The Power of Golf for People with Disabilities

Playing golf is one of the special things in life that everyone can do.  Short, tall, fit, fat, young, old, you can see all these different types on the golf course in a weekend.  It is the place where bragging rights are made, relationships are begun, and business is done.  The 19^th hole can be a place where stories are shared and people learn how to become better at the sport.  The bottom line is that it can be a place that brings the community together.

For people with disabilities, this can be even more apparent.  Many people with disabilities are faced with the unfortunate reality that they are not part of the social activities that the rest of the population is involved in, detailed in the Huffington Post recently.  Although this may be a reality, it does not make it right.  You see, people with disabilities deserve to be included into society, and because of certain biases and prejudices, they can be excluded.   The article detailed the results of a study completed in Britain asking “Does Every Child Matter?”  The author of the Huffington Post article, Louise Kinross, reported that the study cited attitudes, not access or transportation, as the main barrier to entry into sports and community activities for those with disabilities.

This is unacceptable.  It shows that the battle for basic civil rights is not over for those with disabilities.  Moreover, later in the article, Kinross cited another study that said kids with disabilities studied in Canada usually do not have very much interaction with friends in general.  It is this isolation that can inhibit the development of social skills and the overall contribution to society that the people with disabilities have the potential to provide.

The great thing about golf is that it can be a tool to get kids and even older people with disabilities into the social fabric of society.  Through the Alliance’s GAIN^TM- Golf: Accessible and Inclusive Networks, individuals with disabilities have the ability to learn golf and play alongside people with and without disabilities.  GAIN^TM brings together the community in a way that helps to ensure that people with disabilities are included into social networks and fulfill their potential contribution to society.

Judy Alvarez and the power of golf

Judy Alvarez is a class “A” professional in both the LPGA and the PGA and has been showered with a considerable amount of awards.  Judy teaches golf at Mariner Sands CC in Stuart, Florida, is the PGA National Military Golf Trainer for the Wounded Warrior Project, Adjunct Faculty Member for The PGA of America’s Professional Golf Management Program.  For more information on Judy, click here.

Judy wrote a book called Broken Tees and Mended Hearts in which she tells many stories of her students consisting of our nations heroes and regular citizens who have been positively affected by the game of golf after an injury.  After reading, you come out with a considerable sense of how golf can be used for a therapeutic and recreational tool for those with disabilities.  Below is an excerpt…

“You really can do anything if you put your mind to it”

Three of them came rolling at me,their  arms pumping their wheelchairs and pointing their forefingers in synch. “We need you”.  It was as if an Uncle Sam recruiting poster had come to life. I turned around because I knew they weren’t… Nah, they couldn’t be talking to me. But sure enough,they were. The threesome needed a fourth to even out their side in an eight-person wheelchair basketball pick-up game. So,like a reserve coming off the bench,I hustled. I ran down the bleachers hurdling over a pile of prosthetic legs.  The eager team helped me strap my two legs into an amazingly colorful high-tech sports wheelchair.  My  heart was pounding. What an adrenaline rush!

The thought of playing basketball with these guys was certainly unique to me as I’d never done anything like this before. I mean,I’ve played basketball but not from a seated position. Without legs,the challenge was daunting. Just moments earlier I was semi-daydreaming,catching up on some e-mails and returning phone calls. I had tucked myself high up in the corner of the metal bleachers of a very bright indoor basketball court waiting to catch a red eye back to the east coast. The pick-up game was taking place at the Naval Medical Center San Diego in California. I was in town for 48 hours,training several golf professionals called upon to teach the game of golf to the men and women returning from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom,as well as other combat theaters.  When I awakened that day, it never occurred to me that I would be getting a “crash” course -literally, as wheelchairs collided with each other like bumper cars- on playing wheelchair basketball from some of the bravest men who had gone to war to protect my country’s freedom. In that game, I was transformed from being their golf instructor earlier in the day to serving as an “official fill-in sub” at night.  I had no idea how hard this was going to be. I was breathless, my fingers became entangled in the spokes of the chair as I attempted to alter my direction and speed. Coordination became paramount. The art of maneuvering a wheelchair while playing basketball was just as difficult as playing golf blind folded.  Half way through the game, the other end of the court started looking as far away as a marathon finish line. I had all these strong men who became my “teachers” giving me advice on how to “Push the wheelchair like this”,  Stop and turn like this! Speed up this way and slow down this way”. “Shoot! Block!”.

