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After three years, Jack has finally gotten Stephanie and Michelle to do an episode about sports. And not just any sport, but golf. On this episode we sit down with Josh Basile, Andrew Mitchell, and Kate Strickland to talk about AdapTee Golf, what it means to reclaim sports as a person with a disability, and how to play the ninth hole at Sligo Creek Golf Course.
Learn more about AdapTee Golf at: https://adapteegolf.com/
Learn more about Determined2Heal, Josh’s foundation focused on people with spinal cord injuries at: https://www.determined2heal.org/
Full transcript of this episode available at: https://www.ndrn.org/resource/ndr-june25/
Jack Rosen:
So either of you watched the US Open this weekend?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
No.
Michelle Bishop:
I did not.
Jack Rosen:
Well, that is an anticlimactic way to kick off this one then. For those who are interested in golf, J.J. Spaun won. It was his first major win. He sunk the putt on the last hole to be the only person over or under par at Oakmont. So that was very cool. And our guests on this episode would be interested in that and maybe no one else. Hopefully at least two of our listeners.
Michelle Bishop:
Jack, you open this episode talking about a golf tournament, you know full and well me and Stephanie don’t know anything about golf.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Where’s the cricket sound? I-
Jack Rosen:
But I guess you guys are about to learn quite a bit about golf, specifically adaptive golf.
Michelle Bishop:
That’s cool. We’re going to do the intro to the whole episode where we introduce ourselves or Jack is going like hella rogue today. Stephanie, how do you feel about this?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Yeah, I’m over here like, “Wait a second. We’re not good at” … I do appreciate the confidence in us, though.
Michelle Bishop:
I … Yeah, [inaudible 00:01:08] the episode.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
What else are you going to do?
Michelle Bishop:
Don’t I kick off the episodes?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
But this is probably the cold open.
Michelle Bishop:
You miss one or two episodes that get recorded when you’re traveling or so sue me that time my car broke down and now Jack’s just in here taking over the whole operation.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Man.
Michelle Bishop:
Wait, is this a cold open?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I figured it … I don’t know because we know nothing about golf, so I figured that Jack was just like … I don’t know.
Michelle Bishop:
Why don’t we ever talk before we record an episode? We could put some level of planning into this. I mean, obviously not for this episode, it’s too late now.
Well, Jack, I have to say as our pro host extraordinaire that I think this month’s episode, this topic is truly your jam more than me or Stephanie will ever comprehend. So I think you have to tell the people what this episode is about this month.
Jack Rosen:
I’m excited. I finally did it. I finally got us to do a sports podcast. It has been years in the making and I am so excited that we got to do it for this sport, my favorite one, golf. Today, we have on Andrew Mitchell and Josh Basile and Kate Strickland with AdapTee Golf. They are here today to talk about this innovative, exciting way of playing golf for those who are physically unable to swing a golf club. Josh and Andrew invented it, which is pretty cool, and I am so excited to have them on today. I will let them introduce themselves. Josh, do you want to kick us off?
Josh Basile:
Absolutely, Jack. And Michelle, it’s so great to be here today. So my journey into paralysis started out two decades ago. I was on a family vacation at the beach in Delaware and turned my back to a wave. Wave picked me up and slammed me head first against the ocean floor. As an 18-year-old, I heard a loud crack and it was my fifth cervical vertebra bursting. And since then, I’ve been paralyzed below my shoulders. I was first on a ventilator, I was able to wean off that, and then was able to go through the different hospital systems and found my way home after about three months of hospitals. And when I did return home, even before my injury, when I was … Actually, the moment after my injury when I was pulled onto the beach, I remember my dad running down to the beach, my friends got him, and he looked at me and I was like, “Dad, what about our tea time tomorrow?” It was something that I was looking forward to all summer long just to be able to play with my dad. And he’s like, “Josh, we’re not going to be able to make this one.” But when I did return home, I always just had a dream of the game of golf and being able to play again, but physically, I couldn’t.
So that’s just a little bit about me. Or the other thing I would share is I started a nonprofit and went through the vocational system in my state of Maryland, and ended up going from community college to undergrad to law school, and now I’m a practicing attorney for the last 13 years. So that’s a little bit about me and I’ll throw it over to Andrew.
Andrew Mitchell:
Hi, Jack, Michelle, esteemed audience. Thanks for having me today. So Josh and I have been friends since I think fourth grade, and Josh beat me up on the tennis court and our lives went different directions and we reconnected with each other while we were taking a few classes at a local community college and we both connected over poker and golf. So I was on the slingshot with Josh, I don’t know, starting, what would you say, Josh, like 12 years ago maybe was the first time I ever did it with you.
Josh Basile:
12, 15 years ago was when this all started up.
