22 May 2024
On Wednesday 15 May the national charity for wheelchair sport, WheelPower hosted their very first Learn to Play Golf Day at the Pyrford Lakes Golf Club in Surrey. This brand new event was delivered in partnership with Get Golfing and provided a fantastic opportunity for people with physical disabilities to return to the golf course. For some this was the first time they had played golf, but for others it was the first time they had played from their wheelchairs.
The day was co-hosted by Get Golfing, a charity who were established in 2018 with the desire to change the landscape of golf, and make golf truly accessible to all. Alongside the team from Get Golfing there was also coaches from The Golf Trust and the team from Motus Medical who kindly brought one of their Paragolfer powerchairs along that allow disabled people who are paralysed or unable to stand for long periods the chance to stand over a ball and take a full swing.
The sun shone on everyone who took part and throughout the day they were able to enjoy some putting and chipping challenges, some driving workshops on the range and some time in the state of the art golf simulator kindly provided by Broken Playaz, who were on hand to pass on some coaching tips too! Coaches from both the local area and further afield supported the attendees throughout and as the day moved forward they were seeing lots of progression from them all. A much earned BBQ was also provided for lunch and medals rewarded to conclude a brilliant day of golfing.
John, 76 is a local powerchair user from Surrey who has Multiple Sclerosis. He was really excited to be back playing golfing again and commented, “I felt well looked after by everybody involved, that the coaches really cared about us and that meant we all got the most from the day. After coming along today you have woken up in me the thought that I could get back to golf again given the right environment and I am now looking forward to getting back on the course again soon. Thank you very much to WheelPower and Get Golfing for an enjoyable day.”
Another participant who took part in the event was Trudy, 32 from Oxfordshire who said, “I got so much enjoyment from learning more about golf today. I went in with no expectations as it was totally new for me. Everyone made me feel so comfortable and welcome. It was really great to be in smaller groups to help overcome my anxieties and be able to enjoy some 1-1 coaching from the professionals.”
Stuart Williams , Community Development Officer at Get Golfing said, “This new partnership opens up our amazing spaces and brings golf to some of our communities that would not normally have access or the opportunity to enjoy golf. We hope that this will be the template of an event that can be launched across the whole of England at our 13 sites and ensure we deliver on our mission to bring golf to all people within our local communities.”
Emily Weller, Head of Sport at WheelPower said, “Our first Learn to Play Golf event was a real success and we can’t thank the team from Get Golfing and Pyrford Lakes enough for all their support in turning this brilliant idea into a reality. You can see from the smiles of the participants how much they all enjoyed their time on the course and we look forward to providing similar opportunities for more disabled people within other parts of the UK. With the right support, access, and equipment, Golf can be a sport that’s inclusive for all and one that can be enjoyed by disabled people and their friends & families. We hope this event has showed the possibilities that are out there and we hope to see more disabled people on the golf course going forward.”
The Learn to Play Golf day would have not been possible without the generosity and support of the Get Golfing charities, its trustees and communities programme. Thank you to you all for supporting this event.
Check out the full Flickr Album of photos below:
2024 Learn to Play Golf Photos
This event was delivered in association with Get Golfing and is supported by The Golf Trust and Motus Medical
