USGA to conduct national qualifying for first time ahead of 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open

The USGA announced Thursday the U.S. Adaptive Open will adopt a qualifying model for the 2024 championship.

The USGA announced Thursday the U.S. Adaptive Open will adopt a qualifying model for the 2024 championship.

Conducted over 18 holes, qualifiers will be held at six sites across the United States between April 15 and May 31. They will be administered by Allied Golf Associations. In its first two years, the championship field was determined largely by Handicap Index. 

The 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open will be held at Sand Creek Station in Newton, Kansas, from July 8-10.“We have been thrilled with the interest in this championship and the growth of new adaptive competitions that it has inspired. As such, we have reached the point of introducing qualifying earlier than expected,” John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer, said in a release. “In order to satisfy demand, we’re excited to roll out this new qualifying model, which will ensure high-caliber players are provided ample opportunity to earn a spot in the field and provide the championship the opportunity to embrace the openness that is a hallmark of USGA competitions.”The following AGAs will conduct 18-hole stroke play qualifiers in 2024 (specific sites and dates will be available by early February): Florida State Golf Association; Georgia State Golf Association; Indiana Golf Association; Metropolitan Golf Association (CT/NJ/NY); Southern California Golf Association and the Texas Golf Association

Online entry applications will open Thursday, Feb. 22, at 9 a.m. ET, and close on Wednesday, April 10 at 5 p.m. ET, and be available at champs.usga.org.

The U.S. Adaptive Open Championship serves as the association’s 15th, and newest, national championship for the adaptive golf community. In 2023, Ryanne Jackson (women’s) and Kipp Popert (men’s) captured the championship’s overall titles. In 2022, Kim Moore (women’s) and Simon Lee (men’s) emerged victorious during the inaugural playing.

Eighteen players are fully exempt into the 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open based on performances over the past two years of the championship.

The Adaptive Open is open to male and female professional and amateur golfers, with a Handicap Index of 36.4 or less, and an eligible impairment confirmed by a WR4GD Pass. The championship is contested over 54 holes of stroke play. Multiple sets of tees will be utilized.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=451199013]

How rapid growth of USGA’s Adaptive Open is expanding adaptive space across the country

The adaptive golf space continues to grow thanks to the USGA.

Dave Windsor felt as if he was on an island.

The Director of Adaptive Golf with the Georgia State Golf Association began working in the adaptive space in 1999. There’s arguably no one who has been more entrenched in adaptive golf — which allows people with disabilities to play the game of golf through modified rules or equipment — than Windsor.

Since the beginning of this century, as Windsor explained, more and more boats have started coming to the island. More and more state associations became interested in adaptive golf. There was national interest. Now, the sport is booming, with a national championship and higher participation numbers than ever.

“People would come and say, ‘What are the natives doing out here,’” Windsor said of his boat and island analogy. “We would help them. Slowly, they would start to replicate something in their neighborhood or golf course. And they saw that it was the right thing to do.

The United States Golf Association will host the third annual U.S. Adaptive Open this July 8-10 at Sand Creek Station in Newton, Kansas. It will be the first time the championship hits the road, being held at Pinehurst the first two years. It’s a sign of the growth in the adaptive space, the USGA’s commitment to adaptive golf and signifies how important it is to make golf accessible to everyone. 

There are seven state adaptive championships planned for 2024. Come 2025, that number could come close to doubling.

“There was really not a lot of interest from the golf association world until the Adaptive Open came to fruition,” said Tyler Riggin, Regional Affairs Director with the USGA. “Then it was like this is so cool. This is a great opportunity to expand our services to the community.”

Riggin mentioned how much interest the community and state associations had in adaptive space after the first championship in 2022. More and more people wanted to be involved in adaptive golf, from competitors to fans and more.

One of the state associations that conducted its first adaptive championship in 2023 was Florida. 

Jeff Magaditsch, the executive director of the Florida State Golf Association, mentioned how much research and help from the USGA went into launching its adaptive championship.