With all these tips on how to roll the chair, get the ball,block the shot, or steal the ball it reminded me again as a golf instructor just what my golf students go through when they are trying to learn something new or different. Making five birdies in a row seemed easier than attempting a free throw from a seated position. I just didn’t have the upper body strength to throw it that high and far.I wanted to impress the guys. If they came out to the golf course earlier in the day exposing their vulnerabilities,the least I could do was show them the same respect.

Sitting in that wheelchair ,trying to keep up with these men who had been involved in wheelchair basketball for a few years since losing either one or two legs to JED’s in the wars overseas,was one of the special adventures of my life.  I was reminded just how powerful golf is to someone in recovery. It underscores the essence of staying active to someone who had lost a part of their body and is forever a changed person. As we rolled over to the sideline,  I had a reality check.  I just got up and out of the chair.I didn’t have to reattach one or two legs as we headed for the exit. This was a profound reminder to be thankful for what I have in my life. I embraced this life lesson as I flew home that night. Although my team lost the game that evening, I affirmed a renewed sense that when push comes to shove, you really CAN do anything if you put your mind to it. Just ask the guys in the chairs!

Alvarez, Judy and Bob Denney (ed.).  (2011).  Broken Tees and Mended Hearts.  A Life’s Journey Serving Wounded Warriors and Injured Vets.  Judith Alvarez, FL.

Jermaine at Accessible Golf Wilmington

            Jermaine is a participant at Accessible Golf Wilmington- a GAIN^TM program that is supported by the Alliance.

Anger, frustration, patience.  If you have problems with these, the conventional wisdom may be that golf is not a sport for you.  After all, golf is mostly mental.  With theses mental issues, a bad shot can snowball, and turn into a tough round.  However, it can also be true that playing the sport can turn these things around quickly.

Accessible Golf of Wilmington has been helping participants overcome challenges like this for many years.  Jermaine, age 17, has been in foster care since he was 11 years old.  An avid athlete, he was skeptical when told about golf by his recreational therapist.  Jermaine has had trouble with anger, frustration, and patience and all showed up in his first visits to the driving range.

However, with the help of his recreational therapist, Jeremy Croom, to control the mental side and the help of PGA professional Matt Gordon with his ball striking, Jermaine has completed a 180⁰ turn.  And in more ways than just his game.

Jermaine is comfortable in his collared shirt and khakis.  He greets everyone on the range with a smile and a handshake.  He is thankful for the opportunity and the caring of others.  He has found role models and he has found peace in the game.  He’s working on the physical aspects of the game.  From doing that, Jermaine has learned control and has become a better person.

Jermaine displays calmness, patience, maturity, listening skills, and has a promising future.  This is another reminder of the power of golf for everyone that plays the game.

Edwin Shaw Rehab- A success story

This is the story of Cliff Crown, a participant at Edwin Shaw Rehab Challenge Golf, who played golf avidly before his acquired disability, told from his point of view….

How my life changed on June 28, 1998.

I had been enjoying golf every weekend and my friend and I had a challenge to play golf every weekend for the whole year.   We were well on our way to our goal and had made it to the end of June. Then life changed… for all of us.

I had a massive aneurism on the right side of my brain, along with a bleed that caused a blood clot, which then caused a stroke, affecting my left side, leaving me with little or no use of left arm, left leg (I can walk with a brace), and half of my eye site gone. Four weeks in intensive care, six weeks in rehabilitation, then my new life began., and not much fun at that.

We lived on a golf course in Tennessee, the reason we were going for every weekend of play. My wife (Sandy) knew that I needed to get out and try to work my way back into the game.

The first steps were small; she would take me to the driving range, and ensure that I could swing and not fall down. From there it was really slow, but I did improve, although not to the level I was before my aneurism.  But that would change.  We moved from Tennessee to Ohio, and then the golf improvements started to really come.

I kept hearing about Edwin Shaw Rehab and Ron Tristano, and that he worked with challenged players. Being someone with a disability, I connected with Ron to relearn the game of golf given my new challenges.  He had patience and a wealth of knowledge on how to improve my game playing with just my right arm, we worked to improve my balance and follow through, and so much more. Words did not do Ron and GAINTM justice, the program does so much and Ron has a lot to share with the world of golf and players with challenges.

I am now playing regulation courses and keeping up with all of those guys who said I was slow, and beating them. My handicap before my stroke was 5-7, it is now 14, with my starting at 26. In 2004 I hit my first hole in won, and this year (2011) I shot my age for 18 – a 68! And I’m still going for more.

