Depe Still Fighting Battle To Get Back On Course
Injured South Hills Pro Still Involved In Game He Loves
By Tony DeFazio

Work as a golf pro might be considered a dream job for those who love the sport.

For one local pro, it's more than that. It's a miracle job.

Four and a half years ago, Sam Depe, the head golf professional at South Hills Country Club in Whitehall, was nearly killed in a car accident. In September 1998, he was trapped in his vehicle on Route 28 in Millvale for nearly two hours as paramedics worked to rescue him. One leg had been severed by the force of the crash; the other had to be amputated to free him from the wreckage. He lost a lot of blood, and his shoulder was brutally mangled. In the week that followed, Depe went into cardiac arrest twice and lapsed into a coma. Sam Depe was not supposed to survive.

Less than five months later, on March 1, 1999, Depe was back at work. Four years later, he continues to work daily as the golf pro at South Hills Country Club. He is in a wheelchair, making slow but steady progress with the help of weekly physical therapy. He walks with the help of non-hinged prosthetics; at first he used two canes to aid his progress, now he uses just one. Depe recently completed two loops around the 100-foot loop at his rehab center without the use of a cane, his record so far.

"I haven't gone far distances, but I am walking without a cane," he said. "I'd eventually like to get a set of full-length prosthetics. Eventually I guess the goal is to get around more with the prosthetics and less in the chair."

Depe's recovery has been nothing short of miraculous. The support of family - his wife Susan, son Sam and daughter Alexis - and his friends at the country club and beyond, has kept him going.

"There's not one duty, outside of playing, that I did before the accident that I don't do now," Depe explained. "I'm just a spectator now -- I'm not involved. It's difficult; I'm not used to it. It's horrible being around it and not being able to play."

Don't think for a second, though, that Depe isn't grateful to be working at South Hills Country Club. His job is what keeps him going physically. He works hard and does his job well - so well, in fact, that Depe was honored by the Tri-State PGA as the Professional of the Year in 2000.

"If I didn't have this job, I'd be in bad shape," Depe said. "This gives me something meaningful again, and the people here at South Hills Country Club have been great. Everyone has been real positive. When I won the Tri-State Professional of the Year last year, it really made me realize how lucky I am. You don't realize how many friends you have, and they were very sincere in presenting me with the honor."

About a month after the accident, friends staged a fundraiser for Depe, bringing about 200 players, including Mario Lemieux and a host of local golf professionals, together for an event at South Hills. Although his condition and his strength have improved over the past four years, his battle - both physically and emotionally - still rages on.

"Sometimes I realize that I still can't believe this happened to me," he said. "I look at myself and just can't believe it's actually me. I never thought I was that bad. I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. There were times - and still are - when I do feel some self-pity, but luckily those are few and far between.

"I really thought I'd be playing again by now. I didn't think it was going to be this hard to get back to playing, but I came to that realization fast. I'm not planning on giving up my dreams of playing again."