“The USGA did a great job of laying the groundwork for us,” Magaditsch said. “It’s a space we always wanted to get involved in. The USGA paved the way for us to get involved in the championship space with its inaugural open. 

Magaditsch said the FSGA continues to expand its reach across the state in regards to adaptive golf, also giving a lot of credit to the GSCA and Windsor for helping with a blueprint for how things are done.

Running the championships is no small task either. For the Adaptive Open, there are numerous hurdles that go into choosing a course for adaptive athletes.

First, the course needs to be easily accessible for those who need specialized golf carts. Whether that’s cart paths from tee to green or bunkers you can get in and out of. There are five different sets of tees for the different classes of competitors.

“We treat this just like any other USGA championship, but there’s a lot of planning that has to go into it for the athletes,” said Greg Sanfilippo, a Senior Director of Championships at the USGA. “The planning efforts take years in advance to go through how the builds are going to work and so on.”

Sanfilippo said being able to have the 2024 championship in the Midwest is something the USGA is looking forward to, and the association is continuing to learn the best way to host adaptive championships. 

As more adaptive events pop up across the country, it grows the space for golfers with impairments. More opportunity is never a bad thing, and as the third U.S. Adaptive Open gets closer, the USGA welcomes the challenge of hosting the most unique championship in the sport.

“It’s something that we’re proud of, to be able to take it across the country and across the United States,” Sanfilippo said. “If you want to expose more people and inspire more individuals to be a part of the adaptive game, get involved in the adaptive game, whether that be playing golf, donating time to programs and clinics, if they’re golfers or teaching professionals, I think we’re proud of that. And to be able to overcome some of those challenges is something that we do on a daily basis and again, just feel proud of it overall.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=451199013]

Where others see limitations, amputee golfer Doug Shirakura recognizes possibility

The 20-year-old is studying aerospace engineering and seeing where golf might take him after finishing tied for ninth at the U.S. Adaptive Open.

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. – The swing is relatively quiet and strikingly efficient.

Golf balls were arcing skyward in succession last week, eventually disappearing over an imposing tree line on back side of the Golf Performance Center range some 250 yards away.

On the surface, it was an effortless performance.

The physical limitations Doug Shirakura instinctively works around each time he sets up over the ball are easily overlooked when the Somers, Connecticut, resident is in launch mode.

Nothing about the swing is awkward or mechanical.

“I think most people watch in disbelief, honestly,” said Roger Knick, a longtime PGA professional who is the owner and founder of Golf Performance Center. “They look at the way he controls the golf ball and quickly stop feeling sorry for him.”

Envy takes over when the sympathy fades.

Shirakura has been playing it as it lies his entire life. He is currently No. 1 among players with a single below-the-knee impairment by the U.S. Adaptive Golf Alliance. The junior aerospace engineering major at Worcester Polytechnic Institute carries a 1.2 index and finished tied for ninth last month at the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open at historic Pinehurst No. 6.

He possesses an infectious enthusiasm for the game and is highly motivated to improve.

“If I’m being completely honest, playing with my restrictions is not difficult at all,” the 20-year-old said while tuning up for this week’s Eastern Regional Amputee Championship at Penn State. “I mean, this is all I’ve ever known. In that sense, I definitely have an advantage over some of the older guys who may have lost their limbs later in life.”

Shirakura was an infant when his right leg was amputated below the knee, the result of amniotic banding syndrome.

“It mostly affects outer extremities,” he said. “My right hand was kind of fused together. My fingers didn’t form well, so I had to have multiple surgeries when I was a baby to reconstruct my hand. My right foot was almost to a point where it was unusable. It was either I keep the foot and kind of take a gamble or amputate it and use the prosthetic.

“That’s what my parents went with, and it’s worked out great.”

Aki and Miyuki Shirakura both played golf and introduced their son early on. He also played a number of sports growing up, but none of those competitive outlets sparked his imagination.

Mom halted a blossoming karate career when prosthetics began to break.

So that left golf, and Shirakura was all in by middle school.

