Skip to content
NOWCAST WYFF News 4 at 4
Live Now
Advertisement

Fore! Greenville adaptive golf nonprofit tees up fun and confidence for golfers with disabilities

A Greenville nonprofit is chipping away barriers and teeing up fun for Upstate adults and children with disabilities.

Fore! Greenville adaptive golf nonprofit tees up fun and confidence for golfers with disabilities

A Greenville nonprofit is chipping away barriers and teeing up fun for Upstate adults and children with disabilities.

REPORTER: VOLUNTEERS ARE USING A ROUND OF GOLF TO GROW CONFIDENCE IN ADULTS AND KIDS OF DIFFERING ABILITIES. >> LET’S GO MEREDITH. THERE IT IS. REPORTER: BY TEE TIME MONDAY, NEARLY A HUNDRED DIFFERENTLY-ABLED ADULTS AND CHILDREN ARRIVED AT UPSTATE CAROLINA ADAPTIVE GOLF’S MONTHLY GATHERING. >> GOOD SHOT. REPORTER: FOUNDER BRANDON WORLEY SAYS IT’S ABOUT HAVING A BALL USING THE GAME OF GOLF TO LEARN REAL LIFE SKILLS. >> GOLF, ESSENTIALLY IT’S A GAME OF MISSES. YOU DON’T HIT EVERY SHOT PERFECT IN GOLF, RIGHT. AND JUST LIKE IN LIFE, YOU’RE NOT GOING TO WAKE UP EVERY DAY AND EVERY DAY’S GOING TO BE A PERFECT DAY. HAVING THAT PERSEVERANCE TO OVERCOME, KEEP GOING, ADAPT, AND DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THE JOB DONE. REPORTER: WORLEY STARTED THIS NONPROFIT FOUR YEARS AGO, INVITING NOW COACH JOHN ROBINSON TO THE FIRST MEETING. >> I SAID, WAIT A MINUTE, THERE’S NO WAY I CAN HIT A GOLF BALL IN MY WHEELCHAIR. HE GOES, TRUST ME. REPORTER: ROBINSON HAS SPINA BIFIDA. AFTER SEVERAL BACK SURGERIES THROUGHOUT SCHOOL, ROBINSON IS WHEELCHAIR BOUND. THAT MEETING SPECIALIZED MACHINERY HELPED HIM TO STAND ON HIS OWN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS AND HIT THE BALL. >> I CRIED LIKE A BABY. AND HE THOUGHT SOMETHING WAS WRONG, THOUGHT I WAS HURTING, AND I TOLD HIM NO, ITS TEARS OF JOY. REPORTER: NOW A GOLF COACH FOR THE NONPROFIT, ROBINSON USES HIS DIFFERING ABILITIES TO RELATE TO THE CHILDREN AND ADULTS WHO COME IN. >> TO SEE SOME OF THE KIDS HERE GETTING IN THE SAME EQUIPMENT BRINGS HAPPINESS TO MY HEART. REPORTER: TRAINING GOLFERS TO ADAPT TO THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES AND LEARNED THEIR GOAL IS TO MA
Advertisement
Fore! Greenville adaptive golf nonprofit tees up fun and confidence for golfers with disabilities

A Greenville nonprofit is chipping away barriers and teeing up fun for Upstate adults and children with disabilities.

A Greenville nonprofit is chipping away barriers and teeing up fun for Upstate adults and children with disabilities.By tee time Monday, nearly a hundred people with disabilities arrived at Upstate Carolina Adaptive Golf's monthly gathering at Top Golf.Founder Brandon Worley said it's about having a ball while using the game of golf to learn real-life skills. "Golf, essentially it's a game of misses," said Worley. "You don't hit every shot perfect in golf, right? And just like in life, you're not going to wake up every day and every day's going to be a perfect day. Having that perseverance to overcome, keep going, adapt, and do whatever it takes to get the job done."Worley started this nonprofit four years ago, inviting now-Coach John Robinson to the first meeting."I said, 'wait a minute, there's no way I can hit a golf ball in my wheelchair.' He goes, 'trust me,'" said Robinson.Robinson has spina bifida. After several back surgeries, Robinson uses a wheelchair. That meeting, specialized machinery helped him stand on his own for the first time in years to hit the ball. ”I cried like a baby," he said. "And he thought something was wrong, thought I was hurting, and I told him no, it's tears of joy."Now a golf coach for the nonprofit, Robinson uses his disabilities to relate to the children and adults who want to learn. "To see some of the kids here getting in the same equipment brings happiness to my heart," he smiled.Robinson and Worley said their goal is to train golfers to adapt to their circumstances and learn independence, and growing confidence.This weekend, Upstate Carolina Adaptive Golf is bringing several students to the Palmetto State Adaptive Open in Columbia. Pending weather, this will be the very first statewide adaptive golf open in South Carolina.

A Greenville nonprofit is chipping away barriers and teeing up fun for Upstate adults and children with disabilities.

By tee time Monday, nearly a hundred people with disabilities arrived at Upstate Carolina Adaptive Golf's monthly gathering at Top Golf.

Advertisement

Founder Brandon Worley said it's about having a ball while using the game of golf to learn real-life skills.

"Golf, essentially it's a game of misses," said Worley. "You don't hit every shot perfect in golf, right? And just like in life, you're not going to wake up every day and every day's going to be a perfect day. Having that perseverance to overcome, keep going, adapt, and do whatever it takes to get the job done."

Worley started this nonprofit four years ago, inviting now-Coach John Robinson to the first meeting.

"I said, 'wait a minute, there's no way I can hit a golf ball in my wheelchair.' He goes, 'trust me,'" said Robinson.

Robinson has spina bifida. After several back surgeries, Robinson uses a wheelchair. That meeting, specialized machinery helped him stand on his own for the first time in years to hit the ball.

”I cried like a baby," he said. "And he thought something was wrong, thought I was hurting, and I told him no, it's tears of joy."

Now a golf coach for the nonprofit, Robinson uses his disabilities to relate to the children and adults who want to learn.

"To see some of the kids here getting in the same equipment brings happiness to my heart," he smiled.

Robinson and Worley said their goal is to train golfers to adapt to their circumstances and learn independence, and growing confidence.

This weekend, Upstate Carolina Adaptive Golf is bringing several students to the Palmetto State Adaptive Open in Columbia. Pending weather, this will be the very first statewide adaptive golf open in South Carolina.