I went to a prison for a story. Here are 9 thoughts on that

Welcome! Where are you, you ask. I’m calling this the Weekend 9. Think of it as a spot to warm you up for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We’ll have thoughts. We’ll have tips. We’ll have tweets. But just nine in all, though sometimes maybe more and sometimes maybe less. As for who I am? The paragraphs below tell some of the story. I can be reached at nick.piastowski@golf.com.

Why do you want to write this story?

A great question. And one I usually have no trouble answering, as you go to places with at least some understanding of what’s about to unfold. For example, the Masters? Because it’s the Masters. Easy enough. Everyone gets that. But standing in front of a dozen inmates and a superintendent inside their prison, I paused this time. I had encouraged the question — I simply asked: What do you want to know about me? And the query in the paragraph above was the first one I got. 

To take a quick step back here, this week, on GOLF.com, a story headlined “‘I never thought I’d be golfing, let alone in prison’: Here, golf offers a second chance” was published. In a sentence, the story is about how a prison in Washington state is using golf as a rehabilitation tool — but I’d need a few paragraphs to explain fully what that all entails. Maybe you’d wonder:

What does that look like?

How did it start?

Should inmates even be allowed to play golf in prison? Should they be rehabilitated? Or should they be punished?

And why is this being written?

That took a while to answer. I wanted to say the right words. This was my chance to connect, I thought. That I wasn’t there for the benefit of getting a story. That I was there to share it.

I remember saying this then: 

“Because you all are playing golf, too.”

And, over the course of a few days, they did, and GOLF.com videographer Darren Riehl and I were invited in. Cedar Creek Golf Club played on its home turf — an old softball diamond at Cedar Creek Corrections Center — where pitch shots were hit and some drives were deposited over a 15-foot fence rimmed with barbed wire. And CCGC also played their first-ever ‘real’ round, during a day outing to The Home Course in Washington. At times, they wanted to see us hit too, and we did — and we were trash-talked, and we trash-talked them. (More on that in a sec.) 

All of that’s golf, right?

And since it is, there’s a chance that some of the inmates will adopt a few of the principles of the game that the sport’s romantics believe in. Tim Thrasher, Cedar Creek’s superintendent, thought that when he started the program.  

All of which sounds like a story. 

With that, I’m switching things up in this Weekend 9. There’ll still be a mix of items — some light and some not-so-light. But today, they’ll all be centered around Cedar Creek Golf Club, if that’s OK with you. 

Let’s see if we can find eight more.  

2. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, you can read it here. 

And you can watch it below.  

3. As part of the story, I interviewed Professor Kimora, a full adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York who has studied and worked at prisons throughout the world. One question I asked her was why golf wasn’t played in more prisons. Her answer is below. 

“It actually helps people. I’m just being blunt. Rehabilitation is not a big part of this country. I have taught in prisons and jails for over 30 years. … This country does not believe in rehabilitation when it comes to corrections. What it does believe in is a lot of punishment, thinking that’s going to make somebody better, and it doesn’t. Research proves it.

“Rehabilitation, when done right, is a good thing for everybody because it helps build character. It helps build people. It gives them a sense to take responsibility for the problems that they caused others and to make amends. This is why we have much more interest in restorative justice; that’s another whole topic. But we don’t have enough of these kinds of programs like golf in general because it means it’s believing in people and that they’re actually going to get better. A lot of people working in corrections, sad to say, are not concerned with that. They’re just not. They think of punitive stuff. They don’t care about the people that are in there. It’s very sad to watch, very sad to watch.”

4. Another reason Thrasher started the program? 

For him and his staff. 

According to an article found on the Department of Justice’s website, the average life expectancy of a prison worker is 59. Non-prison workers, meanwhile, live to an average age of 75. 

