The last time Alistair Bonham had hit a golf ball was in January 2025.
Having been paralysed after a skiing accident, Bonham was unable to return to the sport he played recreationally.
That is until Lytham Green Drive Golf Club, the club at which he is a member, told him there could be a chance to rekindle his love of the game.
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The club gained access to a Paragolfer – an all-terrain mobility vehicle which allows users with lower limb disabilities to adopt a standing position in order to freely swing a golf club.
“The first time I stood, at the Southport Spinal Unit, that was a wooden frame – I cried in there so I’ve done my crying,” Bonham told BBC Radio Lancashire.
“I assumed I may well burst into tears as I stood [in the Paragolfer] but no, I’ve done my bit. It was very strange but I’d broken the ice as far as my tears were concerned.”
The impact the aid can have on users is potentially life-changing.
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Yet it is not a cheap bit of kit, retailing at around £28,000.
Other similar options – including the Vertacat and Paramotion Golf Wheelchair – are on the market for prices in the same ballpark.
Bonham’s use of the equipment came as Lytham Green Drive held a demonstration day, as part of a fundraising campaign by the club in order to finance it.
With help from Sport England and the Bobby Ball Foundation, the club has surpassed more than half of its target, and should they eventually raise the necessary funds, it will bring the usage of a Paragolfer to Lancashire.
No mean feat given the club say the nearest one currently is in Derby.
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‘Game-changer’ – but ‘big fundraising target’
For Phil Meadows, the device changed his life when he first used one 12 years ago.
So much so that he invested in one himself.
“I used one at the British Open in Ufford Park in Suffolk, tried somebody else’s, liked it. However, I couldn’t afford it,” he said.
“My nan passed away, and left me some inheritance, so I was able to buy my own. I bought one, second-hand, which I’ve had now for 11 years.
“It was a game changer, because obviously it allows me to play from a standing position, aided. You have a knee brace which keeps your knees in, and a chest brace that keeps you strapped in, and then it stands you from a standing position.
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“You can play either one-handed or two-handed to take your golf shot. I play two-handed because it suits my game and that’s how I’ve always played.”
Donna Sully is Lytham Green’s former chief executive and current member of their fundraising team.
Having hosted the Lancashire Disability Golf event last year, Sully was inspired after seeing some golfers use the Paragolfer.
“To see them out and about on the course, able to play golf with their peers, was an inspiration, as well as the way they support each other and the pleasure they derive from still being able to play our wonderful sport of golf,” she said.
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“Part of the motivation to raise the money for a Paragolfer was to get Alistair back out on the course with his friends playing the sport that he loves as well.
“But the bad news was that they are £28,000. It’s a sophisticated bit of kit and for us that’s a big target.”
One club member raised £1,000 from a sponsored cycle while Sully and another member of staff have further plans to bring down the deficit.
“We’ve been talking about running the course for a couple of years,” Sully added. “So on 12 June the course will be closed apart from to runners and walkers and we’re doing a 5km fun run around the course to raise money towards the Paragolfer.
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“I’d love to see us clear £1,000 for the charity from that, so we’re working our way towards it.”
‘Start banging the drum and raising the profile’
Oliver Hirst-Greenham, a member of disability golf collective Broken Playaz, which raises the profile of the sport, has had an impressive golfing career.
Hirst-Greenham, who has hip dysplasia, took up golf and went on to become English, Scottish and Welsh Open champion.
He got into the sport through the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA).
“A guy at work saw this EDGA golf thing going on, so I applied for it and got in,” he said.
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“I’ve been all over the world. I’ve played on the DP World Tour, at the Singapore Classic, which was amazing. [I’ve] played alongside all these top tour pros and it’s absolutely changed my life.”
Given his own pathway and how much golf has changed his life, Hirst-Greenham said that seeing the impact of the Paragolfer at first hand has made it all the more important that awareness is raised about the equipment.
He added: “The more we can start banging the drum, raising the profile and helping Alistair out… I saw him hit his first putt [since the accident] and I’ve seen him hitting the driver for the first time and it’s just amazing.”
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