GAP Assistant Executive Director Mario Machi attended this year’s U.S. Adaptive Open for the first time, held July 8-10 at Sand Creek Station in Newton, Kansas. Here’s some thoughts from him on the unforgettable experience.
How many times have you been to a sporting event where you can truly say you were rooting for every single participant to succeed? Have you been to a golf tournament where a player makes a double bogey and walks off the green with a smile on their face? Imagine a national championship where the competition itself is just as important as the camaraderie and socialization.
That’s what the 3rd U.S. Adaptive Open was to me. I was fortunate enough to attend a practice round as well as the first round of play in Newton, Kan. at Sand Creek Station Golf Course. The experience was so unlike any event that I’ve ever attended that I felt compelled to tell the GAP community about it.
Players from around the world came to the flatlands of Kansas for a chance to compete. With the event’s first two editions having been held at Pinehurst No. 6, it may have seemed like the Wichita region was a consolation prize, but that was far from the truth. Sand Creek Station and the Wichita community rolled out the red carpet. The mayor spoke at the Saturday evening Players’ Dinner. Volunteers were seemingly positioned every few feet around the property to help players and spectators alike. Kemper Sports, which runs the facility, promoted it like it was the U.S. Open – because to them, well, it WAS their U.S. Open!
After Sunday’s practice round, players were invited to a barbecue. That was my first exposure to a lot of the community and it was amazing to see the smiles, hugs and handshakes all around as golfers who see each other sparingly during the year got reacquainted.
I met Kim Moore, the women’s golf coach at Western Michigan, who was born without a right foot yet won the first edition of the event and finished runner-up in the second year. I connected with Jake Olson, a completely blind golfer who is well-known as the first blind player to play in a Division 1 college football game when he was a long-snapper for USC. Then there was Garth Allen who traveled all the way from Australia. Garth made the long trip to a qualifier in California earlier this year, then played events in his home country and Scotland before returning to the states for the Adaptive Open. Garth’s travels wouldn’t have been possible without a grant from the Australian PGA to help cover his travel costs, yet here he was getting dialed in on the range the day before the event.
“As we say in our clinic series, there’s no limit to playing golf, and this week reinforced that for me.”
Dinner Sunday night encapsulated what the event was about. A group of 14 of us included two guys from Canada who drove 21 hours to play in the event, two colleagues from the Florida State Golf Association, a father (the caddie) and son from Maryland, and our very own Adaptive Golf intern, Tyler Cashman, along with his mom and grandparents among others. We talked golf, yes, but we also talked about everything else in life. It was a 90 minute meal that was equal parts food and fun.
Heading into the first day of the championship on Monday morning, I will confess that I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would it be much more serious than the practice round? I quickly found Tyler a few minutes before his round and said hello but then mostly watched as the players prepared for their rounds, mostly beaming with excitement.
I followed Tyler’s groups for their first five holes and what stood out to me was how much I was cheering for each shot, whether out loud or in my own head. I had only met two of the four players in the group prior to the round, but I was cheering for all four of them like they were lifelong friends, and I wasn’t the only one. Between officials, friends, family and spectators, a group of about 20 followed the foursome around and was supportive throughout.
One thing that made me smile was an interaction with Tyler and his grandfather, George (see header photo above). They had been joking the night before about how Tyler wanted to hit driver on the 10th hole, his opening hole of the day, while George was pushing for him to hit an iron on the par 5 because Tyler’s length would enable him to still be in position to hit the green in regulation. They went with the iron, and while that shot worked out, the second shot didn’t and I could tell that Tyler was thinking about what could’ve been. A few holes later, when he did take the driver and nearly drive a 320-yard green, he walked off the tee box with a laugh and muttered to George and I with a grin, “should’ve hit that on 10, too!”
I went to the event with a mission to meet members of the community and understand more of the logistics challenges as we plan for our own Adaptive Championship later this year. But I left with an even bigger appreciation of the sport that we love and the impact it can make on anyone. As we say in our clinic series, there’s no limit to playing golf, and this week reinforced that for me.
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