The Douglasville, Ga., native won the “Ultimate Road Trip to Myrtle Beach,” a four-night, four-round golf extravaganza that includes travel, accommodations, golf on four of America’s Top 100 courses, new clubs , a half-day at one of America’s Top 25 golf schools, dinner with Golf Channel star Charlie Rymer and more. Sturm gets to bring three playing partners with him and they all receive the same VIP treatment.

“Shocked,” Sturm replied when asked his reaction to winning the random drawing prize. “I’m in disbelief. I only slept two hours last night. I was thinking about what courses I’m going to play and what kind of clubs I’m going to get. I’m so excited I can’t put it into words.”

As fate would have it, no one likely needed the trip more than Sturm. When he was a kid he spent his summers working along the Grand Strand, and he came three times a year after getting married.

But a divorce ended the family trips and in 2003 he had a bout with stage 4 bladder cancer, a fight few people survive more than five years from. Despite all that, it’s the last 12 months that have been most difficult.

On July 4, 2008, he shattered his hip in an accident, requiring seven months of rehabilitation. Just as he was nearing complete recovery, he was t-boned by a young driver on February 19, totaling his car and reinjuring his hip, albeit less seriously. If that weren’t enough, during his recovery from the car accident he suffered a recurrence of bladder cancer.

He had successful surgery to remove the malignancy on May 1 and is currently cancer free. The hip is improving every day and he is back on the golf course.

“This couldn’t have come at a more opportune time,” Sturm said understatedly.

A 10-handicap before his hip problems, Sturm’s passion for golf kept him going through his rehabilitation. His orthopedic surgeon, also a golfer, gave Sturm exercises to help him prepare to return to the course, and he was actually cleared to swing a club before he could return to work.

Despite the hardships, Sturm has been working with a pro to regain his form and his effort is beginning to pay dividends. His irons started to come back to him two weeks ago and he fired a 43 on nine holes.

Sturm is rebuilding his strength and conditioning but envisions no problem playing four days in a row. The bigger problem might be deciding where he wants to play.

He said True Blue and Caledonia are definites – he played both frequently in the 1990s – while Kings North, Dunes Club, Heritage and the Love Course at Barefoot Resort are the leading candidates for the final two spots.

It’s the type of tough decision every golfer likes to make.

One decision Sturm didn’t struggle with was who to bring with him. He is bring his brother-in-law Carl Spradling, his nephew, Eric Spradling, and Eric’s son, Kyle Spradling.

Sturm hasn’t solidified the exact dates of his trip, but he will be fulfilling the Ultimate Myrtle Beach Road Trip.