Andrew Mitchell:
Yeah, something in that range. So we stayed friends and got on the golf course maybe two or three times a year, and I was in between degrees at UMBC and Josh needed a little help with daytime caregiving. I decided to help out for just a few weeks, and then a few weeks turned into March 14th, 2020, and I was very lucky to have a job. So I just decided, “Okay, I’m going to take everything I can learn from someone who excels in his field, and I’m going to take everything I can learn about caregiving and just see what I can make of this.” And in that experience, we found that golf was one of the only things we could do that was safe during the lockdown. So we had such a good time golfing. We came across a piece of equipment that Rick Shiels had done a video on, the Swingless Golf Club, and that was the final piece of the puzzle to get us starting from the tee box with everybody else and had an incredible time putting all those pieces together. Josh’s invention, the pendulum putter, his way that he was able to put the slingshot together with all the degrees and the degrees that we use on the pendulum putter, degrees, power, et cetera.
And then the Swingless Club, it was such a good experience being able to get out there and play and sharpen Josh’s skill with the game that we collectively we’re chewing on this dream of how do we bring this to the rest of the country because there was just no way that we were going to be the only ones enjoying it the way that we were. So we applied for a grant from the Craig Neilsen Foundation last year. So 2024, around April, we got the confirmation that we got the grant. I want to say was it late August last year?
Josh Basile:
Yeah, it was during the Adventurous weekend. We were bringing 50 families to an annual event that we do in Virginia Beach. So it was mid-August, I could tell you the date.
Andrew Mitchell:
Yeah. And so I got the news when Josh invited me down to just put on a clinic with the folks on the Adventurous weekend and changed my life. So here we go. This is what I do now and I’m trying to build awareness for the program. I’m taking folks out on the course. I’m hosting events with Josh, and you’ll meet our other guest on the podcast here, Kate Strickland. She’s one of our fiercest competitors in the program. And this has just been a dream. It’s a dream come true to be able to spend my life helping out the disability community, the mobility disability community, and to be able to permanently grow the game of golf.
Josh Basile:
So Jack, just to give you another little background of the golfing journey per se. Basically when I did return home from the hospital and being paralyzed below my shoulders, I started going back out to golf courses with my friends and family, and I would always get on the course, but I’d be a spectator. And for about five years after my injury, just I kept going back and I loved it. I loved being out there. I loved being surrounded by green grass and by trees and by the wind, by the sun, and that was just super special. But every time I left the course, I would always be frustrated because I mentally had the game to play, but I couldn’t pick up a club or grab a club and swing it like I used to. So one night, I ended up having a dream of this putting apparatus that could swing back and forth like a pendulum off of a pole and just go back and forth, back and forth. And next thing I know, that next day, I went to the hardware store, got all this PVC pipe, an old putter, and rigged together the pendulum putting device that could strike a golf ball and was able to bring it out to my local golf course and it worked.
And so that said, you know what? I could get the ball in the hole. How do I get the ball to the green? And at that time, tested a bunch of things out. We found that the easiest way to advance a golf ball was a slingshot where you could have somebody put the ball in the pocket and basically I’d be behind a caregiver or a family member or friend who would be operating it and I could direct them pulling it back. And depending on the power you pull it back or the angle of the slingshot in the air, you can basically drop it wherever you want on a golf course, anywhere from five yards to sometimes over 150 yards depending on the strength of the person. They can go more than a football field and just drop the ball.
So that’s how we played the game of golf. We called it slingshot golf for the first 10 years. And then Andrew was mentioning during the pandemic, we saw this video of the Swingless Golf Club that uses blank and nail gun charges to shoot a piston out of the face of a club. So you actually just put it right behind the ball. And as the adaptive golfer myself of Andrew’s raise his hands, lowers his hands, basically manipulate the face of the club so I can actually shape the shot that I want, and then the piston comes out and strikes the ball and you can calibrate a shot anywhere from 75 yards to 200 plus yards, which now let us move back to the tee boxes to play the game of golf.
And since then, we’ve now brought it out to hundreds, probably over 500 players have experienced our form of adaptive golf, and we’ve really brought hundreds of players since the pandemic to really experience this new form of AdapTee Golf.
Jack Rosen:
So I have so many questions about AdapTee Golf, but I think since you mentioned new players, I think we should also mention we have Kate here who has picked up AdapTee Golf recently and I’ve heard from you guys is quite good at it. So Kate, why don’t you tell us a little bit about how you came to AdapTee Golf and what it’s been like for you?
Kate Strickland:
Sure. Thanks, Jack, and thanks for having me on this podcast with you all. I came to AdapTee Golf mostly by chance. I am an attorney in DC. I’m also quadriplegic from a spinal cord injury when I was a cyclist almost, I guess, 11 years ago. And I recently moved to the DC area to start a job with a law firm in DC. And when I was in law school, I was connected to Josh because he was a quadriplegic attorney who I could reach out to as a resource to just ask how to be an attorney while also disabled, which seems a bit more challenging than one might otherwise expect.
