Prioritizing Family Through Golf

PGA Family Golf might be more meaningful to Cal Kondratiuk and sons, Christian, Nicholas and Andrew, than others.

As they prepare to take on Disney’s Palm Golf Course in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, for the second annual PGA Family Golf Championship this weekend, it’s clear that golf is not only a beloved tradition for the Kondratiuks . . . but also a poignant reminder of how far they’ve come.  

Ten years ago, Cal was at the peak of his career as a highly successful IT professional and partner in his Oracle technology consulting firm, O2Works, headquartered out of Dallas.  The father of three was spending most of his work time on the road while the boys and household were raised and cared for by their mother, Sarah. 

Cal was wrapping up the end-of-year payroll from his hotel room in Houston, having just hung up from a phone conversation with his senior business partner. What happened next permanently altered the course of his life. 

He woke up days later in the hospital with no memory of how he got there. After his team at his current client, Powell Industries, noticed he wasn’t in the office, a welfare check was requested at his hotel, where staff found him awake but incoherent. He had suffered multiple strokes and should not have survived based upon the serious nature of the strokes and the amount of time he was without medical intervention. While he did not experience paralysis common to stroke victims, his memory had, for the most part, disappeared.  

“I should be six feet under,” said Cal when he recalls the experience. “My mind was so weak that I couldn’t remember my boys’ names. It was a shock, and I’m still making up for those lost years to them.” 

The strokes had occurred in his left midbrain and right cerebrum. Cal recalls the six months he spent in therapy at Pate Rehabilitation, relearning who he was and how to live.  

“As part of therapy, we used to start from one room, walk 100 yards and look at shelves that were stocked with basic grocery and pharmaceutical items,” he said. “I was instructed to pick three items, walk the 100 yards back to the physical therapist and tell them what I’d picked out. By the time I was halfway down the hallway, I’d already forgotten my selections. Nothing would stick.” 

Andrew, Nicholas and Christian – now 16, 21 and 24 – were introduced to golf by their dad long before the strokes. Cal played golf in high school at Arlington Lamar, however, his major focus was always hockey.  He played for years on the Dallas Blackhawks and Fort Worth Texans junior hockey travel teams and often served as a captain, or assistant captain, on his squads.  He attended the University of Saskatchewan as a freshman before enrolling in Arizona State, where he graduated with a degree in accountancy.  Once he settled down and started having kids, his family joined Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas, and met Joey Anders, PGA. 

All three boys have participated in PGA Jr. League and other youth programs at Brookhaven under Joey’s leadership. Like PGA Jr. League, PGA Family Golf was created to provide fun, team golf experiences and bring people together through golf. It’s done just that and more for the Kondratiuk family.

Oldest son, Christian, recently graduated from Ole Miss and has started his real estate development career. Middle son, Nicholas, currently attends Ole Miss after graduating from Highland Park in Dallas where he played on the men’s golf team during his senior year. 

While all three Kondratiuk boys are great golfers, youngest Andrew is particularly competitive. He currently participates in the US Performance Academy, which allows him to play as much golf as possible while challenging him with an effective online education. He participated in the inaugural 17u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship at Twin Warriors Golf Club in New Mexico last year with Team Texas, led by Anders, and he has captured tournament wins in the last few years on the NTPGA Junior Tour and the Texas Junior Golf Tour. Now, he’s speaking with college recruiters about his next move.  

In the meantime, the family is spending as much time as possible on the course together. 

“I drop everything now when the boys ask if we can go do something together,” he said. “Physically getting through my stroke events was great, but emotionally getting back to the ground roots with my boys has been awesome. Golf has become our way to do that.” 

The Kondratiuks also participated in the inaugural PGA Family Golf Championship last year at PGA West in La Quinta, California, where they finished in a tie for sixth place. In early September, they competed in the PGA Team Golf Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Nicholas and Andrew had a one stroke lead on day two at 11-under par, however, they could not keep up with the birdie pace and finished in fourth place. Cal and Christian finished a few strokes behind them, and they all had a fantastic weekend on the desert courses.

“I realize it’s going to be more infrequent for us all to be together, and these PGA of America competitions provide that opportunity,” Cal said. 

Not long ago, Cal traveled out to Las Vegas with middle son Nicholas to celebrate his 21st birthday with his buddies. Nicholas shared something his dad had no recollection of following the strokes. 

“The doctor pulled the boys aside and said, ‘We don’t think he’s going to make it, so you should say what you want to say to him now,’” he said. “Just hearing that… I couldn’t imagine putting my boys in that situation, but here we are. It’s certainly reshuffled my priorities.”

Their priority this weekend? Going low in the PGA Family Golf Championship.