The Salute Military Golf Association

             Many soldiers have come back from overseas with injuries every year since the start of the military conflicts following September 11^th, 2001.  Recently, PBS posed the question, “who is caring for our wounded vets?”  One organization that is doing so is called the Salute Military Golf Association (SMGA).  It was started in 2007 by Jim Estes, a professional at Olney Golf Park, and has been using golf as a therapeutic and rehabilitative tool for wounded veterans since its inception.  Estes is a former PGA Tour player, and after his touring career, became a class A teaching professional. 

            The SMGA teaches veterans who have come back from overseas with a range of injuries, such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), amputations, and others.  Among the initiatives of the SMGA, the organization has begun to partner with Penn State University to create an Adaptive Golf Certification to “train the trainers” on teaching golf to individuals with disabilities.  Not much has to change, but the approach does change. 

            Additionally, the organization has developed three different formats for programs to affiliate with the SMGA.  These include a one-day golf clinic that introduces the soldiers to the game of golf.  Another type of affiliation includes a series of individual lessons that usually include 2-hour lessons.  Finally, the longest and most intensive affiliation is an eight-week program with a minimum of 15 people in a program.  These different affiliations represent different intensity of teaching the game of golf, but all stress the benefits of golf; physical, mental, and even social. 

            Since starting, the SMGA has helped many soldiers who have come back from overseas with injuries.  One, in particular, is named Lance Corporal Tim Lang, who lost his right leg overseas.  You can read here for more details about his story.  http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/2011-01-25-pga-hotline-tim-lang-jim-estes_N.htm

            Lance Corporal Lang went to the Solheim Cup in Ireland with Team USA to provide motivational support.  He is one very good example of the power of golf.  Golf is a tool that is being used to help not only military personnel but also the more than 50 million civilians in the country (that’s about 1 in 5!).

Golf Course Accessibility- Who Needs It?

Most of us in the golf business need our golf facilities to be accessible and inclusionary.

The golf standards apply to public and privately owned courses open to play by the general public and include driving ranges and short courses as well as courses of “regulation” length.

Standards created in 1991 defined the civil right of people with disabilities to have access to goods, services and/or employment equal to that of the rest of the general public.  In September 2010, the ADA Standards were up-dated from those issued in 1991 and are known as the “Department of Justice (DOJ) 2010 Standards for Accessible Design.”  The guidelines apply to newly designed, or newly constructed and renovated golf courses, driving ranges, practice teeing grounds and practice putting greens.  The guidelines are not meant to be burdensome, but to ensure that the “readily achievable” modifications are designed and constructed.

Many golf courses are already accessible because they have accessible routes to the golf car and bag drop areas, practice putting greens and teeing grounds as well as course restroom and weather shelters via golf car paths that are at least 48 inches wide. Defined paths are not necessary, only the “pathway where a motorized golf car can operate.”  The golf car, two-person or single-rider, must be able to negotiate the slopes.  At multiple course facilities, all courses must be accessible not just one.  Access to concessions, ball washers, and trash receptacles are also required.

The less familiar part of the accessibility standards for golf courses are the details.  The standards do not dictate the contours of greens, or access to bunkers or natural areas on the course.  Because bunkers are hazards and golfers are not meant to hit into them, no access is required.  However, if there is a practice bunker, it must allow a way in and a way out for a two-person or single-rider golf car so that the golfer can practice hitting out of sand

At practice teeing grounds, at least 5% of the teeing stations, but not less than one, is required to be designed and constructed so that a golf car can enter and exit the teeing ground.  This means enough room for the golfer to enter and exit the golf car and to maneuver within the teeing station(s).   On the golf course, where three or more teeing grounds are provided for general play, at least two of them must be accessible by golf car, including the forward tee. In short, the golfer can drive on to, hit, and drive off the tee.  The second accessible tee is at the discretion of the facility.    Existing golf courses are not required to provide golf car passage “where terrain makes such passage infeasible.”

Practice putting greens and greens on the golf course shall are required to be designed and constructed so that a golf car can enter and exit the putting green. If there are curbs or other constructed barriers that prevent golf cars from entering a fairway, openings sixty (60”) inches wide are required at intervals not to exceed 75 yards.

For details, see:  http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm#c10

 

POLICY and PROGRAMMING

Policy and programming are part of compliance with the “Department of Justice (DOJ) 2010 Standards for Accessible Design.”

Single rider golf cars have been designed to spread the weight of the unit (plus player and clubs) to minimize compaction of the putting surface.  They are designed to be driven onto greens and not interfere with the putting line of fellow competitors or those playing afterward.