And so I had this connection, and when I moved to DC, I had reached out to Josh just to say, “Hey, I’m here. I’m excited to actually be in your area now that you do all of these great things.” And one of the first things Josh asked me is if I wanted to go golfing with him the very next day, actually, for his birthday. And as someone who has never played golf before, had never really seen golf beyond just watching it on TV when my grandparents were over, I had no idea how we were going to play golf, but I figured if Josh could do it, I could do it. And so I said yes.
And then the next day, we went out to Sligo Creek Golf Course, which was a bit intimidating honestly at first because I got up to the course first and I felt very out of place when I first got there because I was a person in a chair. And everything I knew about golf up to that point was that it was a game for people without disabilities. And it was … I wasn’t sure how these golfers are going to view me in my chair at this venue. And what I found out that day is that, first of all, Sligo Creek is the most inclusive and welcoming place that I could have gone to for golfing. And also that Josh and Andrew have cracked the code and we definitely can golf and it’s a lot of fun and it is a wonderful way to get outside in the sunshine and fresh air, especially me as an attorney who I spend most of the time behind my computer. So I’ve enjoyed golfing ever since I started, which was, I guess, mid last year, mid to late last year.
Jack Rosen:
And I guess what has drawn you to golf, I mean, out of the various adaptive sports? I know you got this opportunity with Josh. I guess for me, and I’ll get more into this, but one thing I really like about golf is that I always joke that for four hours, I get to forget all of my problems and instead focus on a new one, which is I’m not very good at golf, but it gives me just a few hours to clear my head. What’s it been like … What does it mean to you?
Kate Strickland:
I think it’s similar. Being out on the golf course, it’s generally peaceful. Of course, there’s some frustration when the ball doesn’t go exactly where you’re anticipating it to go. But it’s a really fun way to use my brain and to think about distances and angles and powers and really try to make the ball go exactly where I want it to go and I can stop thinking about all of my caseloads and whatever else is going on in my life. Plus, I, so far, have gone out with Andrew as my caddy and sometimes Josh joins, sometimes it’s just Andrew and I, and it’s just so fun to hang out with like-minded people who really enjoy what we’re doing.
So I’ve always just wanted to go out to hang out with friends, but also to … I mean, the way we play, sure, we’re not actually swinging a club, but it is golf and we are facing the same technical, mental calculations and challenges that any golfer would face. And it’s a really cool way to get back into sports without, for me, the fear of tipping over in a kayak or some of the other adaptive sports that are out there. So I’ve always enjoyed it. Plus, I love being outside. I was a cyclist, so I used to spend all day on a bike in the sun and this is a great way for me to get back outside in a bit more controlled way.
Jack Rosen:
And Josh, I guess I’ll pose the same question to you. I mean, I think I have a guess what golf means to you given, as you said, you dreamed of a way to get back on the course and then made it reality. But tell me a little about what golf means to you.
Josh Basile:
There’s a little noise going by me, just give me one second. For me, golf is sport. Sports before my injury, in many ways, defined a big part of my childhood. I loved the ability to compete. I love the ability to push myself to be in a situation where I had to make that shot or I had to come up with the right next move. And being able to get back out there after my injury was really something that was missing from my life for so, so long.
And when I was finally able to put together the puzzle of making the ability to advance a golf ball from tee box to fairway to green and into the hole, it just was like one of those moments was like I’m onto something. Or together with bringing out other people, we tweaked it so many different ways to get it to the game that it is today. It’s not only fun, but I feel like an athlete again, even though I’m paralyzed below my shoulders. I literally cannot move my arms, my fingers, my hands, my legs. I can dance my shoulders a little bit, and I can move my head left and right, and I’m out there on a golf course. And there’s times because the game of golf that we created, it’s like a live video game, there’s very little human error. You just really have to make the right decisions and shape the shot and then execute.
And with that being said, at Sligo Creek where we take a lot of families, and we really play on public golf courses across the US, we played overseas, we played around the world. There’s a lot of courses in this world. But with that being said, we played a lot at Sligo to the point now that we shoot under par. We have a negative handicap, which, in the golfing world, it’s funny that they use the word handicap, but we’re usually the best player on that course that day, which being paralyzed, it’s funny to see that. And we get out there, and I know later on, we’re going to talk as a little teaser about what Kate and Andrew and I did last month at Sligo in a golf tournament, a match play event, that we were participated in. But it’s one of those things that it’s a game for all abilities.
