Joanne O’Riordan: Irish golfers with disabilities are reaching new heights abroad and at home

Alan Gaynor’s story is kind of like every other golf story. He started playing at an extremely young age, around four years old, was encouraged and inspired by his parents and family who are also avid golfers, and now lives about 100m from the practice putting green at Co Sligo golf club in Rosses Point. The only difference in this story is that Alan was born missing the wrist on his left hand.

“I was born without a left hand, essentially from the wrist down is missing. And between the ages of 2½ to four, my parents took the decision to try what’s called toe-to-hand transfer, so over a two-year period I had a number of different surgeries, transferring the toe from each foot on to my left hand and I suppose it’s given me a much better quality of life,” Gaynor explains over Zoom.

That kind of surgery was relatively unknown and unheard of at the time. In fact, it was the first time this surgery took place in Ireland. Irrespective of his disability, the Gaynors didn’t hold Alan back, and he threw himself into football, tennis and, of course, his first love, golf.

The clubs aren’t adapted for Alan. The only adaptation is for his gloves, which are done by his “second mother”, next-door neighbour Sheila. Everything is basically the same, and irrespective of that, Alan knows no different.

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“I wouldn’t be a big hitter. I’m okay with that. My short game has always been my strength, absolutely. Since I was a child and even younger, comparing myself to lads I would’ve played with, I wouldn’t beat them in distance, so I had to work on my short game. There were no excuses there.”

Disability golf is a relatively new concept. The European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA) was founded in 2000 and is a not-for-profit volunteer organisation encouraging those with a variety of disabilities and impairments to become active and take up golf.

EDGA provides advice relating to golf for disabled players to the R&A, the International Golf Federation, the DP World Tour, the Ladies’ European Tour and the European Golf Association. Golf Ireland are part of EDGA, and this year, in particular, is really special.

Firstly, Golf Ireland sent the first ever Irish team to a European Team Championship. Gaynor, alongside Ballinasloe’s Aidan Grenham, Dundalk’s Brendan Lawlor and Carton House’s Conor Stone, won the event by a massive 25 shots.

“We went over to Belgium with really good preparation under our belts. We had Shane Lowry’s coach, Neil Manchip, which was valuable for us. And we didn’t leave [a] stone unturned. We weren’t left looking for anything.

“So, you know, we just had to go out and play golf, and thankfully we did. We were more than good enough on the week to take it on. We were very comfortable in the event, and we just showcased our talents, and it was more than good enough to win”.

Competition

Focus immediately shifted to the Irish Open for Golfers with a Disability, the inaugural competition for Irish golfers with a disability, as well as attracting some stars from abroad. The Irish pool is still the most competitive and includes Lawlor, the world number one, and the aforementioned team that romped home in Belgium. Gaynor, however, has his own expectations.

“I just kind of went about [amateur] golf and played the way anybody else would have. I entered the tournaments I could get into, I was competitive at them but I always at the back of my mind, I knew that there was, I suppose, a limit in that regard. In terms of how far I could go in that [amateur] bracket and a limit to maybe how good I can get.

“And so, when the EDGA golf came along, it’s kind of more allowing me to be more competitive at this level. And I’d be probably one of the better players entering the tournaments, you know, handicap wise. Whereas if you’re, say, entering the amateur tournaments that are here in Ireland, you’re just kind of like another one of the pack. So I suppose that dealing with it, there is an expectation from my own side now that I know I can do well, then I can move and hopefully do well.”

The beauty of disability golf is that everyone has a story entirely separate from their golfing career. Hometown-hero Cian Arthurs lost his right arm in a lawnmower accident when he was just two years old. Fiona Gray is from Downpatrick and is the only Irish woman in the field. Gray sustained injuries while on service with the British Army.

Ballinasloe’s Aidan Grenham, who had his leg amputated below the knee, was part of the Ireland team that won the European Championships in Belgium last month. He regularly plays for Ballinasloe in interclub events at a regional and national level. There is also a new golfer who probably needs no introduction: multiple-Paralympic-gold-winner Michael McKillop.

There is one thing everyone at EDGA events have in common — none have allowed their disability to hold them back.

“I still am adapting. You know, because I would have grown up ... I wouldn’t say I was growing up thinking that I wasn’t any different. I obviously knew I was a little bit different. But I was kind of determined to not let my disability hold me back in any way, or being excused or anything like that”, says Gaynor.

Naturally, as a growing sport, Golf Ireland knows there’s plenty of room for developing new players and growing the current crop who seem ready to dominate whatever tournament comes their way.

“Golf is for everybody. There are so many different levels of golf that you don’t have to hit the ball 350 hours a week to enjoy it. Anybody, in any walk of life, can take up golf, and I think with golf, all it takes is one good swing or one good shot or connection with the ball, and you’re hooked.”