A group of professionals from the state gathered at the Robert Trent Jones Trail at Highland Oaks in Dothan, Ala. to go through the training for the PGA of America’s national outreach program that uses golf as therapeutic rehabilitation for military veterans.
The Dothan (Ala.) Eagle reported that a group of golf professionals from around Alabama gathered recently at the Robert Trent Jones Trail at Highland Oaks in Dothan to learn how to work with veterans who have lost a limb or who have post-traumatic stress disorder.
A key lesson from the training, the Eagle reported, is that before you try to teach someone with a disability, you have to look at things from their perspective.
The Eagle described how Jason Harris, Highland Oaks’ Director of Golf, did just that as he stood on one leg and swung a club to hit a golf ball. Harris first balanced on his right leg and then his left, taking swings with one hand, all to get a feel for what it would take for an amputee to play the game.
Harris and the other golf pros at the event were being trained to gain certification with PGA HOPE, a national outreach program by the PGA of America that uses golf as therapeutic rehabilitation for military veterans, the Eagle reported.
The lifetime sport of golf has not only proved to be an excellent outlet for activity and competition, the Eagle reported, it also allows military veterans to assimilate back into their community through the social interaction that the game provides.
In Alabama, the Eagle reported, a local chapter, PROJECT HOPE Wiregrass, began in June with nine veterans. It is now working with more than 40 veterans, Ty Andersen, a golf pro who started the local chapter after becoming certified by the PGA, told the Eagle.
Anderson explained that because he hopes to expand the local golf program, he needs people trained to help work with disabled veterans.
The training sessions are divided into different modules, the Eagle reported, including sessions on how to work with veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After lunch, the golf pros hit the Highland Oaks practice facility to get tips on how to work with amputees.
The pros also used chairs to get a feel for how to swing a club from a seated position, such as a double-amputee would do. “It gives you a feeling for what these guys have to go through,” Andersen told the Eagle.
Judy Alvarez, a Florida golf teacher who has worked with physically disabled golfers since the early 1990s has been a national trainer for PGA HOPE since 2007, the Eagle reported. A key lesson that is stressed in the training, she said, is that no two amputees are the same.
“This might just give [the pros] an idea or a better respect not to push them too much, to respect the fact that when you’re swinging on one leg, you’re fatiguing fast and that’s what they go through,” Alvarez told the Eagle.
Golfers who have lost a limb also can be helped with weighted clubs, lightweight clubs or clubs with chunkier grips, it was noted. Adapted golf carts can also help those with limited mobility, and special golf gloves with Velcro wraps can help a golfer swing with one arm by securing the club in their hand.
While therapeutic golf programs for veterans may not be huge money-makers for golf facilities, Alvarez said the facilities that are open to these programs can still receive benefits, seen and unseen, the Eagle reported.
“When you give back to the veterans who have served our country, it’s a priceless payback,” she said.
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