Week 5: Adaptive Golfing

Last week we had beautiful weather and went to Forest Hills Golf Course to do some adaptive golfing!  I wouldn't say that I'm an avid golfer, but I definitely have been exposed to the game of golf my whole life.  My dad plays in tournaments all the time and leagues during the summer.  I also took golf lessons when I was little for a couple years, which were a lot of fun!  So going into this experience I had knowledge of the game and how to swing a club.  Which turned out to be a bad thing, because everytime I went to try an adaptation, it made it more frustrating knowing that I knew how to do it and usually hit the ball further. 

There were three stations that had different equipment and adaptations at.  At one station you had to swing with your non-dominant hand, one you had to sit on a chair and not use your toes as leverage and swing, and the last station you had to use just one hand.  The one thing I strived for was to not get too frustrated.  To me, golf is very frustrating to begin with so only being able to swing with one arm makes it even worse.  We all had a lot of fun and enjoyed ourselves, cheering each other on.  It was cool to see all that support from our peers when we knew we weren't doing well!

A lot of the adaptive equipment was very practical.  There were gloves that had velcro on them so the golfer wouldn't accidentally throw their club.  Some of the clubs were built different with angles at the end of the shaft so it was flush with the ground and people who were in wheelchairs could use them.  Using bright colored balls was easier for people with visual impairments to see, etc.  There were just mutliple things that could be replaced that were very simple, that we normally wouldn't think about.

There is a lot to learn about adaptive golf, but now we all have a basic understanding incase we are thrown into a situation in our career involving it.  The guest speaker made a very good point when she said that as recreation therapists, will often be thrown into things we know nothing about and be expected to facilitate programs.