Rule 25 has been great The tournaments have bee accommodating with my golf cart, allowing me to mov the ball six inches to take a practice swing an addressing bunkers and other situations The rules hav been amazing. I play from whatever tees they have. don’t usually adjust to adaptive tee markers becaus amateur tournaments are different from the U.S Adaptive Open
Usually I’m the only player with a disability, and it’s har to accommodate just one person. If tee distances wer built into the rules it would be great, but I don’t thin that will happen anytime soon
Pursuit of the Overall Championship...Yep, that’s th one we’re chasing (US Adaptive Open). Honestly, it going to take everything I did last year, but more a lo more preparation. My short game is there, but it’s no quite at the top level yet It’s really going to come dow to whoever makes the most putts and whoever make the fewest mistakes that day
Competitions and Camaraderie...Yeah, I mean, going to these tournaments and seeing people that I might only see once every six months, and seeing that they’re still playing golf and still putting up amazing scores, is really inspiring to me Once you hear their stories, it motivates you to keep going and to enjoy the game we’re playing.
I remember my first tournament in Arizona and talking with all the players there and hearing their stories It was a different vibe compared to tournaments before my accident. Before, tournaments were very competitive people were focused on playing their best golf and not necessarily building friendships. That’s what I love about these tournaments I go to build lifelong relationships and to play some really fun golf with great people
Different Adaptive Golf Cars...I love that there are different versions of mobility devices for people in wheelchairs or for those who need assistance to play golf For me personally, I have no movement or feeling in my legs, so unfortunately the Solo Rider wasn’t great for me I tried it for a while, but it just didn’t work well because you need to be able to stand up at least a little bit or use your legs somewhat to get into a golf position.
The VertaCat and the ParaGolfer or ParaMotion machines are very similar and work well for people who have no mobility in their legs and can’t stand. They use a knee strap that helps lift you fully upright so you can swing the club. It really comes down to preference. Even if you can stand, it’s about what makes you comfortable Golf is about being comfortable with your swing and your equipment, so whatever helps you feel comfortable is what you should use
Choosing the Right Vehicle...Your choice is going to be based a lot on your disability and level of injury I’m a T12 complete injury, so I have a lot of core strength That allows me to swing with both arms and rotate a bit to generate speed. There are players with higher injuries who are still phenomenal golfers. Some can swing with two hands, and others swing with one arm depending on their core strength Ben Hulin, who’s also from Utah, has a very high injury and no core strength, so he swings with one arm and plays very successfully We play a lot of rounds together
I love Ben he really got me back into golf. He was the person with the ParaGolfer in Utah that I first used
Advocacy and Adaptive Golf Car Availability...If I want to travel somewhere out of state and play a course without bringing a trailer, that’s when things get tricky. Most golf courses unfortunately do not have mobility devices available for people in wheelchairs That’s something I’m really trying to highlight on social media showing golf courses that there are people in wheelchairs who want to play golf in their area. Right now I’m starting a series on my YouTube channel where I travel to different golf courses and evaluate how accessible they are
One of the main things I’ll be testing is whether they have a mobility device available. I’ll also bring my own cart to show how someone using a mobility device navigates the course and facilities.
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