“I did the junior camp at Centennial every summer until I got too old,” he said. “I’d get dropped off at like 7 a.m. When you’re young, it doesn’t feel like a long day. You practice in the morning, go out and play nine holes, play games on the putting green with some friends and go out and play again. The next thing you know, it’s starting to get dark and your mom is there.”

Keeping up with peers was never an issue.

“I never felt disadvantaged against the field, I was just trying to go out there and play,” added Shirakura, whose drives typically measure in excess of 270 yards.

Eventually, he graduated to Met PGA Junior Tour and Hurricane Junior Golf Tour events. He was also captain of the golf team at Somers and competed in a number of national adaptive golf tournaments. Results at that point were mixed.

“I wasn’t that good of a golfer – not because of my disabilities,” Shirakura said. “It wasn’t until COVID, that I began to improve. That’s when I started coming here. I realized I was lacking distance, partially because of my disability, I didn’t have the strength on the right side, but also because I was a skinny kid in high school. I knew that if I wanted to be competitive, I needed to gain more distance, I needed to play smarter and I needed to constantly practice what I can control instead of what I can’t control.”

Access to year-round practice at the high-end facility was transformative.

“By and large, we haven’t done a lot as far as instruction or coaching,” Knick said. “It’s really about providing an environment where he’s able to thrive by coming in and working diligently. He’s gone through our assessment to understand where his skills are and where he is physically, and he hasn’t shied away from any challenge.”

Winning adaptive tournaments is not the end game.

Shirakura is aiming to keep up with golfing buddies like Ardsley resident Brent Ito, who played collegiately at Michigan and now has status on PGA Tour Canada.

“In my opinion he is just an extraordinary young man who has faced the challenge of his circumstance with absolute belief that he can overcome anything, so it’s pretty easy to coach that,” Knick added.

His golf idols are people like Carlos Brown and Ken Green.

“Carlos is a teaching pro in Dallas who unfortunately lost his left leg below the knee after an accident,” Shirakura said. “He’s been critical in keeping me on the right track to playing better golf and keeping me on the right track mentally in life. Ken Green was the first really good adaptive golfer that I met and I was like, ‘Holy Cow, he played on the PGA Tour.’ ”

They first crossed paths when the Danbury, Connecticut native who lost part of his leg in an RV accident was back in the area playing an event at Richter Park. They reconnected at Pinehurst.

“A lot of people in adaptive golf are my role models,” Shirakura added. “They all have such amazing stories. I’m always telling myself, ‘Those guys have it way worse than you, so get your … together.’ ”

After following Brown on social media, Shirakura reached out to the highly-regarded PGA teaching professional four years ago. They are kindred golf nerds. Brown provided some needed focus and was able to make needed swing adjustments virtually.

The results were almost immediate.

Shirkura deals with the inevitable uneven lies with careful thought and committed execution. And knowing his margin for error is small, everything is well-rehearsed.

“Douglas is somebody I use as an example for my college players,” Brown said. “He’s a late bloomer. A couple years ago, he was still figuring out what he wanted to do with golf. I told Douglas, ‘It has to be function and form over fashion.’ You need to figure out how you’re supposed to move based on what we’re dealt. You can’t fit yourself into a mold that doesn’t look like you and he’s beginning to trust that. … Because he had so much information from people, he was struggling to put it together and had kind of a Frankenstein-looking swing. He was gifted, but had a lot of pieces that didn’t fit who he was.

“And the other thing is he will outwork anybody.”

The opportunity to play in the U.S. Adaptive Open was lifechanging.

Shirakura put together rounds of 75, 77 and 79 on Course No. 6 at Pinehurst, which played some 6,500 yards. He finished 15 over for the championship.

“The conditions were fantastic and they made the course play really difficult,” he said. “They did it that way because it’s meant to be a U.S. Open. It’s supposed to test all our skills and I think they did a fantastic job of achieving that.”

