to all the competitors, and never give up!”
History was made on Pinehurst No, 6.
Stasiuk hopes that she gets the chance to go back next year. She also hopes that she can encourage someone who is just like her to try the game and see if it will bring them the same happiness as it has brought her.
Stasiuk is currently studying at Humber College, but until the pandemic, she spent two years on a golf scholarship at OUAZ in Arizona.
She is proof that finding something that works for you and never giving up can change a life for the better. She is working for a degree in Disability Social Work.
No doubt, she will use her own life experience to make wonderful contributions to the lives of others.