Dr. Tommy J. Dorsey Sr. is more than just a name on a plaque in Orlando. He's a dentist who is transforming young lives in Parramore through the game of golf.

  • Dr. Tommy J. Dorsey Sr. grew up in Parramore in 1950s
  • He started the Orlando Minority Youth Golf Assocation
  • He hopes to improve Parramore by teaching golf

"I teach kids how to play golf," Dorsey said. "I teach them right here in the Parramore neighborhood, and so I've been doing that for 25 years. So, there's no need to leave."

Dorsey grew up during segregation in the 1950s in Orlando.

"Well, it's just a place to run and play," Dorsey said of some of his first memories about the Parramore neighborhood. "And it was all black people for the most part."

He first started serving patients in 1976. He's one of the few medical professionals left in the neighborhood.

"I think I might be the last of the Mohicans," he said.

Dorsey's practice is successful, but his passion is singular.

"I know the value of golf," he said. "Most people will never know the value and the value is that it's a self-teacher."

He founded the Orlando Minority Youth Golf Association in 1991. The mentoring program has been transforming lives through golf ever since.

"I'm interested in doing what I do," he said. "I've sent about 30 kids to college on golf scholarships and I've sent hundreds more without golf scholarships."

Dorsey's perspective of Parramore spans nearly seven decades.

"I think that it's a bit bigger than meets the racial eye," he said. "(I've seen it at its) best and probably going to see it at its worst because it's going through a transformation."

The Parramore of old is long gone, he said.

"The neighborhood is going where the future takes it, and the future is going to take it ... it appears to where people can walk through this neighborhood unencumbered, unafraid and able to go to the Citrus Bowl (Camping World Stadium)," he said.

Through it all, Dorsey is striving to make Parramore a better place by spreading his philosophy — one golf stroke at a time.

"That's what I want to do," he said. "That's what I'll keep doing as long as I can. And if I treat a patient or two, I'll do that."

The Orlando Minority Youth Golf Association meets Fridays and Saturday at the Callahan Neighborhood Center in Parramore.