Links For Life - golf courses keeping defibrillators on hand - Brief Article

For a magazine more accustomed to helping golfers save pars than lives, it's heartening to hear of Links for Life success stories. Founded in 1999 by Golf Digest and the American Heart Association, the initiative encourages golf facilities to obtain automated external defibrillators. AEDs are easy-to-use devices that are used to restart a heart.

Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh gave staffers AED training in July, 2000; that September they saved a member's life. This March, Greg Shults, who belongs to Rivermont Golf Club in Alpharetta, Ga., had his heart restarted by PGA professional Tommy Lyman. "Thanks for the mulligan," Shults later told his pro.

Early this year, Carol Huber, who's married to sports announcer Jim Huber, suffered arrhythmia while playing bridge in the women's locker room at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Her happy ending? Employees in an adjacent room were being trained on a new AED machine.

For more about Links for Life, phone 800-438-0489.

COPYRIGHT 2001 New York Times Company Magazine Group, Inc.
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