You don’t have to have a spinal cord injury to play it, you just have to have a willingness to try. You can be paralyzed, you can be an amputee, you can have any disability or no disability and experience the game of golf the way that we are approaching it. And it’s a great way to turn heads, but it’s also a great way to have fun. And even at like Saigo Creek, it’s one of those inclusive places where they even have soccer golf there, where you actually can play golf with a soccer ball, and they have different holes lined up throughout the course.
It’s just golf, to me, is such a beautiful way, as we’ve all said, of getting out of the house, forgetting about your day-to-day life and problems and just having fun or struggling through a course, which is that mental battle and the puzzle of getting from the start to in the hole, which luckily at Sligo, you got nine holes, which I even think over time I’m actually enjoying it even more than 18 holes because golf can be pretty long, and having just nine holes, it’s just the perfect taste. A lot of people love 18 because after the first nine, they feel like that’s the warm up. And then the back nine, they can really get their game on. But anyways, that’s a little bit about AdapTee Golf that I wanted to share.
Michelle Bishop:
You guys are actually making me want to take up golf now. It sounds amazing. I also am someone who enjoys being outdoors on a beautiful sunny day. Let me say this, outside, I’m not outdoorsy, I’m outsidey. I’m not trying to be hiking in the woods. So I feel like a golf course might be the right zone for me to get my outside time and my sunshine without woods, but I digress. I wanted to ask, as someone who doesn’t know a lot about golf, with AdapTee Golf to … I guess everything that I know about a golf caddy comes from what they tell you in the movies and on TV where the caddy … You have a relationship with your caddy, maybe they make some recommendations, I suppose, when you’re getting ready to swing or picking your club or I’m really trying to sound like I know what I’m talking about. And I was wondering to what extent AdapTee Golf mimics that relationship between the golfer and the caddy or if it’s a little bit different than how we think of that traditionally.
Andrew Mitchell:
I’m happy to take this one. So when I’m performing at the caddy or Josh and I are out there playing around together, I have the job of it being a conversation about I see this putt this way and I think it’s got this much break and we think it’s a 35-degree putt and this is our aim point. All these little things that … In able-bodied golf, that’s what a caddy would be doing. And so in that respect, it’s the exact same. And Josh and I do not agree on most things as we get up to the ball, but we’ve done this for so long that we whittle things down to a point where we do agree and it’s just a very quick back and forth. And the point at which AdapTee Golf differs from able-bodied golf is that my job as the caddy is to try to confidently relate the information I see in front of me to Josh so he can make the best possible decision. But the moment Josh says to me, “All right, I’m ready to address the ball,” that’s when all my input and my decision making stops, and I am a conduit for Josh’s shot. So even if I think he’s wrong about something, that’s now irrelevant, Josh has said, “I’m ready to hit my shot. I want your hands here. I want the club face there. I want this power level.” And that’s no longer my decision.
And so it’s my job from there to just faithfully carry out every single thing that Josh tells me to do. And more often than not, when I think I’m right and I’m confident about it, and Josh, even after hearing that, will say to me, “You know what? Even after all that information, I still think you’re wrong,” I’m going to do it my way. I would say nine times out of 10, Josh is right. And that’s just how it’s played out in the years that we’ve been playing AdapTee Golf together. And that’s what you have to do as a caddy and it’s really tempting to try to make a micro change or you want your player to do as well as they possibly can, and you think that you’re helping by making a small change. But as a caddy, if you make that small change, you are taking autonomy away from the player. And that’s not your job. I mean, the job is to make sure that people play well. Your job is also to make sure that people make mistake and then learn from them. For me, that’s one of the biggest joys in golf is screwing up a shot and standing there and going, “Wow, geez, what went wrong there and how do I get better at it next time?”
Michelle Bishop:
That’s really helpful, Andrew. Thank you. It strikes me that the AdapTee Golf mirrors that relationship between the golfer and the caddy, but it also works in terms of disability rights and how we think about accommodation and adaptation in general, right? We talk a lot about independence and what that word means. And in the disability rights movement, independence doesn’t mean that you have to do everything completely on your own with no assistance. What it means is you’re in charge of how it’s done, and that you should still be in control of your life and your physical person, and that the person who is assisting respects that. So it just struck me, as we were having this conversation, how well this way of golfing really marries the traditional role of golfer and caddy, as well as the role of a person with a disability and their assistant. And I just think that’s really cool. And I can imagine as a disabled golfer, that must feel … It’s got to feel great to get out there on the course, but also to still have that sense of independence as a golfer.
