Clinic Urges Disabled to Make Active Life Par for the Course

As Jim Coombes sees it, golf can be more than just a game. For people with physical disabilities, it can open a new, more-active life.

“It gets them out of doors, off the couch and away from the TV,” said Coombes, executive director of the National Amputee Golf Assn., based in Coralville, Iowa. The association is one of the sponsors of an all-day golf clinic Saturday for those who, in Coombes’ words, are “physically challenged.”

Hosted by Sunny Hills Orthopedic Services in Fullerton for the fourth year, the daylong Saturday clinic at Islands Golf Center in Anaheim will teach participants how to grip a club and how to address the ball, as well as the stance, swing and follow-through.

“We’re not trying to teach them the game of golf so much as we’re getting them to use the golf club as a recreational rehabilitation tool,” Coombes explained.

That’s not to say that some won’t get hooked on the game itself. Several participants from past clinics have gone on to become avid golfers. Others have been so encouraged by the experience of the clinic that they’ve gone on to try other active pursuits, including tennis, horseback riding and skiing.

The First Swing clinic is actually a two-day event, starting Friday, but that session is only open to physical therapists and golf instructors, teaching them how to share the sport with the handicapped. Saturday’s session is also open to therapists and instructors, but it is geared to those with physical challenges.

The clinic is free, with a $7 charge for an optional barbecue lunch Saturday. The official registration deadline was April 28, but Coombes said the clinic should be able to accommodate more golfers if they call today.

Other clinic sponsors are the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Services Trust and the PGA of America Foundation.

* What: First Swing golf clinic for the “physically challenged.”

* When: Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

* Where: Islands Golf Center, 14893 E. Ball Road, Anaheim.

* Whereabouts: From the Orange (57) Freeway, exit east on Ball Road. The golf center will be on the left.

* Wherewithal: Free, including equipment, but reservations are required. Saturday lunch (optional) is $7.

* Where to call: (714) 738-4769.