David's Chair: Steve Furst is the Founder and CEO of David's Chair, a non-profit that is doing incredible work to help individuals with mobility-limiting conditions access the outdoors and enjoy activities like golf with dignity and independence. Bringing adaptive golf chairs to golf courses across the U.S. is such a fantastic initiative, and it's inspiring to hear about the potential for such enormous barriers being overcome.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome to the MyGolfSource podcast.
Welcome to MyGolfSource.
I'm Darren and I'm Noah.
We stopped saying what episodeit is.
I forgot.
Now it's like eight.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, I think we're just rolling at this point with
all the fun golf in the world.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
We've got enough down to say we don't have to count
anymore, right.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah, I like that.
What's new in your world?
Lots is going on here at theGolf Garage.
We are merging West Coast GolfAcademy into the Golf Garage
Academy and we are creating aglobal academy at the moment.
So coaching staff's on boardJust hired another golf coach,
(00:56):
slash professional, logan Gena,who's been in the industry for
about 12 years from Eagle Pointand really excited.
I think he's going to be on thepodcast here in the coming
weeks and has a ton ofexperience and brings a lot to
the table for us.
So I know the whole Golf Garagefamily is ready and excited to
have him.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Excited to meet him.
I know I had met him previouslywhen he was organizing some
youth events that my son wasinvolved in and he just got done
talking to me about howpassionate he is about youth
golf and we talk a lot aboutthat on the show.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, I mean youth golf is where it starts.
I mean my focus as a playerdevelopment expert is going to
be youth golf, ladies golf, andthen usually the husbands or the
gentlemen will come to followafter.
So for us it's all about youthgolf starting out.
And one little side note onLogan was PGA Junior League is a
big national phenomenon rightnow it's spring, it's ramping up
(01:51):
, depending on the place youknow, area of the country you
live, and I remember going outto Eagle Point with our team
versus their team and Loganbrings out two 40-gallon garbage
cans full of water balloons andwe had about.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I remember that.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, exactly, I think, I think you were there
and you know, and it was so coolbecause, um, you know, he was
in the middle of all of it, notafraid to get wet, just getting
hammered by all of his kids, andI think at the end of it he won
, cause I think he picked up thegarbage can and dumped it on a
couple of them that were gettinghim.
But it was definitely a goodtime, that's cool, he's a big
guy.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
He's not one who I'd want to mess with.
No, he looks like he works outa little bit.
Yeah, he hits it pretty far.
What's happening on tour Rory?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
McIlroy won the players in a playoff.
Yeah, you know it's funny, Rorybeing an outspoken person, you
like, it's so hard not to lovehim.
I don't know, I don't know whatit is.
People say things about Roryand I'm like well, how do you
not love that guy?
He's five foot seven and hehits it 350 yards and he's not
afraid to speak his mind and Ithink that's really good for
(03:00):
golf right now, Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
It adds entertainment value, it makes it real, it
makes it relatable.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Yeah, without question.
And if you really look at it, Imean he was kind of screwed a
little bit on the PGA tour witheverything that happened.
They're like, hey, we want youto be the spokesperson when live
was going on.
And then all of a sudden nowthey're like oh, what's what's
going on?
And everything was hidden fromall those tour players you know.
And again, all we see is whatwe see on tv.
So who knows what's actuallyhappening behind closed doors?
(03:28):
But it seemed to me like theplayers didn't really know
either.
So what's your gut feeling?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
as far as uh merger with live and pga I mean, I
think it's inevitable.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
I mean, I don't the world's a big place, right, but
when you have superstars, atsome point it becomes obviously
about money and those superstarsmade a choice to go to a
certain place that was betterfor their family.
I don't blame them for that.
I don't blame them either.
No, I think what is going tohappen is the PGA Tour is such
an established environment.
(03:59):
The events that are partneredwith the PGA Tour will never
change.
So you have these events whereUS Opens, usga Masters is run by
the Masters, pga Championshipis PGA of America, pga Tour and
(04:19):
then the British Open,essentially RNA.
So the majors they can stillkind of play in and seize it,
but we need those players fromLive to play on the PGA Tour and
vice versa.
Just open it up, make it a freemarket.
Don't hold them down justbecause and again, contracts are
expiring on Liv, so you knowhow much more are they going to
pay these guys to keep it going?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Saudi Arabia they've got a lot of money.
They've got deep, deep pockets.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
You never know.
You Saudi Arabia, they've got alot of money.
They've got deep, deep pockets.
You never know, you never know.
But I think there could besomething good happening in the
works behind the scenes and Ireally hope for our sake and
entertainment value.
I'd love to see BrysonDeChambeau out there a lot more.
I'd love to see DJ back out.
I mean, some of these guys thatcross over.
You're like, yeah, I'd be great.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And I, these guys that cross over.
You're like Mickelson back outthere.
Yeah, it'd be great, and Ithink it's just good for golf.
So it'll be interesting to seewhat they come up with.
Is there any scuttlebutt?
Speaker 1 (05:12):
in the PGA any feathers ruffled with the whole
TGL man.
I haven't heard a lot, you knowfrom my standpoint um, just
being in the golf um arena.
But I think it's good for thegame too.
It's just another avenue tobring in entertainment.
I guess what I'm curious aboutwith TGL is how long will it
last?
Right?
(05:32):
So I watch it because TigerWoods is on it, right, plain and
simple, and Rory's on it.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
And.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Rory's on it, but it's always Tiger Woods for me.
I grew up with Tiger.
I mean I remember watching himwin the 97 Masters runaway
victory.
I'm sitting crisscrossapplesauce two feet from the
tube, like at my friend's house,literally just screaming like
break the record, break therecord.