Josh Basile:
There’s no doubt about that. As a high-level quadriplegic, I’m very dependent on so many aspects of my life, but with technology and helpful hands, I become independent, and I love being able to get that out there with Andrew or whoever else I’m playing with. Luckily, it’s Andrew a lot these days. And when I do get out to play, it is a team effort. But at the end of the day, being able to have the ability to make those choices, it gives me power on the golf course. And it makes me feel not only as an athlete again, but also just like me. And I know we all come with our own unique abilities and everything by my injury and paralysis has made me into the advocate I am today.
And I love everything that my injury has taught me, but at the same time, being able to get back out on a golf course and compete again, it’s just I’m pulled there, and I couldn’t do it without Andrew and without technology. And we have now the ability to have the Swingless Golf Club, the Power2Golf Club, it’s what it’s called. We use the slingshot and then we have the pendulum putting device. And together, all those different devices, we’re able to play golf at a very high level and have fun, and we get to turn heads, and we get make memories with friends and bring out new people like Kate to experience it. And it’s such a blast.
And right now with the grant that we got, we’re bringing out to six regions across the country, and over the next two years, we’re having so many other regions call up to us be like, “Could we get it before then?” And we’re like, “Yes.” And we were able to talk through what they need to do to get the right equipment to understand how to get an ambassador to be able to train the different caddies or the family members, as you would say, to be able to experience it. But our goal is to get universal equipment and out to different sites for anybody in that community to use and then play.
Jack Rosen:
So I think we should take a step back there. I mean … So you came up with this originally as a way for you to get back into golf, and now it’s become something, it seems a lot bigger than that and that you are trying to get as many people into AdapTee Golf as you can. I mean, how did this go from something that was more of a personal pursuit to a organization with a mission to spread AdapTee Golf?
Josh Basile:
It really started with my nonprofit. So 10 months after my injury … So this is back in 2004. So 10 months after that would be 2005. So I was injured August 1st, 2004. I had so many incredible mentors come into my life and key pieces of information that changed the trajectory of how I transitioned into this new world of paralysis. And that’s when I founded through friends and family the Determined2Heal Foundation. So Determined, the number 2, Heal Foundation with the goal of simplifying the transition into life with paralysis. And over the next two years, we ended up creating spinalpedia.com, which is now the world’s largest video mentoring network for the paralysis community. We have over 39,000 videos broken down by physical functionality. And you put your exact movement in and, all of a sudden, you have a thousand mentors to show you how to tackle all things of daily living, transferring, driving, sport, getting back to school, parenting, you name it. We have a video for basically everything. But that was how we were able to mentor families in their homes.
And then we started bringing families out on adventures to iFLY, to do indoor skydiving, to go surfing, to do adaptive sailing, to do all these programs that presented itself locally. And with my nonprofit, we were able just to get hundreds upon hundreds of families that were like, “I’m willing and able to go have some fun.” And then the nonprofit just organized it and paid for all the adventures for the families. So that’s … We started bringing all these adventures together and, at the same time, paralaw was playing slingshot golf and getting much better at it and fine-tuning it. We ended up bringing it down, did an adventurous a week down where we sailed a catamaran from Key West to Cuba and introduced slingshot golf to a Cuban paraplegic in Cuba, and ESPN documented it and we sailed back. But it’s been an adventure, to say the least. But along that adventure of mentoring families, I’ve got to know tens of thousands of community members across the country.
And when we do different clinics and other things, I always have a long list of people that I can call to in my Rolodex to say, “You want to have some fun today or do you want to come out and we’ll do a Topgolf driving range event where the Topgolf is like” … It actually has a computer chip in the ball and they can bring you food to your place on the range. And it’s like you can bring 20 to 40 people out and have a good time that way, but it’s evolved over time of just loving being surrounded by community and having the resources from friends and family to fundraise to make sure that all these adventures are free for families is how this is going. And we just got this amazing grant to bring it to six regions across the country, which is elevating us to another level and actually has given Andrew, this is his full-time job, he’s the director of AdapTee Golf and he’s been on a mission to get this.
And we flew out to Vegas last month. Andrew’s flying to Nashville next week, to Minnesota next month, and here we go. It’s just the beginning to something big. But I guess the other big thing, just to piggyback off, just to share this with people, is one of my biggest motivators is to create … We ended up doing this adaptive golf tournament in Pennsylvania two years ago and we went to play in it. And it was the Pennsylvania AdapTee Open and the organizer of it was incredible. They invited us in with open arms. But at the end of the day, there’s all these different classes for disability where everybody plays by the same rules within that class, depending on your unique abilities, whether you’re an amputee, spinal cord injury, you have cognitive disability, low vision or blindness, whatever it might be, of what your unique abilities are, there’s usually a class to play at.