Shirakura walked the first two rounds, noting that his use of a cart would be disrespectful to competitors dealing with more severe mobility issues. He did take a cart in the final round after his mom expressed concern about the relentless heat.

“Going into the event, I had some pretty high expectations, knowing the history of the USGA,” he said. “And when I got there, I was completely blown away. … It was amazing to be out there and be able to reach a lot of people. … My goal, especially in golf, is to inspire people. Having a big stage set by the USGA, was just a huge deal. All of the players were kind of given a platform to share their inspiring stories and how they were able to overcome their situations through golf.”

There are many more elevated greens to climb.

“I have no idea where this is going,” Shirakura said. “For the next three years, I’m going to be trying to get better and see how far I can take my game and see if I can reach my full potential. I’m fortunate enough to have this opportunity to be able to play and practice at a facility like this and I have the time to really put in this game. It would be a waste not to see how far I could get.”

Regardless of result, he’s providing inspiration with each swing.

“It’s about learning to adapt, literally,” added Brown, who was quick to add Shirakura to the Nike Adaptive Team he oversees. “The cool thing is, that’s something we do in life. That’s all golf is, regardless of difference, you have to adjust to situations that present themselves. We just have to adjust a little bit more.”

Mike Dougherty covers golf for The Journal News and lohud.com. He can be reached at mdougher@lohud.com or on Twitter @lohudgolf.

[vertical-gallery id=778285152]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Simon Lee, Kim Moore make history as first winners of U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst

In all, 16 golfers won medals for winning their impairment categories.

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. – Simon Lee walked up to the podium in front a packed Player Hospitality tent and joyfully greeted the room. He then read a speech from his phone that brought the crowd to its feet.

“My special thanks go to my parents,” he said. “They pulled me out of darkness and made me walk through the light of the world.”

At the U.S. Adaptive Open, players competed in eight different categories. Lee, a 25-year-old professional from South Korea, was one of 10 players in the intellectual impairment category, having been diagnosed with autism at age 3. Lee finished the 54-hole event knotted at 3-under 213 with Felix Norman of Sweden, a 25-year-old with tuberous sclerosis who competed in the same category. Just last year, Norman had brain surgery to remove two growing “lime nodules.”

The pair squared off in a two-hole aggregate playoff, which Lee won by two thanks to a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th that he said felt like a dream. After locking up the men’s division title, supporters doused Lee with water as he shrieked with glee.

“Today I played with my mind of thinking, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it,” Lee told the media after the round. While many of his answers took a good deal of time to formulate, those four words poured out with gusto.

Kim Moore, 41, won the women’s division by a commanding seven strokes thanks to a final-round 76. Born without a right foot and a severely clubbed left foot, Moore played collegiate golf at the University of Indianapolis. Her namesake Kim Moore Spirit Award is given to college golfers in all divisions who exemplify perseverance and high character.

“It’s pretty cool to be part of a little bit of history in golf,” Moore, “and it’s just very exciting for me.”

2022 U.S. Adaptive Open
Kim Moore, Leg Impairment, hits an approach shot on hole 17 during the final round at the 2022 U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst Resort in Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina. (Photo: Jeff Haynes/USGA)

Moore had her father on the bag at Pinehurst No. 6 and said congratulations text messages from her players have poured in. In addition to being a college coach, Moore also became a PGA teaching professional so that she could specialize in teaching the game to those with adaptive needs.

“I just think just what has been seen this week around the world, around the country, is going to elevate the amputee community, the adaptive community, and it’s just pretty cool to see,” said Moore. “I think we’re going to have a lot of rise in participation. I hope that’s what this brings.”

A total of 16 players received copper medals for winning their respective impairment categories: arm, leg, intellectual, neurological, vision, multiple limb amputee, short stature and seated players.

“All these years, everyone says I’m inspiring them,” said Dennis Walters, who won the seated players division.

“But I couldn’t help but be totally amazed and inspired by the sights I’ve seen here. If you were here, I don’t think you would ever forget this.”

