Golfer Tees Off Fore a Cause

Original reporting by Theresa Katalinas

Brian Cutler has been golfing since he was 3 or 4 years old. Despite having 30 years of experience behind his powerful swing, Cutler said he’s usually ready to go home by the 14th hole.

So his participation in a 109-hole golf marathon seems incomprehensible.

“I really don’t know how I’m going to get through it,” said Cutler, of Hatboro, while practicing his swing at Golfsmith in Willow Grove, where he works as an advanced club fitter.

Cutler will have some inspiration on the course for the Aug. 5Fight Fore Sight outing to benefit the Through Kyle’s Eyes Foundation. The foundation is named for 11-year-old golf prodigy Kyle Lograsso, who, by the time he was 2 years old had lost his left eye to retinoblastoma and perfected his golf swing.

“He found out about golf at 2 while changing the channels. For somebody who loves golf it’s a really cool story,” Cutler said, adding that Kyle’s loss of an eye did not slow his swing, or passion for the sport. “He likes to joke and say ‘who needs two eyes anyway?’ It’s very clear he takes a genuine interest in helping other kids.”

And that’s why an already physically fit Cutler, a 1995 Upper Dublin High School graduate, has been working extra hard building up his endurance and strengthening his core and back to ensure he can make it through what amounts to a little more than six full rounds of golf.

Cutler too, wants to help raise awareness and research funding for the rare form of eye cancer diagnosed in approximately 300 children and adolescents each year. In order to participate, he needed to raise a minimum of $1,000. So far, he’s raised about $1,200 and hopes to raise more.

Since deciding in the spring he would participate, Cutler said reaching the minimum donation has come easier than readying his body for what he views as a challenge.

Even with working out regularly at Horsham Athletic Club and practicing his swing four times a week with a launch monitor after work, Cutler said he anticipates some pain as he pushes himself to the finish.

“I’m sure I’m going to be hurting,” Cutler said. “It’s a lot of Aleve.”

Besides Kyle, who will be golfing with him through at least part of the event, Cutler said his stepmother, who has been ill as she undergoes chemotherapy for a second battle against cancer, will help him stay focused.

“It’s some of what I’ll think about when I get tired throughout the day,” Cutler said, adding that he’ll be able to make it though, “As long as it’s not 105 degrees.”

How you can help

The 108+1 Fight Fore Sight golf fundraiser will be held at Lederach Golf Club, 900 Clubhouse Dr., in Harleysville on Aug. 5. Proceeds benefit the Through Kyle’s Eyes Foundation to help fund retinoblastoma awareness and research. Hatboro golfer Brian Cutler is participating and can be sponsored by clicking here and selecting his name on the pull-down list for Harleysville.