Golf as a Rehabilitative Tool for Amputees
The development of golf as a sport is reaching new heights. Golf is one of the fastest growing sports among the physically challenged because it places as much emphasis on the mental as the physical aspects of the game. In addition, golf is one of the few sports where a player with a disability competes on the same playing field as unimpaired golfers.
This year, The National Amputee Golf Association announced a national championship for disabled men and women other than the joint amputation. The disabled golfers including those having various physical challenges and the golfers who are blind can now participate and compete in the amputee association as associate members.
The national championship and senior championship will be held in Nashville from 7 September to 10th September.
National Amputee Golf Championship’s Executive Director Bob Wilson said that golfers with perfect physical and mental health can also participate, but they have to bring high-quality short game.
Bob Wilson lost his legs in 1974, in an aircraft carrier accident as a Navy officer.
The amputee association was found in 1954. It has sponsored many tournaments around the country. The amputee association works for players with disability and it takes them around the country.
Bob Wilson developed the First Swing program in 1988. The first swing program was for disabled American Veterans and the P.G.A. of America. The program provides one or two day seminars and clinics in order to give healthcare training. It trains the golfers on how to use adaptive golf as a rehabilitative tool for people with different disabilities. According to Bob Wilson, the association conducts about 30 clinics annually.
Bob Wilson said, “There is so much that golf can do as rehabilitative therapy”. For one, if you can walk, it’s aerobic and no impact. It gets you outside in a beautiful setting instead of just rolling an exercise ball around in a rehab gym. In four hours on the course, you will use every muscle group. It engages your brain. There is the solidarity of other players and maybe most of all you can develop a sense of accomplishment and achievement. Who does not want to benefit from that?”
Bob Wilson further added, “Our association is actually an amputee support group that meets on the golf course”.
The amputee golf association is very active. It struggled effectively to increase its access to golf courses for disabled people and now it has been able to do so.
The amputee association has also faced obstacles in its cause. Often the association has met resistance because the course has to frequently allow the use of specially equipped single-rider carts and the cart fleet that is available for rent. However, certain prominent figures are joining the organization. For instance, Jack Nicklaus has redesigned and expanded the American Lake Veterans Golf Course outside Tacoma, Washington. It will accommodate disabled golfers.
“Well, there’s probably a lot more talk about prosthetics,” he said. “But otherwise, maybe not, I have had many people tell me they are better golfers now than before they lost a leg or an arm.
“We do have a lot of people who know how to recover from tough situations”.
People with a disability also have the right to have an exciting and brilliant future. We must see to it that we remove the barriers. It is not important where they come from, there should be no discrimination, people with disabilities should be encouraged to participate and we should appreciate people like Bob Wilson for his concern and efforts.
Tags: