KELLY MCKAY / LMRH MEDIA
In painstaking fashion, Faircloth wouldn’ t take no for an answer in launching the USDGA.
Not after doctors wrongly predicted he’ d never walk, but he did so by age 5. Not after it was suggested, after he fell in love with golf at age 12, that it might not be the game for him. He ended up playing on his high school team. To this day, at 39, he has been a mainstay on courses.
So it shouldn’ t have been a surprise in 2011 that he became the first American to compete in the Disabled British Open. Held at East Sussex National Golf Resort & Spa in the United Kingdom, the tournament featured golfers with a range of disabilities. Faircloth placed 36th, yet it was the camaraderie and like-mindedness of competitors that led to an epiphany.
There were no tournaments in the U. S. like the Disabled British Open, he thought. Sure, there were golf tournaments affiliated with wounded war veterans, amputees and the blind. None, though, showcased golfers with varied disabilities.
“ The USDGA’ s main mission was to create a championship to showcase athletes who happen to have impairments to compete as one,” Faircloth said.“ That’ s our primary focus.
“ I was amazed to see the athletes’ mindset on what can they do instead of what they cannot do.”
His last line resonated. The U. S. Golf Association( USGA) must have been listening.
A PROACTIVE APPROACH According to a 2015 study by the Centers for Disease Control( CDC), one out of five people in the U. S. has a disability. That equated then to about 53 million people. Today that number is slightly inflated based on more than 325 million in the country.
It is unknown, according to the U. S. Golf Association and USDGA, how many of those categorized as disabled are playing golf. Numbers aside, it’ s been enough for the USGA to ramp up efforts to make golf more inclusive.
What better way for the USGA to show its seriousness than announcing in early 2017 that a national championship exclusively for male and female disabled golfers was coming?
Considering national championships are the engine of the USGA, the message was clear: adaptive golfers deserve a national stage as much as anyone.
“ The USGA has passionately sought opportunities for individuals with disabilities to experience and enjoy golf— through our championships, in how we govern the game, and by promoting accessible and sustainable golf courses,” said USGA CEO and Executive Director Mike Davis.“ In elevating this work as a
“ Similar to the full set of Rules, the modifications have undergone a thorough and fundamental review to ensure they support and promote today’ s adaptive golf community and
the greater golf community as a whole.”
— John Bodenhamer
Billy Fryar playing from the SoloRider.
strategic priority and pursuing the creation of a USGA championship, we hope to inspire new audiences to try the game and to love it for a lifetime.”
Since the announcement, the USGA won’ t posit its ideas about championship framework. There is an internal working group focused solely on gestation and taking the opportunity to design the DNA for the event. More news likely won’ t be released until later this year or in early 2019.
Besides the budding championship, various holistic-level plans for adaptive golfers were already in the works at Golf House.
Later this year, the USGA plans to roll out the new set of“ Modified Rules for Players with Disabilities” in advance of their effective date. They were supposed to be released concurrently with golf’ s new Rules on Jan. 1, 2019, according to the USGA’ s John Bodenhamer, Senior Managing Director, Championships & Governance.
Bodenhamer added that unveiling them earlier is about making the game more welcoming and approachable for all golfers.
Full disclosure: the updated adaptive golfer rules are an overhaul to the 20-plusyear-old“ Modifications to the Rules of Golf for Golfers with Disabilities,” which covers golfers who are amputees, blind, in need of canes / crutches or wheelchairs, or those with learning disabilities.
vsga. org J ULY / A UGUST 2018 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 27