Lee, whose father was once a diplomat, spent time as a child going back and forth from the U.S. to South Korea. In elementary school, he started out playing ice hockey but struggled to connect in a team environment.

That’s when the family switched him to golf, which his mother, Ji-ae Pahk, said proved difficult because of the need for constant repetition. He would learn one thing and then promptly forget it. Getting her son to focus and stay centered on the ball proved difficult, too.

But Lee persevered and turned professional in high school. Tournament golf helped him learn how to better communicate. Mom says they’re still working hard on making eye contact.

In the bio information Lee’s mother provided tournament officials, she noted that a psychological test administered last year showed that Lee’s mental and social age remains in the 6-7 range. He had an IQ score of 66. (The average IQ score usually falls between 85 and 115.)

Pahk’s message to parents of children with autism is to find what they love and continue to work on it.

“It’s not just something that your feeding their hobby,” she said with help of an interpreter. “It changes their character and their personality overall.”

On paper, Lee came in this week with the lowest handicap index in the field at 3.6. His ultimate dream is to one day stand on the 18th hole at the Masters on Sunday.

“In the future, I will work harder to show that an adaptive golfer can compete on the PGA Tour,” Lee told the crowd of players and supporters after the round.

“My wish is to be remembered as a golfer who never gave up.”

[vertical-gallery id=778285152]

Amputee Jeremy Bittner records first ace at inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst No. 6

Jeremy Bittner picked a fine time for his first ace.

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. – Jeremy Bittner picked a fine time for his first ace. The 33-year-old from Moon Township, Pennsylvania, took a little off a 6-iron on the par-3 fourth hole at Pinehurst No. 6. The number on the laser was 187, downhill but into the wind.

Bittner’s ace is the first in championship history at the U.S. Adaptive Open. He donated the ball to the USGA Museum.

“When it disappeared, I was actually like, oh, no, what happened,” said Bittner, “and then everybody started screaming and I was like, oh, that was a good thing.

“For the next 10 minutes I was shaking.”

Bittner lost his lower left leg in a lawnmower accident when he was 4 years old. There are 33 players in the field of 96 competing in the leg impairment category. There are eight multiple limb amputees.

Players this week are competing from four different yardages ranging from 6,500 to 4,700. Men in the leg impairment category play the blue tees from 6,500 yards. Bittner shot 86-78 in the first two rounds and is in a share of 26th at 20 over.

South Korea’s Simon Lee is the only player under par at 2 under. He holds a two-shot lead over Felix Norman of Sweden. Both players are in intellectual impairment category.

“I didn’t have the strongest finish I’d like,” said Bittner, “but like you said, it’s a core memory that is going to stick with me no matter what the score was.”

[vertical-gallery id=778285152]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

How Brandon Canesi, the ‘world’s best no-handed golfer,’ is inspiring others to pick up a club at U.S. Adaptive Open

“I’m just trying to show people that there are other ways to get the job done,” Brandon Canesi said.

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. – People have always stared at Brandon Canesi, who was born with no hands. He views those moments as an opportunity to shine.

They are people after all, he said, who feel as though they go unnoticed their entire lives.

“I’ve always had a can-do spirit,” said Canesi while warming up for the second round of the U.S. Adaptive Open. “Nothing has ever really stopped me.”

It’s impossible not to notice Canesi on the range. For starters, his clubs stand up out of the bag head-high. Canesi’s custom-made woods are 58 inches, and his irons are 56 inches.

When he picked up his grandfather’s clubs as a 6-year-old, Canesi began to swing the club naturally by anchoring under his arms. Today the ratio is the same, though he has upgraded the custom model his uncle made with him to ones designed by Cobra. The new set, built last fall, aren’t as whippy, which helps with more consistent contact.

“They flew me out to their headquarters,” said Canesi, “sponsored me, perfected my design and took my game to the next level.”

Canesi’s Instagram bio describes him as the “world’s best no-handed golfer.” Followers sometimes reach out and ask where they can get similar clubs. After watching Canesi, who carries a 5.6 handicap index, golf suddenly seemed within reach.

