QUEENSLAND NEWS
Parkwood International Empowers Golf
for less abled on the Gold Coast
By Mathilda Andersson
P
arkwood International is the latest golf club to form
a partnership with Empower Golf Australia that aims
to facilitate golf for Australians of all abilities around
the country.
On February 5, about half a dozen golfers gathered at
Parkwood International Golf & Function Complex on the
Gold Coast to participate in the club’s Inaugural
Empower Golf clinic.
The supervised clinic intended for less abled golfers to
come and try the $35,000 German-designed electric cart,
the ParaGolfer, which enables individuals to swing a golf
club from an upright position, replicating the full
golfing experience.
“Our aim at Empower Golf is to get more golf clubs in
Australia to commit to becoming more disability-friendly,”
said the charity’s founder James Gribble.
“We wish to establish 30 golf courses around the country
to work as hubs for monthly come & try clinics for people
with all kinds of disabilities, providing them with the latest
technology within disability golf.”
The organisation held its first come & try clinic at Noosa
Springs Golf Resort on the Sunshine Coast mid last year,
and has since successfully held over 20 similar clinics
around the country.
Six golf courses are also currently established as
Empower Golf hubs around Australia, including clubs in
Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast, and soon
to come to Adelaide.
Parkwood International will house the ingenious
ParaGolfer for shared use on site and run golf clinics the
first Friday of every month moving forward.
If you would like to find out more about Empower Golf
Australia, please visit www.empowergolf.com.au.
GOLF MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA QLD AUTUMN 2016 13