In the spirit of Rio 2016, disabled golf officials are attempting to raise awareness of the sport with the aim of being added to the Paralympic Games. It won’t happen until at least 2024 according to the article from Sky Sports in 2014. But for those of you wishing to take part in a sport where handicaps make everyone equal here’s what we found….
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For most people, if you play golf, you’re a golfer. It’s a sport where most people in for a penny go in for a pound. You don’t tend to find people just turn up to the course every now and then; they have to buy clubs, clothes, accessories, gadgets, anything to help make them that tiny bit better at the game. It’s a big commitment, but it hasn’t stopped it from being one of the most popular recreations in the world. The disabled golf scene seems similarly popular among and there are currently over 82,000 people with a disability participating in golf within England at least once a week. Give it a go, you may well love it too, but be warned: once you decide you do, you’re in and there’s no going back.
With golf being such a popular activity among retirees, it’s only natural that many golfers will become less physically able as they age and because of that equipment has been designed to keep these people playing longer. Many of these products, designed to reduce strain on the back and knees from the constant bending and stooping of the game, will also come in handy for younger less able people and there are also plenty of tools designed specifically for amputees too. Adaptive golf equipment includes things like gripping aids or prosthetic gripping devices, customised gloves and adaptive clubs, some of which can be used from seated positions. The products are all out there, but considering the endless amount of golf gadgets and paraphernalia available, it’s remarkably difficult to find the products for disabled golfers – products which, unlike rubbish like golf bag cigar holder attachments, are actually rather useful. In America the number of people using assistive devices to help their golf game is as high as 6.8 million. In the UK we found hard to find a shop for these products anywhere.
With that in mind, we’d suggest to anyone wanting to take up golf that before rushing off on the seemingly long and difficult search for adaptive equipment, try playing without them. It’s not too difficult to at least make a start without them and see if you enjoy the game. You can start off with standard golf clubs before working out what you need to adapt in order to be able to play. One thing that you do need to consider is whether to play left or right handed since – this is particularly true for amputees or anyone with an obviously stronger side. Make the most of the stronger parts of your body and give them a larger role in powering your swing. For instance, if you have an amputated left leg you may find that you can pivot on your front foot better if you play left-handed. You can normally borrow clubs from the golf club (or, if that’s not an option, from a friend) but you do have to pick left or right. When you first start playing, even if you’re someone who had a handy able bodied handicap, it’s probably best to practice on the driving range and preferably with a coach.
Wheelchair users can play using an adapted golf buggy. Generally, these allow you to drive around the course and then, when you reach/find your ball, the seat can swivel to the side and tilt your body toward the ball (with more sophisticate models can also adjust you height and even be supported in a standing position). Finding a buggy is not the easiest thing to do and once you have you also need to make sure that your nearest course allows the buggies all over the course, including on the green. The best place to find out about this seems to be Handigolf which is a charity devoted to linking up wheelchair users and wheelchair accessible golf buggies.
The buggies range from quite simple scooters to the advanced ParaGolfer from Otto Bock. The ParaGolfer does the adaptation for you, putting you into a classic golfing stance, whereas other buggies tend to require you to adapt your stance more. To buy even one of the cheapest models of buggy will cost upwards of £1,000 (the ParaGolfer is a whopping £18,000!) so it’s a considerable investment. You’re probably going to want to hire one at first. Again, the Handigolf website is a good place to look into this and they seem to have a scheme for renting out the buggies, although the limited number of machines available may be an issue. Other than that, it’s possible that golf clubs may have the buggies on standby for people to rent out. They certainly have one at It’s available at the Cranford Magna Golf Club which seems an eminently sensible thing to do, but the problem is that if other clubs are doing this they’re not doing very much to advertise it.
If you want to try out disabled golf, the best place to go next is The Disabled Golf Association website. The DGA brings together all disabled golfers, irrespective of gender, age or ability, and helps them enjoy golf. It appears to be a really well organised site and we’d suggest it’s the go-to place for further information on the game. They’re one of the few places which are on hand with advice on equipment and you can also use the sit to help with finding courses and entering the tournaments that they run. Their course finder looks particularly good for finding detailed information on the disabled access at golf clubs near you. Parasport also have a list of specifically disabled golf clubs to try out.
If you used to play golf in the past or think that you may enjoy it and want to try it out for the first time, then now is the perfect time to get started. The sun’s coming out and we can look forward to months of golfing weather. Just be wary that if you do become addicted to the game, you may soon find yourself stuck out on the course in the pouring winter rain!