By Phil Paquette
The MGA’s Adaptive Golf Program had a busy schedule during Disability Awareness Month in April, touching all regions of the Met Area. The wide-reaching schedule during the month felt even more appropriate for everyone associated with the program, which reached two new areas. Expanding on the program’s first year in 2024, when the MGA conducted clinics in Westchester County and Long Island, the program had its first clinics conducted with the YMCA of New Canaan, Conn., and the Venture Together Foundation in Rockland County, N.Y.
The MGA ran four clinics at the YMCA, with each one featuring different games that worked on exposure to golf and skill development. The weekly schedule allowed the golfers to build on their skills from week to week. Success stories include one participant who went from not wanting to touch a club at the start to engaged participation by the end.
Patriot Hills Golf Club in Rockland County was a great site for the first clinic in the area. Partnering with the Venture Together Foundation allowed the MGA to reach 40 golfers across two clinics on the same day. With five wheelchair golfers in attendance, the clinic also marked the first time the MGA worked with golfers with physical impairments, something that will continue throughout the year.
“To see the program active in all four corners of our territory – Westchester/Rockland counties, New Jersey, Long Island, and Connecticut – is a milestone that represents more than coverage; it represents commitment, connection, and community,” Adaptive Golf Program Manager Ryan Kayton says.
The program also displayed its ability to work with different ability levels and different impairments in April, showing it can touch every type of golfer in the adaptive space and that golf can be a game for everyone.
“Reaching every quadrant of the MGA region isn’t just a geographic accomplishment – it’s a promise fulfilled to make golf more inclusive and accessible for all athletes, no matter where they call home,” Kayton adds.
The growth in the program’s second year wouldn't be possible without the addition of coaches throughout the Met Area. These coaches will allow the program to reach more adaptive golfers in 2025, with more than 60 clinic days compared to 40 in 2024. In addition to the clinics with the YMCA and Venture, the Adaptive Golf Program did clinics with the Special Olympics of Port Washington, N.Y., and the Bridges program for neurodiverse students at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y.
The Special Olympics clinics were part of a season-long partnership. The instruction and exposure allowed the participants to get comfortable with the game and progress throughout the program. The Golfzon Range by Leadbetter in Westbury, N.Y., hosted a one-day event with the Bridges to Adelphi Program for college-aged youth on the autism spectrum. The small group of eight enabled the MGA coaches to give one-on-one instruction to the golfers.
For more information, visit the MGA Foundation’s Adaptive Golf Program website or contact Ryan Kayton at ryan.kayton@mgagolf.org.