And if you fall in that class, then you get to compete against everybody else based on the modified rules of golf. But unfortunately, there’s not a class for people that cannot swing a club and use an adaptive device and caddy. So we started testing it out with an adaptive opens to now create the rules behind AdapTee Golf and be able with the regions that we’re going to be bringing it to across the country, we’re going to have regional tournaments, then we’re going to fly out all the winners for a national tournament where we can show, through these rules, we can create a new competitive class and change the modified rules of golf so that we can compete.
When I did this tournament in Pennsylvania, I played and I played really well, but my score didn’t count because there’s no class for us to play in. So it’s … First year, I think I took fifth place. Second year, I tied for first place, but there’s a big asterisk next to my score basically saying it does not count. So that’s another big inspiration to figure this out and to get competition going and to learn from competition.
Jack Rosen:
No, absolutely. And you stole my next question because that was exactly what I wanted to ask about, but I think we should just take a minute to just expand on what you said there and explain for the folks at home, especially the nongolfers. So just for context here, golf is a very rules-governed game, even though a lot of people, myself included, are sometimes a little more casual about the rules if we’re playing on Sunday. Don’t always count the penalty for sinking one in the water off the tee box because I’m out there to have fun and I’m not on the tour. But if you’re playing golf in a competition, there is the USGA rule book that governs … I think you might agree, Josh, it would be fair to say, it governs pretty much everything. And there are modified rules for people with disabilities. It’s, I believe, Rule 25. And as Josh alluded, there are various modifications or what we might even call accommodations for people with disabilities, but as Josh is pointing out here, that the rules do not cover when someone is unable to swing a club. So it is so exciting that you’re trying to build this new category of golf. And I assume with that in mind, are you hoping to get a modification to the USGA rule book?
Josh Basile:
That’s the dream right there. One of the things I’ve learned since my paralysis is the importance of mentors and being a mentee. So basically, for the rest of my life, I’m going to be mentoring and I’m going to be a mentee. And there’s always more to learn. There’s always more to give. But I’ve had some really incredible mentors in the game of golf, especially in the adaptive world, of being able to connect with other national organizations that are bringing the game of golf to all abilities, to Andrew connecting with a past PGA professionals or the CEO of the PGA, things of that nature. We basically picked all their brains and even people on the governing committee, what do we have to do to actually bring this? And they first said, “You need to test it out. You need to get people to start playing the game and then you need to bring it into a competition and learn what works, what do you face, what are the different parts of the game where you’re not thinking of a rule to make it so that it’s even and consistent for everybody else so everybody plays by the same rules.”
So for us on the tee … We call it AdapTee Golf, so that’s A-D-A-P-T-E-E Golf. So it’s got the T-E-E, AdapTee. And so we actually use tees, different level, different heights of tees. So off the tee box or on the fairway, you can use any of the different heights of tees that you want, but if you end up going in the rough, it brings you down to a lower level tee, which gives you less ability to shape a shot and to be able to have a higher trajectory for it to land on a smooth part. Or if it lands in a bunker, depending on where the bunker is on the course, that’s right on the green side, or if it’s a fairway bunker, you have a different tee that you could use. But basically, wherever the ball lands, you have the ability to use a tee. Or if you don’t want to use a tee, you don’t have to. I always choose to use it because it just gives you more clubs in the bag to choose from in my opinion.
And then there’s different rules of … Because a lot of times, our power wheelchairs are so darn heavy, we never go onto the green itself, so we go around the greens. But thanks to the pendulum putting device, the way that it’s set up, you can actually see the lines on the back of the putter and be able to manipulate the club through Andrew’s helpful hands or the caddy’s helpful hands to choose the correct angle and the path that it’s going to go. And then on the shaft of the club, there’s a protractor with different degrees. So I know a one-degree putt to 180-degree putt, there’s a different … I can choose a five-foot putt or 120-foot putt depending on the degrees that we select. And then when the ruler arm points to the ground, it actually just swings, connects to the ball, and you have that distance, but obviously, golf is tough because you never get really a flat putt. It’s usually uphill, downhill, breaking left and right, golf’s hard. It’s a very hard sport, but you got to make the right decisions.
But basically, with the modified rules of golf, we’re coming up with all the different ways that eventually everybody’s going to play by the same rules, and we’re going to have those tournaments and we’re going to compete again, and we’re going to hopefully learn and show the world that this can be a possibility. And one of the coolest things is this summer, on the Washington DC area, the Adaptive Open, the US Adaptive Open, is coming to Woodmont Country Club this summer in July. And the best golfers in the world, adaptive golfers in the world, are coming out to compete in that. And they have all the different classes other than AdapTee Golf. But to be able to see that and experience it and learn how they do it, there’s just always more to learn. And I’m so excited about that coming this summer.
Jack Rosen:
That is so exciting. And we should definitely also include a link in the show notes for people to learn more about the Adaptive Open. There is so much more I want to ask you, but I think I might close with this. Josh, from the sound of it, I have roughly similar stock yardage to you with the driver. How do you play the ninth hole on Sligo? I always end up a little short on that dogleg right and then I’m trying to get it through the trees. What’s your strategy?