“I’m just trying to show people that there are other ways to get the job done,” said Canesi, echoing the sentiment of many this week.

The players in this inaugural event want to tell their stories, knowing full well that someone out there needs to hear it.

“I was a real little guy,” said Canesi. “Coaches didn’t see my potential or want to give me a chance on a lot of different things.”

His father, Sonny, who is caddying this week, recalled a pee-wee basketball game that went into triple-overtime. Canesi, ever the scrapper, zipped a three from the corner to end it.

“You talk about an eruption,” said Sonny. “I’ve never had to really worry about him because he’s always been that tough little kid from the beginning.”

Extreme sports took over Canesi’s life in his early teens: skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding. He’s actually a certified snowboard instructor.

The passion for golf began to flourish late in high school, when he and his uncle designed his custom clubs. He’d get up every morning and have his coffee with “Morning Drive,” dreaming of the day he’d be on Golf Channel. That moment came after his hole-in-one video went viral.

“One day I woke up, had my cup of coffee and watched myself on ‘Morning Drive,’” he said.

That’s around the time Canesi, who works at Trump National Doral in Miami, was introduced to adaptive golf tournaments. He currently plays in a handful a year but would like that to increase in a big way.

“Every tournament is getting a little more professional, a little bit more legit,” he said. “Nothing can touch this.”

Brandon Canesi, Multiple Limb Amputee, hits from the No. 8 tee box during the first round at the 2022 U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst Resort & C.C. (Course No. 6) in Village of Pinehurst, N.C. on Monday, July 18, 2022. (Jeff Haynes/USGA)

Canesi has always loved the movie “Lion King” and has “hakuna matata” tattooed to his ribs.

“Just promotes my attitude,” he said, “no worries.”

Said Sonny: “He wants to be king.”

Every year, Canesi goes out to Las Vegas with the U.S. Adaptive Golf Alliance to put on a clinic for a couple dozen Shriners kids at TPC Summerlin. One year, Bryson DeChambeau hit Canesi’s driver at the clinic and swiped the tee out from underneath the ball, which dropped straight down. Add it to the list of memorable moments the game has already taken him.

“If people are going to look at me,” said Canesi. “I’m going to take that moment to step up and shine, to see it as a blessing in disguise. Golf has done that and more  for me.”

[vertical-gallery id=778285152]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Photos: 2022 U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst No. 6

The first-ever U.S. Adaptive Open is a three-day, 54-hole event with a 96-player field.

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. – The first-ever U.S. Adaptive Open is a three-day, 54-hole event with a 96-player field.

There are at least five men and two women in each impairment category: arm impairment, leg impairment, multiple limb amputee, vision impairment, intellectual impairment, neurological impairment, seated players and short stature.

In all, there are 15 players in the field with a Handicap Index better than 0.

Four separate yardages at Pinehurst No. 6 in North Carolina will be used, spanning from 4,700 to 6,500 yards.

Here are some photos from the inaugural event, the 15th championship from the U.S. Golf Association.

Golf gave U.S. Army veteran Randy Shack a ‘second life’ after roadside bombs injured his spine. Now he’s one of seven seated players at inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open

Shack is the longest seated player in the game, hitting drives as far as 285 yards.

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. – Randy Shack was never in the first truck. The infantryman always went out in the second Humvee in the gunner’s position. But with his lieutenant already away on R&R, Shack moved up to the front gun, and he didn’t feel good about it.

“It was like the movies,” said Shack, of his 2007 tour in Iraq. “I’m going home the next day.”

Shack, an Army infantryman from Sulphur Springs, Texas, was relieved to have made it through the 12-hour shift without incident. It was time to go back to base, he thought. That is, until word came down that they had one fragmentation mission left to do.

“Oh, this is it,” he thought. “This is it.” 

The Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Device the Humvee hit confirmed Shack’s worst fears. It was the fifth time he’d been involved in an IED explosion.