You know what I mean and thatwas so entertaining for me and
(05:59):
I'm a huge Tiger fan, no matterwhat he does.
And so for Rory and you, youknow some of those other guys.
I mean there's just nothinglike that phenomenon, so you're
glued to it regardless.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
If Tiger's there, you're glued to it does Tiger
have another major win under hisbelt?
Speaker 1 (06:16):
oh man he, he doesn't look good physically.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
No right, I mean quite frankly well, he hits the
ball as good as he ever did.
But it's his stamina for 18holes.
Right or actually for four days.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Well, yeah.
So how much pain is it?
It's more than four days, right?
So tour players are going tothe golf course, potentially on
a Sunday or a Monday.
They're getting there to putt,chip, get a feel for the greens,
get a practice round, andeverybody's different.
So are you playing 18 holes?
Are you playing every day?
Are you playing 18, 9, 9, 9?
Like, what is it that you'retrying to accomplish?
(06:53):
I know my short amount of timeout on the PGA Tour lesson team.
You know sometimes you overdoit, you know, and when you
overdo it in practice, thinkingthat you need that extra round,
I mean, they all know how to hitthe ball, they all know how to
putt it's it's more the mindsetat that point of, hey, do I
really need to see the courseagain?
And the thing about the PGAtour is the rotation is the same
(07:16):
pretty much every year.
So a lot of those guys knowwhat courses they play well at.
They know what courses they areconfident in.
Maybe they've had a victory, sothey have that extra confidence
and that's what gets them outof the slump.
Essentially, right is oh, Iplay well here.
So you know, golf is hard ingeneral from the standpoint of
winning and you win a major,you're probably in the hall of
(07:38):
fame.
So right, I mean with Tiger.
I mean, what does he have toprove?
I mean with Tiger?
I mean what does he have toprove?
I mean the whole-.
He's won every major.
He's won every major.
He has a Tiger slam On top ofthat, like in his mind does he
want to beat Jack?
Yeah, probably.
You know that's justcompetition, but he has a family
that's up and coming.
So what is it that he's goingto do?
(07:59):
Will he always play in majorsIf he's healthy?
Speaker 2 (08:06):
yeah, 100.
Does he need to play anythingelse?
I mean, I don't know exactly.
Not save it, save it.
We talk a lot about golfaccessibility.
We've talked so much about theyouth and everything, um, but
today's guest steve first is theceo and founder of an, a
non-profit called david's chair.
The first I I saw of david'schair was a guy out who was
(08:27):
paralyzed from the chest downand he was out playing 18 holes
of golf on stone ridge golfcourse in a golf chair.
That was, you know, um, wasadaptive the that that allowed
him to play play golf.
And he was just tearing it upout there and I was completely
amazed.
(08:48):
And then we started talkingwith Steve and they do a charity
golf tournament every year outat Stone Ridge, which is amazing
and just so much fun.
Steve, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Hey, thank you, glad to be here.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Tell us about I've heard this, but tell everybody
else the story behind David'schair.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Well, it started with a David Hartrick, a friend of
mine.
We grew up here in the RogueValley and it started with just
him wanting to access theoutdoors after developing ALS.
He knew his ALS diagnosis wasterminal and he already realized
his ALS was pretty aggressive.
So when, um, when he reachedout to people to try and help
(09:31):
him get this track chair becauseinsurance won't cover that they
paid for his $80,000 ALS chairbut not a $20,000 track chair
that would get him out in natureand wildlife.
So basically, to kind of make along story short, we ended up
putting together a fundraisergetting a track chair for him.
We raised enough money for ayouth chair and we'd always
(09:53):
talked about the fact that whenhe did his research, a lot of
people had track chairs and theynever got to really use them
because they didn't have theresources, ability to take them
places other than their backyardand things.
So we thought, well, I shouldsay he knew that he wasn't going
to be long for this world withthe diagnosis and wanted to pass
(10:15):
on the chair and have peopleuse it.
So we came up with a nonprofitidea like, hey, people can check
out the chair and use it forfree.
And that was the concept andthe the.
The thing we talked about waswhat other things can we do to
help people with mobilitychallenges get out there and
enjoy life?
Then the paragolfers aresomething that, um, we came
across a few years ago and wethought what a great idea to
(10:37):
give people with mobilitychallenges from paralysis, um,
alas, amputations, strokes, alltypes of other things that that
hurt your mobility give them upto be competitive or
recreational in a sport thateither they once played and
can't play, or that they'venever played.
We have people that took upgolf after their injury because
(11:00):
they want to do somethingcompetitive or get out and just
enjoy life and do somethingrecreational.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
So these golf chairs, tell me about how they function
technically and what they do.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
They're pretty awesome piece of equipment
they're.
They're running 30 to $35,000 apiece.
They're not like a golf cartlike that.
You can get from 3500 to maybeif you get a souped up one for
seven grand.
Um, they have gyros in them.
They're a three-wheeled cartand the gyros help you when
you're working on a hill orsomething and addressing your
ball, making sure that you, youknow they don't flip or
(11:31):
something as you swing.
But the great thing about themis they allow a player to stand
up, they support them and theway the chair is designed, they
can actually take a free swing.
There's nothing in the way.
You know, unlike the trackchairs, they're big, cumbersome.
They're like mini tanks.
These things are delicate,high-tech pieces of machinery
(11:52):
and they can go on the greensand they don't damage the greens
.
You've seen them.
You've seen people put on thegreens they've got like golf
cart type soft tires on themyeah, and then they're just you
know, and then they're justdesigned really well to to give
as much freedom as you can outthere and allow people to, you
know, play golf and becompetitive and have fun.