Common sense and reasonable criteria should be used for managing access when safety or potential damage to turf or equipment may occur, such as on days when there is a “Paths Only” Rule.

UPDATE

The Department of Justice Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (DOJ ANPRM) released July 26, 2010 asks how many, not whether, single rider golf cars  (SRGC) must be at each golf facility.   Currently, there is no standard for a Single Rider Golf Car (SRGC).   An American National Standards Institute (ANSI) committee will develop safety standards for SRGCs.

Currently there are no requirements for the number of SRGCs per facility or if a “pooling and sharing” program can be instituted.  It has been suggested that facilities get a single rider golf car and promote its availability to single players or to have staff or rangers use it.

For details, visit the ADA Homepage at    http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/about/

                      Written by Jan Beljan of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and the Women in the Golf Industry  association

The Need for Accessible Golf

Do you know that there are over 50 million people with disabilities in the USA? That is just under 20% of our total population.  Do you know that people with disabilities enjoy playing golf just as do people without disabilities?  Do you know that there are programs, instruction and equipment that allow people with disabilities to play golf?

It has been a long road for people with disabilities to gain access not only to golf, but to the very basic services in a community that people without disabilities take for granted.  Things like employment, housing, and access to medical and rehabilitation treatment has not always been readily available to those with disabilities. However, all of that is changing and the focus in our society has moved from isolation of people with disabilities to full inclusion into the fabric of our society.

The 1990 American’s with Disabilities Act has provided the impetus for individuals with disabilities to benefit from all parts of our society, including the game of golf.  There are national, state and local organizations that have provided the opportunity for people with disabilities to play golf.  Organizations such as Special Olympics and the National Amputee Golf Association are just two national organizations that for many years have been encouraging and providing programs for disability specific individuals.  Medical oriented facilities such as the Sister Kenney Rehabilitation Institute in Minnesota (http://www.allina.com/ahs/ski.nsf/), the Edwin Shaw Challenge Golf Program in Ohio (http://www.akrongeneral.org), and the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas http://www.tsrhc.org are examples of rehabilitation focused programs and local organizations such as Fore Hope, Columbus, Ohio http://www.forehope.org/  and RevelationGolf, Elk Grove, Illinois are examples of community based programs providing golf for people with disabilities.  These are just a few examples.  Similar programs may be found in every part of the country.

Yet it remains that access to golf for people with disabilities remains limited.  Many community based golf programs do not reach out to people with disabilities to include them in their ongoing public golf programs.

In 1993, Indiana University and Clemson University recognized the need to promote and encourage both the Golf and Rehabilitation industries to come together to advance the cause of accessible golf.  As a result of 6 National Forums on Accessible Golf between, 1993 and 2001 (attended by golf and rehabilitation Industry leaders, along with governmental officials, university representatives and individuals with disabilities) the National Alliance for Accessible Golf (www.accessgolf.org) was created.

The National Alliance for Accessible Golf (Alliance) is an organization working to ensure the opportunity for all individuals with disabilities to play the game of golf. Formed in the summer of 2001, the Alliance is represented by major golf organizations in the United States, organizations that provide services for people with disabilities and others who advocate for the inclusion of people with disabilities into society.

The mission of the Alliance is to increase participation of people with disabilities in the game of golf. Through the game of golf, individuals with disabilities become actively engaged in the social fabric of a community, and derive health benefits that improve quality of life. The Alliance asserts that all individuals are entitled to play the game of golf regardless of their ability, socio-economic condition or experience. Information about the benefits of golf for persons with disabilities and the golf industry must be constantly shared with the media, public, health, rehabilitation, recreation and golf professionals.

Hello Everyone!

This is the new blog for the National Alliance for Accessible Golf.  The organization is a coalition of therapeutic, recreation, and golf organizations committed to creating better lives for individuals with disabilities through the game of golf.  Organizations represented are listed below.  Stay tuned for great blog posts from individuals from these organizations as well as staff members of the National Alliance for Accessible Golf.  Until then, follow us on Twitter @accessgolf and like us on Facebook!

• American Therapeutic Recreation Association
• American Society of Golf Course Architects
• Club Managers Association of America
• Golf Course Builders Association of America
• Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
• Golf Range Association of America and Golf Range Magazine
• Ladies Professional Golf Association
• National Golf Course Owners Association
• National Recreation and Park Association
• Professional Golfers Association of America
• PGA TOUR
• United States Golf Association
• Wadsworth Golf Charities Foundation