“Seven times you don’t have to go out anymore,” said Shack. “It’s like a punch card.”

Several of Shack’s friends reached seven and were diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. While that didn’t happen to Shack, not long after he returned from Iraq, just before his 26th birthday, he found that he could no longer sit up straight. The deterioration came swiftly, and doctors found the spinal cord damage too great to repair.

2022 U.S. Adaptive Open
Randy Shack hits his tee shot on hole eight during the first round at the 2022 U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst in North Carolina. (Photo: Robert Beck/USGA)

For years, he scarcely left the house, not wanting to go out in public in a wheelchair. Even to the grocery store.

“After I got out, I spent about 10 years in the bottle,” he said. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

The breaking point for Shack came at home in the garage, when 3-year-old son Raiden opened the fridge and handed his father a beer. He knew the routine.

“Our daughter’s wedding was at the same time,” said Shack. “I don’t remember it.”

He choked up at the memories.

It was the PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) program that Shack said gave him a second life. Seven years ago, he sat in his truck for 30 minutes trying to decide if he wanted to get out that first day. That first round, he stayed in his wheelchair and used junior clubs.

Now he’s one of 96 competitors at the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open, where he’s one of seven players competing in the Seated Player category. Other impairment categories include arm, leg, neurological, vision, multiple limb amputee, short stature and intellectual. Shack, a 12-handicap, opened with a 95 at Pinehurst No. 6 and came off the course still smiling under that thick black beard.

“I can’t even put into words what it means,” said Shack of competing in a national open. “It’s life-changing almost.”

With his SoloRider cart, Shack can drive on the greens and in bunkers without causing any damage. The electric seat swivels to the side of the cart and raises up so that Shack, while strapped in, can hit a golf ball.

Eric Hatch, director of SoloRider carts and Shack’s close friend and caddie, drove a trailer from Texas to Pinehurst with seven SoloRiders; six are being used in this tournament.

When the pair first met, they celebrated shots that traveled 75 yards. Now, Hatch said Shack is the longest seated player in the game, hitting 230 yards off the tee consistently and as far as 285 back home when he hits the speed slot on a certain par 5.

While Shack has worked on his fitness, a proper fitting, Hatch said, is what took his game to the next level.

Now a PGA HOPE ambassador for the North Texas section, Shack knows the program can be life-saving for veterans, and he’s eager to share how golf has changed his life. Next year, he’ll travel to the Home of Golf as part of the St. Andrews Legacy program for veterans.

“Adapt and overcome,” said Shack.

It’s the mindset required of everyone in this field.

Shack and his family recently moved out to the country in Texas, where donkeys, miniature potbelly pigs, cinnamon queen chickens, goats and turkeys share their land. Son Raiden isn’t really into golf, but sometimes he’ll hit it around the pasture with dad.

Seven years ago, Shack saw a flier for the PGA HOPE program at his local Veterans Affairs’ Spinal Cord Unit, and that flier changed his life.

“If it wasn’t for golf,” he said, “I’d still be at home drinking.”

No telling how many lives he’ll change now.

How to watch

While there will be no full television coverage of the event, fans can watch near real-time highlights and feature stories during Golf Today (noon-2 p.m. ET) and Golf Central (4-5 p.m. ET) on Golf Channel all three days (July 18-20). The trophy ceremony will be shown July 20 on Golf Central.

[listicle id=778285135]

Watch: Scenes from the first-ever U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst

The inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open is at Pinehurst No. 6. It’s a three-day, 54-hole event with a 96-player field.

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, North Carolina – Grace Anne Braxton hit the first tee shot at the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open. The 50-year-old is a member of the 2022 class of the Virginia State Golf Association and became involved in the Special Olympics at age 8.

Braxton is competing in the Intellectual Impairment category. There are eight categories in all and a total of 96 players in the field.

Players compete from four separate yardages spanning from 4,700 to 6,500 yards. The championship is using a maximum score format. Maximum score has been set at double par for each hole.

Take a look at some of the competitors at Pinehurst.