Hit the Links, Fulfill a Dream

As he strolled the famous fairways of Augusta, Georgia, with “everybody that you’ve ever heard of playing golf,” Ned Entwisle of Wasilla was living his dream. He was more than 3,500 miles from home, a green “Alaska 2 Augusta” cap on his head. He was at the 2024 Masters — with VIP access.
 
“I’m still walking on air,” says Entwisle, 80, as he describes the stunningly manicured course and the restaurants and perks at the exclusive Berckmans Place.

The Air Force veteran and former corrections officer never imagined the dream could happen — until AARP’s charity affiliate Wish of a Lifetime and the nonprofit Alaska Warrior Partnership showed up.

It was Jessy Lakin, Alaska Warrior program lead, who nominated his golf-obsessed friend when he learned Wish of a Lifetime fulfills the long-held dreams of deserving older adults and then shares their stories to inspire others. Entwisle’s Masters’ pass came from the national warrior program; Wish of a Lifetime covered transportation and lodging.

When Entwisle — a self-described “rabid fanatical” golfer — learned he’d be going, “he didn’t have words,” Lakin says. “He just had tears.”

“He believes his job is to serve,” says Barry Gore, Wish of a Lifetime’s gift fulfillment manager. Over the years, Entwistle has volunteered to help injured corrections officers and families of the fallen, counseled veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, fostered children with his wife, and run a soup and sandwich giveaway. “I’m just a guy that tries to make everything around me a little better,” he says. By his side for just shy of 60 years was wife Miki, who died in August.

As for golf: Even a heart attack this summer on the golf course couldn’t deter him. Within two weeks, he was golfing again — this time with a pacemaker.

— Rita Beamish