(12:12):
How many golf chairs do youhave?
We have three currently.
We have two of the originalParagolfer styles and Anthony
Netto is the gentleman thatcreated these and he no longer
makes the Paragolfers and theywent into the VertiCat style and
I think we're going to get aVertiCat down here on display,
(12:33):
hopefully soon, at the GolfGarage, just so people can see
it and then maybe click on alink and get some information
about adaptive golf, becauseeverybody should be able to golf
.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
And we're going to do whatever we can to make it to
where anybody can accessoutdoors recreation and access
golf and the use of these chairsis absolutely free, right.
Everything.
Yeah, we always.
And that's the thing Davidtalked about.
He understood that when you'rein a situation where you have
medical bills and you can't workand things like that, that it's
(13:07):
financially challenging just tolive day to day.
So we don't want to chargepeople that are in these
situations, so it is free.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Well, it's unique.
I've gotten to hit out of aDavid's chair, I think three
times now Hit one good once.
And it is interesting you knowto stand in that and want to use
your legs Right and you're youalmost need to, not, you know,
(13:39):
and I, and I think it's so funwhen we go to these charity
events and you get to try to dothat and it's like a competition
or it's a fundraiser or whatnot, for awareness, even right,
regardless of if it's raisingmoney, it's just that awareness.
To say like this is givingsomeone the opportunity to do
something that without it theycouldn't do.
And you know, I think that frommy standpoint as a PGA
(14:02):
professional and growing thegame, it's just like an amazing
invention and it's come a longway as well, like the newer
version, like you were saying.
It's really, really um.
It's just amazing to me thatyou know you can go on the golf
course with this heavy piece ofmachinery and it's built so well
that it doesn't hurt the greensand it's allowing someone to do
(14:23):
that.
I know out of oak knoll golfcourse there's a gentleman
that's using a david's chair.
I mean he was out there threedays a week.
You know, and and again, theseare not in stone ridge, these
are not flat golf courses.
No, you know.
And and again, these are not instone Ridge, these are not flat
golf courses.
No, you know so to be able tojust probably the hilliest golf
course in our I think so it's.
It's a very hilly golf course.
It'll, you know, battle some ofthe hilliest, and so for it to
(14:45):
work on that is incredible initself.
And then, you know, the thingof it is.
I guess that I have a questionabout is, like, how many David's
chairs do we need in our area?
Like, I mean, because three.
It seems like if we could getthe word out about, you know,
adaptive golf, that there'sprobably a huge need for this.
Have you?
(15:05):
Can you tell us a little bitabout that?
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Well, and that's it.
You know, I think getting theword out about adaptive golf,
bringing an adaptive golf clinicto Southern Oregon would be
great.
We helped out with an adaptivegolf clinic up in the Crestwell
area last year and it was anokay turnout.
(15:28):
I think we can do better, but Ithink that's part of it, you
know, is showing people, notonly getting adaptive golfers in
here but other people to cometo these clinics.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
And then you get the word out and we should have one
at every golf course well,what's interesting about what
you're saying is I've been pgahope certified since it started
and I'm not sure if you'refamiliar with that.
So we're actually having a pgahope training here at golf and I
was going to kind of surpriseyou with that because I would
love to have a David's chair inhere for that and converge the
(15:59):
two.
I think it really needs tohappen.
I think it could be a benefitand then to also have the PGA of
America really actually getbehind something like this is
huge.
Actually get behind somethinglike this is huge.
Because when I was certified Iwas telling Darren this, I think
maybe last week we talked alittle bit briefly about you
(16:20):
coming on and and I remembersuiting up essentially and we
had to put a brace on our legand I had to fold my knee back
on like if I didn't have a leadbut I didn't have a leg right.
So I'm like a crutch essentiallywhere my knee goes and it's the
most awkward feeling in theworld as a golf pro and a golfer
(16:44):
at a high level to have my hippushed up into a position that I
would never have it in andlearn how to play and then have
extra short golf clubs and extraflat golf clubs and all these
other things that you don'tthink about.
That are a need and they allcost money and the awareness
(17:04):
needs to happen so people canget out there and feel like they
have a reason to continue, Imean honestly, a sense of
purpose is really important forpeople, and I think the thing
that we're finding with golf andas a golf professional that
I'll speak on, cause I'm a bigproponent of this is it helps
with PTSD.
(17:24):
It's proven to, and there'sdifferent forms of that right.
You have something crazyhappened to you, like ALS right
or any any disease for thatmatter.
Or you get hit and you you losefeeling and you can't, and you
need this chair to be able toplay the game you love, and now
it's here and available to you,and then you have a facility
(17:47):
like ours where we're going totest it to make sure we can do
everything Like.
My goal is that David's chaircan be at golf garage anytime.
I mean, that's a huge hugething.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Think about it from from our perspective, where we
don't have mobility limitations,getting strapped into a chair
like this.
We feel it's very cumbersomefor us.
But for somebody who hastremendous limitations, who
doesn't have feeling in theirlower body, for a chair to be
able to stand them up into aposition that otherwise they
couldn't do has got to be thebest feeling in the world.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Oh, it's amazing.
And and I think the thing weneed to remember is how about a
guy that's paralyzed, um,getting out with his buddies on
the golf course?
And it's it's not just theperson using the chair that
benefits from this, it's theirfriends.
And then, um, I hear thestories, you know, but, oh, I
talked to this guy the other day.
You're that guy from Davischair and I saw a guy on a golf
(18:42):
course and I'm like you knowthey're trying to describe what
it was and it was so awesome and, and even strangers just get
joy out of it and then, um, theyjust, you see, the benefit of
it.