Josh Basile:
So this is a … The last hole is the ninth hole. It’s the longest hole on Sligo. It’s a par four, but, yeah, it’s got this big dogleg right from the four tees where we play at, instead of playing it smart and shooting it straight down the fairway and then taking another shot to the green. I actually go over these huge ginormous trees where I get to cut the distance in half and I just skyrocket it at 200 yard power straight up at the air, and then it just drops on a dime right on the green, and it’s the coolest. I remember the first time I attempted it, I was like, “I’m going to lose some balls today.”
And then all of a sudden, it went over and landed near the green, and then we were like, “All right, I think we have the ability to have a little shortcut and go for an eagle putt on this last par four,” which we’ve been doing this match play event for the last … We’ve done two match play events against the head pros at the course. We actually did it a few weeks ago with Kate, but we did it last September as well. And the last two years, it came down to the final hole, and that’s our hole to bring it home on. It’s so much fun. But Kate and I partnered up together to play against the head pro and his son who both worked there and we had a gallery and everybody came out. It was such a fun way of demonstrating how we approached the game of golf. And Kate was an incredible partner and it was a really fun day to have fun with her friend and compete side by side. It’s really the first time I’ve ever competed side by side with a quadriplegic. And we did it together. It was so cool.
Andrew Mitchell:
And in terms of how the competition plays out, Dave and Nick, they did a roller mode. They know the pressure’s on when it comes to the ninth hole because they’ve seen Josh nail that shot so many times. So we get to roll into that final hole feeling pretty confident. So it’s a lot of fun to be able to put the pressure on on your competitors like that.
Jack Rosen:
That’s is … I mean, thank you for sharing both what it means to you in a competition. And I think I’m now going to lose a sleeve of balls Sunday when I try to shoot it over the trees because you got to try to go for it.
Josh Basile:
You got to get high. That’s the key. Both Dave and his son ended up trying to go over the trees and they didn’t hit it high enough and they lost both their balls in the woods, but because we were actually … Yeah, it’s fun to go after it and I’d love to go out with you and play, and maybe Kate and I can have a fun round with you and it’d be a fun local adventure to go on.
Jack Rosen:
Absolutely.
Michelle Bishop:
That’s like another podcast episode. I think we need to make that happen.
Andrew Mitchell:
I mean, I think it’d be pretty cool if we could find a way to just have us mic’d up for nine holes or even just a couple holes. I think it would be interesting to hear … You’ve heard a lot about how Josh thinks about and ensues the game. I think it would also be really interesting to get that new player perspective. What is Kate saying to me when she is thinking about setting up a shot and it’s all Kate? This is not Josh’s decision making anymore. I don’t know. I think that might be fun for folks to be able to hear and getting a new player’s head.
Michelle Bishop:
Okay, now I’m thinking video footage.
Kate Strickland:
I would just chime in and say definitely, Andrew. And for anyone listening who’s thinking, “Wow, maybe I can’t golf because Josh is so experienced and he’s been doing this forever,” I’ve played five rounds of golf at Sligo Creek. That is it. I had no golf background before that. It is still welcoming. It is still inclusive. You are still able to play. And from the very first round, Andrew, as my caddy, was able to explain the golf terms, the things I was looking for. He still confirms when I ask. I should know this by now, but I always ask, so I’m shooting for this particular position and making sure I’m looking at the right place.
And the whole program is so welcoming and great at educating new players that I never had anxiety after the first hole that I wouldn’t be able to do any of this because I had absolutely no background in golf. So just a quick reminder that anyone can play and it is super fun to learn. I can’t say I’m perfect. I will never be perfect at this game. And my balls still occasionally will randomly cut right or left when I wasn’t anticipating that. But you do learn and you do start to remember some of the lingo, like eagle putt, and birdies, and everything like that. I’m slowly learning, but it is accessible. And don’t be intimidated even if you don’t have a background in golf.
Andrew Mitchell:
And if people listening, do watch our Sligo Creek match, which I think we’ll be able to send a link over to you guys. We worked with a great film crew and they did a fantastic job telling our story out there. But you’ll hear right at the beginning of the video, Kate say, “Ooh, okay, I think this is going to be straight. Andrew, that was not straight.” It’s like right at the top of the video. I think that was our first tee shot, but we figured it out.