“Golf is the secondary byproduct of this,” Thrasher said. “It’s about golf, but it’s not. It’s about enhancing incarcerated and staff. Interactions, just improving those communications. We work in an environment that potentially could be negative, and it is sometimes, but every interaction doesn’t have to be negative. So the enhanced communications. Yeah, it’s nice that they might be learning a new hobby — that’s another reason. But I have an inherent belief that programs like these — that enhance communication, that enhance idleness reduction, that do all these things — bring that tense tone of an environment down, which I hope ultimately helps the staff be less stressed. And hopefully they leave having a better day. 

“The studies are different and the numbers are a little bit different, but the lifespan of a correctional worker is under 60. And part of that is the stress of the job, so if we can work with programs like this to lower the stressfulness of this environment and live longer, that was another one of the motivators for doing this program.”

5. What was it like inside the prison? 

Mostly quiet, though Cedar Creek is in the Washington woods. (There was zero cellphone reception, actually.) Lots of pickleball was also being played, and on one of the days we were there, a few inmates were taking GED tests. There are occasional issues, but there were also mostly calm interactions between the prisoners and the guards. Thrasher said he tried to remember every one of the inmates’ names. 

Cedar Creek also has a program where inmates rehabilitate turtles — you can read more about it here — and a photo of one of the turtles can be found below. 

A turtle at Cedar Creek Corrections Center.

Nick Piastowski

6. In the story, I wrote this:

Should former inmates be allowed to play golf with their prison superintendent? 

Brandon has. He played in CCGC while incarcerated, and on a recent Sunday afternoon, he played nine holes on a real course with Thrasher. He was nervous; it was his first actual round in years, and, as he put it, “when you’re part of the criminal underworld, you don’t exactly have time for golf.” Brandon dressed like a Tour pro — red Titleist hat, a white polo shirt, blue pants — though Thrasher wondered if the patriotic-looking ensemble was a nod to the late Hulk Hogan.    

Thrasher, who’s a single-digit handicap, also told Brandon on the sixth tee that if he could beat him on just one hole on the way in, he would give him one of the T-shirts he recently had made for CCGC. Thrasher’s first shot found water; Brandon laid up. Game on. But Brandon’s second shot also found water after he topped it. Then he chunked one. Thrasher grabbed his phone and hit the play button. David Bowie and Freddie Mercury began to sing. 

Pressure

Pushing down on me

Pressing down on you

No man ask for

Under pressure 

You may be wondering, though: Did I capture that on video? 

Yes, I did. And it is below.

7. There was more from the round with Brandon and Thrasher. 

On the second hole of our round, on my second shot, I propped my ball up. I do it often. My friends do it, too. The usual line is “it’s winter somewhere,” a reference to ‘winter rules.’ But as he sat in a cart a few yards behind me, Brandon said:

“I can’t believe you cheated in front of a cop.” 

So CCGC is big on the rules of golf.

8. At Cedar Creek, we also were asked to play during a pitching contest. And I won. My prize?

A loofah. 

Thrasher awards toiletry items during the games — they’re appreciated, as personal things are limited — and the biggest is the loofah. I let the runner-up take it, though. 

9. Were we trash-talked? Yes. 

After the round at The Home Course, I asked Rodron, one of the inmates, for some thoughts, and the exchange can be found below. My apologies for the language. 

10. Let’s do 10 items. 

If you’re interested in watching a movie with a similar theme as what is happening at Cedar Creek, please check out “Sing Sing.” It features the theatre program for inmates at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York.

11. Let’s do 11 items. 

Several people have asked how they can help the program. To do so, please email me at nick.piastowski@golf.com, and I can put you in touch with the prison. 

12. Let’s do 12 items. 

On Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after our Cedar Creek content published, I talked with Thrasher. 

He said that Tejuan, one of the main ‘characters’ in the story and the video, had been brought to his office by Tejuan’s therapist, and together they watched the video. A few minutes in, Tejuan started to tear up. He was happy people could watch it. 

Afterward, the therapist told Thrasher that that was the reason the therapist had gotten into his line of work. 

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