It's not just the person usingthe chair, it's like with our
track chairs, when people go tospecial events, whole families
come out and then they spend aday on the beach that they
couldn't with their familymember.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
We're going to mention it again a little bit
later, but real quick.
What is the David's Chairwebsite?
Speaker 3 (19:10):
It's wwwdavidschairorg.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Okay so on the david's chair website you see
that you have a ton of of videosof people out on the beach, in
the forest um who have mobilitylimitations and the smile on
their face is absolutelyuncontrollable and infectious
and and the smiles you see onthe family's face is getting to
(19:32):
see their loved one partakingactivities that they haven't
been able to partake in in along time or or since an injury
or a traumatic event is.
It's absolutely priceless and,as you said, these chairs are
expensive.
I mean, the golf chairs are 30something thousand.
You said what are the uh trackchairs that can go on the beach?
Speaker 3 (19:55):
yeah, just they range um, just like when you go out
and buy a car.
What do you want?
So um you get a standing chair.
They're up to 24 000 right, soand, and what you and you add,
all the and, and what do youwant to add?
Speaker 2 (20:07):
sorry, kia makes a lot of good cars.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Yeah, no one's laughing at me like dude, no,
but you know the bottom line isis, um, they're right now um
action track chairs.
What we use our track chairs.
They hook us up a little bit,which is really nice, and we're
spending about 15 to 16 thousanddollars on a pretty much chair
that we kind of designed as a,as a good model with a good size
(20:31):
seat for most people, with somelittle accessories.
We have an attendant control sopeople that can't use the
controls can be driven bysomebody else.
And then we now have a mountwhere that attendant control can
, because most of the chairscome right-handed, so the
attendant control now mounts onthe left side handle so it
becomes a left-handed chair.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
All the things you don't think about until you have
somebody in, and then you'relike, oh, we need this now.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Yeah, my buddy, casey Murray, is a quadriplegic and
when we started doing things itwas the Casey test and he's
pretty amazing for aquadriplegic the things he can
do.
But we're like, hey, we have tohave four-point harnesses
available and a seatbelt.
We we have to have four-pointharnesses available and a seat
belt.
We have to have everythingavailable for the most extreme
(21:17):
person with the most limitationsthat can use the chair to the
most able-bodied person thatuses our chair.
But you know it's trial anderror because we didn't know
what we were doing when westarted David's Chair.
We just had an idea and we saidwe want to provide access to
outdoors and recreation andwe're going to do whatever we
can.
And that's how the golf chairsthey were the perfect thing for
(21:38):
it.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
They are so you have.
So when you raise enough fundsto purchase another chair now,
keep in mind that these chairsrequire a lot of maintenance and
upkeep and new batteries everyso often, and this stuff is
expensive.
But you place these it's notjust the initial purchase of the
(21:59):
chair.
You put these chairs and youlocate them in, like beaches
along the Oregon coast.
There's ones that are kept atgolf courses, you know, around
the Rogue Valley.
You've expanded far outside ofOregon, correct?
Yes, we have when.
Where are you?
Speaker 3 (22:18):
where do you have chairs.
So, um, we Northern California,redwoods, we have a chair and
it's Cuchul State Park.
It's kind of spelled funny andpronounced differently than it's
spelled, but anyways.
And then we have Westport,washington, which is coastal
we're in Reno.
And then we have two chairs inTexas, based out of 10 Mile
(22:42):
Ranch in Texas, and the wholeconcept of that is that people
can travel somewhere and use aDavid's chair, reserve it,
reserve it, you reserve itonline through our website and
then you travel there and youknow that you have access to the
outdoors.
What we really want to do andthat's why I'm glad we're here
at the golf garage doing this isbecause we really want to
(23:02):
expand the golf program and it'shard to do it by ourselves.
It just really is, and we'veused Oregon as our model for
David's chair.
But we want to be everywhere,because I want people to be able
to say I want to go on vacationand I want to play golf in
Myrtle Beach, south Carolina,and I want to, but how am I
going to do that?
Because there's no golf chairsaround.
(23:24):
But if we partner with a coursesomeday over there, have a
chair, people can do that, youcan go on vacation and actually
do the things that every one ofus able-bodied person can take
for granted at times, and do soobviously we've talked a little
bit about price, you know, andobviously we need to raise money
for this cause.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
It's an incredible cause and I love what you just
said.
It needs to be everywhere and Iagree with you 100%.
Who and where are these made?
You kind of made the commentearlier a little bit, but touch
on that a little more becauseI'm curious and, again, knowing
(24:04):
other golf professionals allover the country working in
Cleveland and Arizona, I thoughtI knew a little bit about
David's Share.
This is an awesome podcast to beon, quite frankly, because I'm
super interested in how I canshare this with the PGA of
America and the 30,000 PGAprofessionals all over the world
and say, hey, if each one ofyou guys get a sponsor or a
(24:26):
company, we can make this areality, it wouldn't even be
hard or a company, we could makethis a reality, it wouldn't
even be hard, and I think itwould be an amazing opportunity
to see this go national toglobal quickly if it was done
right.
So I'd just be curious, maybeif there is someone that is
(24:47):
working on them that we couldcollaborate with and say, hey,
we've got an order for 500.
Can we beat the price down?
Or is there some other way todo this?
Speaker 3 (24:56):
Yes, I will say yes.
Anthony Netto, who came to ourfirst golf tournament, is the
inventor of the Paragolfer, andthey were made in Germany.
Well, he since broke off fromthat company, came to the United
States, uses all American madeparts and has been making them
in the United States for thelast couple of years.
