At the conclusion of the National Forum on Accessible Golf VI, held in April of 2001, there was a strong resolve among the participants to create a well-organized effort to increase the number of individuals with disabilities who play golf. To that end, the National Alliance for Accessible Golf (the Alliance) was formed on August 1, 2001. The Alliance is a broad-based coalition comprised of individuals with disabilities, representatives from national golf organizations, and specialists in the fields of rehabilitation, medicine, therapeutic recreation and physical therapy. The Resource Center is a prominent partner of the Alliance as it works to be the informational source for individuals with disabilities who want to be introduced to the game of golf or enhance their existing interaction with golf. The Alliance has quickly made headway toward its goals through a couple of efforts. First, committees within the Alliance have written “tool kits,” information documents that are aimed at answering common questions asked by course owners and operators, golfers with disabilities and therapists. These documents can be found on this Web site under Tool Kits. In addition the Alliance has started an effort to create grassroots introductory golf programs, called Project G.A.I.N. These programs have the goals of increasing the number of individuals with disabilities who play golf and helping these individuals become more actively engaged in the social fabric of their particular community, and, in turn, be able to enjoy an improved quality of life.

Gary Robb, former president of the National Alliance for Accessible Golf, is a member of the Resource Center’s advisory board.

To view the National Alliance for Accessible Golf’s Web site, please visit www.accessgolf.org.