EDGA is delighted to launch Season One of the ‘HOW I PLAY’ series of educational tools. HOW I PLAY came from the recognition that there is a general lack of knowledge for potential and existing players and coaches who are new to golfers with disability. The series aims to provide tips and tricks that the featured players use to help them play to the best of their ability.
HOW I PLAY is hosted by Tony Bennett who discusses golf technique, preparation, recovery, practice routines and course strategy with the featured players. In each session Tony calls on highly skilled coaches, who add their insights to help bring the discussions within reach of all players, regardless of ability.
Four seasons of HOW I PLAY are available, each with six players, and together they provide a comprehensive map of impairments commonly found amongst golfers with a disability.
Find HOW I PLAY now on the EDGA website homepage at www.edgagolf.com
The HOW I PLAY resources are freely available to provide knowledge and inspiration while demystifying the landscape of golf for the disabled. EDGA has also developed an education pathway which includes further resources for those keen to introduce or coach golfers with disability.
Additionally, together with The International Golf Federation (IGF), EDGA has created a qualification specification for those who are actively involved in the golf coaching profession, where qualified coaches or PGA professionals can evidence their coaching skills and knowledge and be recognised.
EDGA President and Head of Disability and Inclusion for The IGF Tony Bennett, who is himself a Master PGA professional, said: “It has been an incredible learning opportunity to spend time around, watch, speak with players, coach and learn about golf for the disabled. I have learned so much during this time, and it has made me question my understanding of all things golf. Some of my beliefs have made the cut, while others have not. Beyond golf, I have developed in other ways, and so it is fair to say that the experience and learning have been life-changing.”
Tony added: “All golfers have their own unique set of constraints, and it is the recognition of these constraints that allows coaches to better help their students. Some golfers with an impairment are well aware of what they can and cannot do, and instinctively find ways to navigate over, under, around or through perceived barriers to performance.
“The HOW I PLAY series informs people with a similar disability about what they might expect when taking up golf or trying to improve their game. HOW I PLAY is also an opportunity for coaches to learn from those who live the experience of playing golf with an impairment. The learning may or may not change you as a person, but I hope it will challenge you enough to at least question the why, how and what of coaching.”
EDGA is a not-for-profit volunteer-based association which is made up of the National Golf Federations from 29 countries around the world, offering expert guidance to the sport’s major stakeholders, competitive opportunities to golfers with disability at all levels, and training for professional coaches and volunteers to help grow the game internationally.