With the new VertiCat whichagain we'll see, and that's the
(25:19):
model I'd like to switch tobecause you can get parts We'll
be able to continue to get parts.
We can still get parts for theParagolfers, but they are
getting a little older.
It'd be nice to be able tophase them out and start with
the American-made product thatwe can get parts here in the
United States.
And, yes, bigger order, we canprice it down.
Anthony, I'm going to try andget him up here for our golf
(25:43):
tournament.
He doesn't know that yet, but Iwas just talking with him the
other day because I grabbed thechair from Oak Knoll.
We were having battery issues,so I took it, called him.
He answers we ran through someissues, charged the batteries up
.
I'm going to go back after thispodcast, put the chair back
together.
Hopefully it's running andwe'll get it right back out to
Oak Knoll.
So, shady can use it out thereagain and anybody else that
(26:03):
wants to go out there and use it.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Nicest, nicest guy.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
Anthony Nell's the guy we can, um, definitely speak
with him, work with him and,like I said, I'd like to get him
up here for our golf tournamentit's been a few years, um and
just see what we can do topromote it and, uh, see what he
can do to help us get morechairs also so disabilities are
obviously worldwide, they're.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
every town, every city in America has people who
have mobility limitations.
Every town in America has golfcourses and, let's face it, you
know, we try to make golfaccessible to the youth, to
people who can't afford it,because golf has this stigma and
this reputation of being a richperson's elite sport, and it
(26:46):
really doesn't have to be thatway.
But on the flip side of thatcoin, there are a lot of very
wealthy, very elite people whoare absolutely in love with the
game of golf and every golfcourse, every golf club, every
country club has them.
There's no reason we can't haveone of these on every golf
course, you know across thecountry.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Yeah, and at least start getting them in every
county, city and then growing itfrom there, because I think
it's contagious.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
So one thing I have a question on.
I was looking at the website aswell and obviously you have a
David's Chair trailer or whatnot, so they're housed in certain
areas, like you said, and thenis there somebody that has to
drive them to wherever theperson is, or is that you know?
Does that person that thatneeds the david's chair go to
(27:36):
wherever it's at?
How does that kind of work, andwhere is it on the website that
they reserve?
It's a two-parter right, likelike how do we get this out
there to people?
Speaker 3 (27:46):
so as so.
As for the track chairs, um, wehave the toe and go option,
which is with the trailer, soyou can, right now we have tow
and go out of here, southernOregon, out of our White City
office, and then we have tow andgo out of Gold Beach, and
there's also what we call afixed site location.
So there's two chairs in GoldBeach, one that stays there and
then one that you can because alot of people want to go up the
(28:07):
river.
And so they'll grab the trailerand they'll go up on the river
and fish out of David's chair orthey'll take it somewhere else
on the coast.
So that's the whole tow and gooption for people that can tow
the chair somewhere on their ownadventure.
And then we also have tow andgo out of Coos Bay, and you know
we're always looking foroptions to expand.
Tow and go is a little trickier, you know, because there's
(28:37):
insurance requirements andthings, and but you know the
bottom line is we just want tomake them accessible.
And then we have eight fixedsite locations on the oregon
coast the one in westportwashington, the one in the
redwoods in northern california,the two in texas and then the
one in Reno.
So the whole goal is like wetalked about earlier is for
people to be able to go placesand plan trips, to go do things
and be able to access theoutdoors.
(28:58):
And then that's the same modelwe want to follow with the golf
program.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, so this is great.
It's almost like what comes tomind is like what can't you do
in a David's chair?
Because when you said fishing,I'm like, wait, what Fishing
can't you do in a david's chair?
Because when you said fishing,I'm like what fishing, that's
awesome.
Hiking, well, and that's socool.
All terrain, well, yeah, that's, that's so cool.
So you know, again, as a golfpro, like I just look at this as
(29:22):
, like you know, anybody that'sthat's in a david's chair.
They're like you know, I wantto get better golf, right, so
they're gonna want to get golfcoaching too.
You know that we should havedavid's clinics, like we should
be going out there and doingadaptive golf even more than we
are.
And you know, in SouthernOregon we don't do that.
You know not yet.
And that's what we're doingright here at golf garage.
(29:42):
Our coaches are all superpassionate about this as well,
you know, and I think it's justlike having the access of of
someone like you coming in andsaying, hey, we want to bring
this into golf garage.
I'm, I'm 100 on board to saylet's get as many people in here
as we can and let's make thishappen and let's figure out how
(30:04):
to get david's chairs everywhere, because I think that that
really is.
That's the home run.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
And partnerships with PGA professionals.
To you know, david's chair isproviding the tool and the
resource and the gateway forpeople with mobility limitations
to get into the sport andhaving that partnership with PGA
professionals around thecountry to help train them and
help them adapt to this onedevice is amazing because a lot
(30:36):
of these people, you rememberthey have rods and things.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
If you're paralyzed, you know to stabilize you and
you know you can yourlimitations on swinging and
things like that.
You know you don't get the hipsinto it all the time, and
things like that.
Some people still can get theirhips into it all the time, and
things like that.
Some people still can get theirhips into it.
And there is a little bit,learn how to coach that.
It's just a little bit better.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
One of the guys that I saw at Stone Ridge.
I was sitting up in theirclubhouse having a beverage,
looking at the beautiful view,looking out the windows, and
there's a guy in the David'schair out there and he's hitting
an iron from 200 yards out andput it six feet from the pin
let's go like, I like pro andpartner this david's chair.
