Slingshot Golf is an adapted sport for folks of ALL SCI levels. An able-bodied assistant, and specialized slingshot and pendulum are required. See how it’s played as demoed by Josh Basile, a lifelong golf junkie and C4-5 quadriplegic who created this sport. Click to watch
When Anthony Netto was injured in a car accident in 1994, hit by by a drunk driver while on his way to a major golf tournament in South Africa, he thought he would never be able to play golf again. But fortunately for all of the golfers in the world, he did not concede so easily.
Instead, after meeting a young boy with a disability while in rehab, his self-pity went out the window and he decided to figure out how he could golf again. Anthony ended up creating one of the coolest machines ever invented to help people without leg movement to stand up and play golf. Read his amazing story and how he’s helping others rediscover golf here.
Check out what I did earlier this week. Oh…I just stood up and took my first putt on the green since 1993 (no big).
So how do I look standing up? (not bad for being paralyzed for 18 years). If you have never seen or heard of the Paramovile before, you can learn all about it in my post on how the day went down (loved it, but my short game needs a lot of work). Read this entry
By using either good old-fashioned American ingenuity or the very cool stand-up personal mobility device, the Paragolfer (also known as the Paramobile), the only handicap you have to worry about when you’re out on the links is your number of swings, not your paralysis. See with golf, creativity is key.
It’s funny…so many people think golf is off-limits to people in chairs. But as long as you have the right equipment (and an open-minded golf course that doesn’t think wheelchair-users are the equivalent of lawn-wrecking gophers), you can golf. Really!
All you need is some upper-body movement and determination to get out there.
In this first video, Tim, a paraplegic from Illinois, shows how he’s perfected his golf swing from his manual wheelchair (he doesn’t use any fancy mobility devices either).
By simply twisting his torso to his right (and keeping his legs in their usual position), Tim can swing his club quite impressively (it’s no monster drive, but it flies). And he uses a reacher to set his ball on the tee. Genius! Read this (awesome) entry
