For a guy who lives with terminal cancer, Gary Lindeblad doesnt seem to be slowing down much.


The head pro at Indian Canyon Golf Course barely takes time to eat. Hes got too many things to do: playing in golf tournaments, giving lessons, greeting golfers in the pro shop, going to the doctor, and plotting practical jokes on unsuspecting souls.


His friends say, Thats just Gary.


Lindeblads influence on Spokanes golf community runs deep, says Bob Scott, the head professional at MeadowWood Golf Course, in Liberty Lake.


Gary has been one of the biggest influences in my life, and not just in golf, Scott says. He was my mentor.


Lindeblad has been the head pro at Indian Canyon for 21 years, and Scott believes that he has given more golf lessons than anyone else in Spokane.


No one has taught more people in the Spokane area than Gary, Scott says. Part of the reason for the growth of golf in this area is that you have somebody like Gary teaching the game.


Lindeblad, 54, has lived for about six years with an extremely rare form of cancer called Waldenstroms Macroglobulinemia. The cancer, a form of lymphoma, causes the body to produce abnormal plasma cells, which result in a thickening of the blood and affects bone marrow, lymph nodes, and the spleen.


The disease is treatable, but there is no cure, Lindeblad says. He says people with his form of cancer can live for decades, but because of its rarity its impossible to predict how long people will live with it.


Lindeblad is confident that drug therapies will prolong his life.


I plan to be a pain in the ass as long as possible, he says. If it werent for my doctor and these new drugs, I might not be here.


He says that having cancer and receiving the treatments are tiring, but he feels good.


When hes not golfing or working, he spends time with his family. He has been married to his wife, Kristine, for 33 years, and they have three sons, Matt, Adam, and Brian. Matt is an assistant pro at Indian Canyon.


I am more mellow now, Lindeblad says. I dont worry as much as I used to.


The joker


Lindeblad may have mellowed, but cancer and life in general havent dampened his sense of humor, his friends say. His reputation as a practical joker is legendary in Spokane golfing circles, and Scott says he still pulls phone pranks on unsuspecting assistant golf pros here.


Mike Mengert, a longtime friend, business partner, and frequent victim of Lindeblads sense of humor, says that Lindeblads jokes often involve intricate plots and sometimes include more than one victim.


Hes got an interesting sense of humor, Mengert says. Hes gotten me pretty good over the years.


One prank left Mengert hurting. About 12 years ago, Mengert asked Lindeblad to let him start a shotgun tournament at Indian Canyona shotgun was fired when such tournaments began thenand the old pro taught Mengert a lesson about firearms hed never forget.


I told Gary that Id never fired a gun before, so he gets very serious and goes through all the safety precautions, Mengert says. Then he tells me to keep the stock of the shotgun about two inches away from my ribs. I went out there and fired it, and it kicked right into my ribs. I look up and theres Gary and Bob Scott rolling around on the floor. I am convinced that I busted a few ribs because I couldnt swing a golf club for weeks.


A pros legacies


Lindeblad is the founder of one the biggest golf tournaments in the Inland Northwest, the Rosauers Open Invitational golf tournament, which he launched in 1988. The Professional Golfers Association of America-sanctioned tourney draws golfers from across the Northwest. It has a purse of nearly $150,000, which is one of the largest in the country for regional events.


The Rosauers Open also raises more than $100,000 annually for the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, a nonprofit organization that serves abused children in the Spokane area.


Thats my baby, Lindeblad says. The first year of the Rosauers tournament was hard. I had promised the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery that the tournament would raise $10,000, and I had to write them a $10,000 check out of my pocket. I didnt tell my wife.


PGA officials approached Lindeblad about organizing the event after others in Spokane refused them, Scott says.


Gary was a visionary because at that time the Lilac golf tournament was the big event in Spokane, and they didnt want a PGA section, Scott says. He was smart because he went to Rosauers and the Vanessa Behan and tied them together to get the tournament started.


Lindeblad also has acted as an intermediary between city and county officials and golf professionals to negotiate contracts for professionals here, Scott says.


A lot of pros can thank Gary for their contracts, he says. He was able to step in and negotiate with the city and county. Hes always been a guy that people look up to.


Lindeblad also has been hired as a consultant to help design and manage several Inland Northwest golf courses, although he declines to name them.


He has teamed up with Mengert for about 15 years to make golf clubs. The custom-fit clubs are sold both at Indian Canyon Golf course and at the King of Clubs shop, in Millwood.


Lindeblad has given free used clubs or golf lessons to youngsters whose parents couldnt afford them, his friends say. Hes quick to open his wallet, or provide a job for people who need help, Scott says. Garys got a big heart.


A lifetime of golf


Lindeblads love affair with golf started when he was a youth.


As a kid, I would play nine holes with my dad in the evenings, he says. I was always too small for football, too short to be anything but a bench warmer in basketball, and I had a classic Little Leaguers elbow injury. So, golf was the logical sport for me.


He says he stumbled into a golfing career after graduating from Eastern Washington University with an accounting degree. He wasnt sold on the idea of working in an office and preferred spending time on the links. He played on the North Central High School and EWU golf teams.


Kaye Walker at Liberty Lake Golf Course asked me if I had ever thought about being a golf pro, he says. It wasnt something I had given a lot of thought to, but he hired me as an assistant pro.


Later, Lindeblad was hired to be the pro at Indian Canyon. He says he enjoys working at a public course because he gets to meet a wide range of people.


I truly enjoy working at a public course, he says. I was never interested in being a pro at a private course.


As the head pro at Indian Canyon, Lindeblads job includes greeting golfers when they arrive at the course, organizing and running tournaments, giving golf lessons, and bookkeeping.


I love teaching, but honestly, my favorite place to be is behind the counter, he says. I love talking to people when they arrive at the course because theyre in a good mood.


His schedule is hectic, and he rarely finds time to eat while at the course. During an interview, Lindeblads food got cold because people kept stopping at the table to say hello, or brag or complain about their last round.


Definitely, its hard for him to even hit balls because everybody knows him, Mengert says. He goes out of his way to be like an old-fashioned golf pro, helping people out with their swings, and he always has time to visit with somebody.