OKC Firefighter Places First In International Golf Tournament

Batman and Robin. Peanut butter and jelly. Golfing and…firefighting?

Not the perfect match, you say? Think again. Midwest City native Kirk Wright, Battalion Chief and 28-year veteran of the Oklahoma City Fire Department, might just start a trend.

That’s because Wright, 54, is fresh off of a first-place finish at the World Police and Fire Games. The games are held every two years as a quasi-Olympics for police officers and firefighters from across the globe. The games consist of 44 events, ranging from sports like golf and soccer to motocross and paintball.

“I heard about it through another firefighter who had done it several times,” Wright said. “So I went this year, participated, and it was pretty cool. I got to play with guys from all over. They said that 119 people came from Malaysia alone. There were people from Russia, China, the Netherlands; almost any place you can think of.”

Not only did Wright play with ‘em; he beat ‘em. And he did it in the scratch division – the top level of golf. Wright took first place in the senior division by a whopping eight strokes, and to make it more impressive, this was his first time at the games.

Wright is what you might call a late bloomer. Full summers at golf camp? No way. Chipping lessons at the country club? Try again.

Like fine wine, Wright gets better with age.

“I picked (golf) up in my late teens, played a little bit, and of course slowed down through our child years with our kids doing stuff,” Wright explained. “But then as the kids got older, I’m really playing a lot right now.”

Wright, a husband and father of two girls, now finds plenty of time for the game he loves.

“When I got closer to my 50s I started playing more competitive stuff, like the Oklahoma Golf Association, I participate in all of their events,” he said.

Of course, winning golf tournaments is just Wright’s hobby. He’s more proud of what he has done in a fire suit than in his golf cleats.

Golfing and firefighting have more in common than just the World Police and Fire Games. The former can be pretty stressful, while the latter takes stress to a whole new level. 

No one knows that better than Wright, who has been on the ground during some of Oklahoma’s darkest days, including the Murrah Building bombing in 1995.

“I had about seven years on the job when that happened,” Wright said. “When you work in the fire service, you see death on a daily basis. But to see something of that magnitude, it was overwhelming. My wife said she could see a difference in me afterward.

“But I’m glad I was able to do my part to be able to help in that situation. I’ve been able to help with a lot of different things.”

The next games will take place in Montreal, Quebec, and Wright is planning on making the trek.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Wright said. “I’ve already kind of made plans, if my health and all that maintains well, I’m gonna be going to Montreal in 2017.”

Of course he will, because it’s time to defend that title, right Kirk?

“I don’t know about all that (laughs). I’ll at least make a vacation out of it.”

A gold medal and a vacation. Now THAT would be the perfect match.