Josh Basile:
We ended up taking that shot, by the way, Kate, that you said was not straight. It was a great drive, I thought. And just for anybody that’s here just today, this AdapTee Golf is a game for all abilities. If you think that you’ve been blocked out from playing just with a willingness to try and the right equipment and helpful hands and getting out there, just showing up, getting out there, you might find a new sport in life that can be a lifelong sport or you might find this sport that you don’t want to do. But if you don’t get out there and try it or experience the world around you within any activities, you just never know. And for anybody that wants to learn more, go to adaptee.com or I’m sorry, adapteegolf.com. And we’ll have a URL in the description or we’re going to have Andrew’s … It’s [email protected] and Andrew could share with you how you could bring it to your region. And just basically, we’re here to expand the game of golf to all abilities. So just we can’t do this journey without you. So if you’re interested, hit us up. And again, Jack, Michelle, thank you so much for having us on your program today.
Michelle Bishop:
Okay, guys, I’m in. You’ve sold me. We’re going to go. I’m going to learn how to play and I’m going to learn the lingo and everything. We’re going to bring our film crew. Our film crew is Jack, literally just Jack. Actually, Jack wants to play. We’ll make Stephanie work the camera. And we’re going to make this happen. I sense a short film. Stephanie’s blind. We’ll get somebody else to work the camera.
Josh Basile:
I love it. Sounds like a …
Andrew Mitchell:
And don’t forget the outfit.
Josh Basile:
… great day.
Andrew Mitchell:
It’s a key part of the game. We got to look good to feel good. Oh, yeah.
Michelle Bishop:
Sold. Stephanie and I are on this. We’re going to learn golf. We’re very into the fashion. All right, deal.
Andrew Mitchell:
Love it. Love it, love it.
Jack Rosen:
Wow, that was a really fun episode. I’m glad I managed to finally get a sports one.
Michelle Bishop:
I know this has been a dream of yours for a long time, and I’m happy I could be a part of it. And I actually learned three things about golf, and we’re going to go golf with them. And Stephanie’s going to record and work the camera, right, Stephanie?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Of course, especially working the camera. I’m really good at camera-ing.
Michelle Bishop:
You have such an eye and they definitely call it camera-ing.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Yes.
Michelle Bishop:
Yes.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Exactly.
Michelle Bishop:
And not filming or recording.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Right, exactly. Camera-ing.
Michelle Bishop:
Right?
Jack Rosen:
Yeah. That’s one of my core job functions is camera-ing.
Michelle Bishop:
Camera-ing and podcasting and social media-ing.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Yes.
Jack Rosen:
Yes.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I’m here for it. You know what else I’m here for?
Michelle Bishop:
Oh, no, this is a joke, isn’t it?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
A joke and it’s slightly athletic. So anyway, why did the bike fall over?
Jack Rosen:
Why did the bike fall over?
Michelle Bishop:
The bike fall over?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Got any guesses for me?
Michelle Bishop:
I’m so scared.
Jack Rosen:
I have no idea where you’re going with this.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Come on. Come on. Somebody’s got to guess at least once.
Michelle Bishop:
I have to take Lexapro to get through this part. I have no guesses. Okay. Stephanie, why did the bike fall over?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Because it was too tired. Get it?
Jack Rosen:
I get it.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Are you okay? Is Michelle laughing?
Michelle Bishop:
Just saying, I get it very dryly.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Well, you heard it here, folks.
Michelle Bishop:
That was a good one. Before we wrap up, guys, I have to say a very special shout out on this episode to close family friend, navyman, and all around, good guy, Andy. You may not know, he is the most avid listener of this podcast. You may recall last year, two years ago when I called out my mom when we found out she didn’t actually listen to my podcast, and I threatened to call her out on every episode until someone told her, it was actually Andy who came to our rescue and made her start listening. And when I saw him recently at my niece’s christening, he reminded me that I have not given him a shout-out in a while. So, hey, Andy, we love you. Thanks.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
OMG. Yay, another listener. Thank you so much, Andy.
Michelle Bishop:
So now we … I want to say that we have two, but I’m pretty sure my mom hasn’t actually been listening.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
What?
Michelle Bishop:
Yeah. Yeah. So we’re going to have to, Andy, get on her again. Okay. Thanks. Appreciate it.
Jack Rosen:
And shout out US Open winner, J.J. Spaun, who I learned has a disability. J.J., if you’d like to be on the podcast, you can reach us at [email protected].
Michelle Bishop:
J.J. Spaun’s like the coolest name I’ve ever heard. Jack, do you want to tell the people where they can find us on social media?
Jack Rosen:
Yes, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Bluesky, threads. Probably not TikTok, I don’t know. I’ve given up on the whole concept.
Michelle Bishop:
Haven’t we posted to TikTok?
Jack Rosen:
No.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I thought we had.
Jack Rosen:
We have never posted to TikTok.
Michelle Bishop:
Oh.
Jack Rosen:
And if I have my choice, we never will. Until next time, folks.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Bye.
