A first-of-its-kind adaptive golf championship for players who are disabled teed off Monday in Bucks County. It was really windy out on the golf course, but the people playing in the adaptive championship know all about dealing with challenges.

The Golf Association of Philadelphia hosted its inaugural adaptive championship at Lookaway Golf Club in Bucks County.

“My goal is to make sure you don’t even realize that I’m disabled,” Larry Celano said. 

Celano has a spinal injury from being shot in military service and plays the game from a cart.

“To me, it means everything in the world because we’re a big happy family,” he said.

That includes 82-year-old Judy Brush from Washington, D.C.

“I love golf and I play golf two to three days a week,” said Brush, who has a prosthetic leg after an ankle replacement surgery went bad. But that hasn’t stopped her golf game.

“It’s really nice, I feel like it’s my tribe. It’s nice to play with people who understand everything you have to go through in order to be able to play,” she said.

There are 60 adaptive players from 21 states and five countries competing in this championship at the Lookaway Golf Club in Bucks County.

“We have a lot of neuromuscular, we see cerebral palsy, amputees, a lot of seated players, you have a large variety and that’s probably the best thing about adaptive golf,” Manager of Adaptive Golf at Golf Association of Philadelphia Anna Kittelson said. “Nobody should be limited because of their disability.”

Kittelson said this adaptive championship is about embracing all abilities.

“Their day-to-day life is hard enough that anything we can do to make it easier and show them that we care about them is what we want to do,” she said.

Mike Tallman, who has a spinal injury from an ice hockey accident, is a veteran of adaptive golf.

“I’ve been playing in the cart for 21 years now but to get out and finally compete against some other people from different areas of the country — it’s fun,” Tallman said.

Here it’s all about hitting past challenges and sinking puts.

This inaugural adaptive championship is a 36-hole, two-day event. The players said in addition to having a lot of fun, it’s physically and mentally beneficial.

Stephanie Stahl

Stephanie Stahl is an Emmy Award-winning health reporter. She can be seen daily on CBS News Philadelphia and Philly57.