(31:21):
This, this david's chair, is notslowing this guy down, because
if he's, if he's hitting a fiveiron or four, whatever iron, it
was he who that he was hitting,he was.
He was at least 200 yards outand just just just tearing up
the course.
Yeah, in a david's chair andand I'm going if it weren't for
(31:42):
this chair, this guy would notbe able to do this, and it was.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
It was extremely heartwarming and, and you know,
an experience I'll never forget,and it it makes you uh, not
want to make excuses when we uh,when we shank one indeed, and
and we talk about that a lot asyou gotta own, you gotta own
your own ability, you know, takeownership of it and not make
excuses.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
We talk a lot of on the show, not not just about the
, the discipline it takes in thegame of golf, but how that
applies to life too.
We um a couple weeks ago we haduh seattle seahawks wide
receiver jermaine curse on theshow um who played in the super
bowl and and you know just his,his drive and his passion and
(32:32):
his level of competition.
And he kept on talking aboutgrit.
You know you don't make excuses, you don't feel sorry for
yourself.
You get up and you do it.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
No, and I think the biggest thing about having
clinics promoting it, showingpeople that you can do it.
There's a lot of people thatare in those situations where
there's mobility issues andthey're intimidated by the
equipment.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
Right.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
You know.
So we have to provide thoseopportunities for them to, to,
to learn and and to make it moreavailable, to make it more
visible to people.
So after the fourth or fifthtime they see it or told about,
they finally say you know what,I'm going to try it.
And we do that with the trackchairs and we'll have people
hesitant, they'll get in thechair and then you can't get
them out of the chair and you'relike come on we've got somebody
(33:17):
else waiting.
And that's kind of how it is,because they get a little
intimidated and then they're inthere and they're or carry me
it's freedom and independenceAbsolutely.
We love it.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Steve, thank you for coming on the show.
So we're going to get a David'schair down at the golf garage
for people to just check out.
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
I mean, my wheels are spinning my entrepreneurial
mind's already way past that, soit'll be exciting.
I have a nonprofit for juniorgolfers and whatnot, and I would
just be curious even who in thejunior realm needs David's
chair, cause that's, it's outthere too.
We always think of adults andyou know, because it's kind of
what we've seen and I think thatfor me, um, this goes way
(34:06):
beyond Southern Oregon and it'sa global need and I think, just
as a golf professional ingeneral, you know, we always
talk about growing the game andit's to everyone, it's it's
there is a need and there'salways a way.
So I'm I'm really excited tohave it down here.
I'm already thinking about waysto raise money for it at golf
garage.
(34:26):
I think that's kind of theunique thing about the garage,
as well as like havingnonprofits and charities.
I really want to push that.
Like I said, I have one as welland it's like junior golf, but
like this goes way beyond that.
We also we have the VA close byright.
There's just so manyorganizations out there that
need help and golf is the thingthat can give people happiness
(34:50):
and a reason to continue, and Ithink that for me, as a golfer.
I don't get to play a lotanymore, but when I'm on the
course, that is my happy place,right, I mean it's it's the most
beautiful places in the worldthat now we're allowing everyone
to be able to see this and haveaccess to you, and that's a
huge, huge blessing for everyone.
(35:13):
So, no, I'm, I'm lookingforward to it again.
Yeah, thank you for being onthe show with us.
This opened up my eyes to whatDavid's share really is, and I
was so excited to hear more andlearn more.
So, yeah, I'm, I'm a hundredpercent supportive and I'm going
to try to see what I can do ata national level with some of
the associations that we'reattached to.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Steve, tell us a website one more time.
Speaker 3 (35:34):
It's just wwwdavidschairorg, and I really
appreciate you guys having me onthe show and taking the time to
learn about us a little bitmore.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Thanks for joining us .
It's been fun.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
Yeah, thank you, steve.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
And stay tuned to the golf garage and the
MyGolfSource social media page.
We're going to have a lot moreinformation Again,
davidschairorg.
Check it out, learn more.
If you can help in any way,please do, and we're going to
have a lot more informationcoming up.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Oh yeah, one more thing we just posted on
golfgarageoregoncom the my GolfSource podcast link.
Excellent, we are there, baby.
So what's that website?
One more time, yep,golfgarageoregoncom, and you can
click about us and you will seethe my Golf Source podcast link
.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Go there and check us out, find it anywhere you get
your podcasts on Amazon, spotify, apple Podcasts, iheartradio
and more.
We're there.
See you next time.
Welcome to the MyGolfSource podcast.
Welcome to MyGolfSource.
I'm Darren and I'm Noah.
We stopped saying what episodeit is.
I forgot.
Now it's like eight.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, I think we're just rolling at this point with
all the fun golf in the world.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
We've got enough down to say we don't have to count
anymore, right.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah, I like that.
What's new in your world?
Lots is going on here at theGolf Garage.
We are merging West Coast GolfAcademy into the Golf Garage
Academy and we are creating aglobal academy at the moment.
So coaching staff's on boardJust hired another golf coach,
(00:56):
slash professional, logan Gena,who's been in the industry for
about 12 years from Eagle Pointand really excited.
I think he's going to be on thepodcast here in the coming
weeks and has a ton ofexperience and brings a lot to
the table for us.
So I know the whole Golf Garagefamily is ready and excited to
have him.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Excited to meet him.
I know I had met him previouslywhen he was organizing some
youth events that my son wasinvolved in and he just got done
talking to me about howpassionate he is about youth
golf and we talk a lot aboutthat on the show.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, I mean youth golf is where it starts.
I mean my focus as a playerdevelopment expert is going to
be youth golf, ladies golf, andthen usually the husbands or the
gentlemen will come to followafter.
So for us it's all about youthgolf starting out.
And one little side note onLogan was PGA Junior League is a
big national phenomenon rightnow it's spring, it's ramping up
(01:51):
, depending on the place youknow, area of the country you
live, and I remember going outto Eagle Point with our team
versus their team and Loganbrings out two 40-gallon garbage
cans full of water balloons andwe had about.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I remember that.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, exactly, I think, I think you were there
and you know, and it was so coolbecause, um, you know, he was
in the middle of all of it, notafraid to get wet, just getting
hammered by all of his kids, andI think at the end of it he won
, cause I think he picked up thegarbage can and dumped it on a
couple of them that were gettinghim.
But it was definitely a goodtime, that's cool, he's a big
guy.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
He's not one who I'd want to mess with.
No, he looks like he works outa little bit.
Yeah, he hits it pretty far.
What's happening on tour Rory?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
McIlroy won the players in a playoff.
Yeah, you know it's funny, Rorybeing an outspoken person, you
like, it's so hard not to lovehim.
I don't know, I don't know whatit is.
People say things about Roryand I'm like well, how do you
not love that guy?
He's five foot seven and hehits it 350 yards and he's not
afraid to speak his mind and Ithink that's really good for
(03:00):
golf right now, Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
It adds entertainment value, it makes it real, it
makes it relatable.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Yeah, without question.
And if you really look at it, Imean he was kind of screwed a
little bit on the PGA tour witheverything that happened.
They're like, hey, we want youto be the spokesperson when live
was going on.
And then all of a sudden nowthey're like oh, what's what's
going on?
And everything was hidden fromall those tour players you know.
And again, all we see is whatwe see on tv.
So who knows what's actuallyhappening behind closed doors?
(03:28):
But it seemed to me like theplayers didn't really know
either.
So what's your gut feeling?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
as far as uh merger with live and pga I mean, I
think it's inevitable.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
I mean, I don't the world's a big place, right, but
when you have superstars, atsome point it becomes obviously
about money and those superstarsmade a choice to go to a
certain place that was betterfor their family.
I don't blame them for that.
I don't blame them either.
No, I think what is going tohappen is the PGA Tour is such
an established environment.
(03:59):
The events that are partneredwith the PGA Tour will never
change.
So you have these events whereUS Opens, usga Masters is run by
the Masters, pga Championshipis PGA of America, pga Tour and
(04:19):
then the British Open,essentially RNA.
So the majors they can stillkind of play in and seize it,
but we need those players fromLive to play on the PGA Tour and
vice versa.
Just open it up, make it a freemarket.
Don't hold them down justbecause and again, contracts are
expiring on Liv, so you knowhow much more are they going to
pay these guys to keep it going?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Saudi Arabia they've got a lot of money.
They've got deep, deep pockets.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
You never know.
You Saudi Arabia, they've got alot of money.
They've got deep, deep pockets.
You never know, you never know.
But I think there could besomething good happening in the
works behind the scenes and Ireally hope for our sake and
entertainment value.
I'd love to see BrysonDeChambeau out there a lot more.
I'd love to see DJ back out.
I mean, some of these guys thatcross over.
You're like, yeah, I'd be great.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And I, these guys that cross over.
You're like Mickelson back outthere.
Yeah, it'd be great, and Ithink it's just good for golf.
So it'll be interesting to seewhat they come up with.
Is there any scuttlebutt?
Speaker 1 (05:12):
in the PGA any feathers ruffled with the whole
TGL man.
I haven't heard a lot, you knowfrom my standpoint um, just
being in the golf um arena.
But I think it's good for thegame too.
It's just another avenue tobring in entertainment.
I guess what I'm curious aboutwith TGL is how long will it
last?
Right?
(05:32):
So I watch it because TigerWoods is on it, right, plain and
simple, and Rory's on it.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
And.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Rory's on it, but it's always Tiger Woods for me.
I grew up with Tiger.
I mean I remember watching himwin the 97 Masters runaway
victory.
I'm sitting crisscrossapplesauce two feet from the
tube, like at my friend's house,literally just screaming like
break the record, break therecord.
You know what I mean and thatwas so entertaining for me and
(05:59):
I'm a huge Tiger fan, no matterwhat he does.
And so for Rory and you, youknow some of those other guys.
I mean there's just nothinglike that phenomenon, so you're
glued to it regardless.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
If Tiger's there, you're glued to it does Tiger
have another major win under hisbelt?
Speaker 1 (06:16):
oh man he, he doesn't look good physically.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
No right, I mean quite frankly well, he hits the
ball as good as he ever did.
But it's his stamina for 18holes.
Right or actually for four days.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Well, yeah.
So how much pain is it?
It's more than four days, right?
So tour players are going tothe golf course, potentially on
a Sunday or a Monday.
They're getting there to putt,chip, get a feel for the greens,
get a practice round, andeverybody's different.
So are you playing 18 holes?
Are you playing every day?
Are you playing 18, 9, 9, 9?
Like, what is it that you'retrying to accomplish?
(06:53):
I know my short amount of timeout on the PGA Tour lesson team.
You know sometimes you overdoit, you know, and when you
overdo it in practice, thinkingthat you need that extra round,
I mean, they all know how to hitthe ball, they all know how to
putt it's it's more the mindsetat that point of, hey, do I
really need to see the courseagain?
And the thing about the PGAtour is the rotation is the same
(07:16):
pretty much every year.
So a lot of those guys knowwhat courses they play well at.
They know what courses they areconfident in.
Maybe they've had a victory, sothey have that extra confidence
and that's what gets them outof the slump.
Essentially, right is oh, Iplay well here.
So you know, golf is hard ingeneral from the standpoint of
winning and you win a major,you're probably in the hall of
(07:38):
fame.
So right, I mean with Tiger.
I mean, what does he have toprove?
I mean with Tiger?
I mean what does he have toprove?
I mean the whole-.
He's won every major.
He's won every major.
He has a Tiger slam On top ofthat, like in his mind does he
want to beat Jack?
Yeah, probably.
You know that's justcompetition, but he has a family
that's up and coming.
So what is it that he's goingto do?
(07:59):
Will he always play in majorsIf he's healthy?
Speaker 2 (08:06):
yeah, 100.
Does he need to play anythingelse?
I mean, I don't know exactly.
Not save it, save it.
We talk a lot about golfaccessibility.
We've talked so much about theyouth and everything, um, but
today's guest steve first is theceo and founder of an, a
non-profit called david's chair.
The first I I saw of david'schair was a guy out who was
(08:27):
paralyzed from the chest downand he was out playing 18 holes
of golf on stone ridge golfcourse in a golf chair.
That was, you know, um, wasadaptive the that that allowed
him to play play golf.
And he was just tearing it upout there and I was completely
amazed.
(08:48):
And then we started talkingwith Steve and they do a charity
golf tournament every year outat Stone Ridge, which is amazing
and just so much fun.
Steve, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Hey, thank you, glad to be here.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Tell us about I've heard this, but tell everybody
else the story behind David'schair.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Well, it started with a David Hartrick, a friend of
mine.
We grew up here in the RogueValley and it started with just
him wanting to access theoutdoors after developing ALS.
He knew his ALS diagnosis wasterminal and he already realized
his ALS was pretty aggressive.
So when, um, when he reachedout to people to try and help
(09:31):
him get this track chair becauseinsurance won't cover that they
paid for his $80,000 ALS chairbut not a $20,000 track chair
that would get him out in natureand wildlife.
So basically, to kind of make along story short, we ended up
putting together a fundraisergetting a track chair for him.
We raised enough money for ayouth chair and we'd always
(09:53):
talked about the fact that whenhe did his research, a lot of
people had track chairs and theynever got to really use them
because they didn't have theresources, ability to take them
places other than their backyardand things.
So we thought, well, I shouldsay he knew that he wasn't going
to be long for this world withthe diagnosis and wanted to pass
(10:15):
on the chair and have peopleuse it.
So we came up with a nonprofitidea like, hey, people can check
out the chair and use it forfree.
And that was the concept andthe the.
The thing we talked about waswhat other things can we do to
help people with mobilitychallenges get out there and
enjoy life?
Then the paragolfers aresomething that, um, we came
across a few years ago and wethought what a great idea to
(10:37):
give people with mobilitychallenges from paralysis, um,
alas, amputations, strokes, alltypes of other things that that
hurt your mobility give them upto be competitive or
recreational in a sport thateither they once played and
can't play, or that they'venever played.
We have people that took upgolf after their injury because
(11:00):
they want to do somethingcompetitive or get out and just
enjoy life and do somethingrecreational.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
So these golf chairs, tell me about how they function
technically and what they do.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
They're pretty awesome piece of equipment
they're.
They're running 30 to $35,000 apiece.
They're not like a golf cartlike that.
You can get from 3500 to maybeif you get a souped up one for
seven grand.
Um, they have gyros in them.
They're a three-wheeled cartand the gyros help you when
you're working on a hill orsomething and addressing your
ball, making sure that you, youknow they don't flip or
(11:31):
something as you swing.
But the great thing about themis they allow a player to stand
up, they support them and theway the chair is designed, they
can actually take a free swing.
There's nothing in the way.
You know, unlike the trackchairs, they're big, cumbersome.
They're like mini tanks.
These things are delicate,high-tech pieces of machinery
(11:52):
and they can go on the greensand they don't damage the greens
.
You've seen them.
You've seen people put on thegreens they've got like golf
cart type soft tires on themyeah, and then they're just you
know, and then they're justdesigned really well to to give
as much freedom as you can outthere and allow people to, you
know, play golf and becompetitive and have fun.
(12:12):
How many golf chairs do youhave?
We have three currently.
We have two of the originalParagolfer styles and Anthony
Netto is the gentleman thatcreated these and he no longer
makes the Paragolfers and theywent into the VertiCat style and
I think we're going to get aVertiCat down here on display,
(12:33):
hopefully soon, at the GolfGarage, just so people can see
it and then maybe click on alink and get some information
about adaptive golf, becauseeverybody should be able to golf
.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
And we're going to do whatever we can to make it to
where anybody can accessoutdoors recreation and access
golf and the use of these chairsis absolutely free, right.
Everything.
Yeah, we always.
And that's the thing Davidtalked about.
He understood that when you'rein a situation where you have
medical bills and you can't workand things like that, that it's
(13:07):
financially challenging just tolive day to day.
So we don't want to chargepeople that are in these
situations, so it is free.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Well, it's unique.
I've gotten to hit out of aDavid's chair, I think three
times now Hit one good once.
And it is interesting you knowto stand in that and want to use
your legs Right and you're youalmost need to, not, you know,
(13:39):
and I, and I think it's so funwhen we go to these charity
events and you get to try to dothat and it's like a competition
or it's a fundraiser or whatnot, for awareness, even right,
regardless of if it's raisingmoney, it's just that awareness.
To say like this is givingsomeone the opportunity to do
something that without it theycouldn't do.
And you know, I think that frommy standpoint as a PGA
(14:02):
professional and growing thegame, it's just like an amazing
invention and it's come a longway as well, like the newer
version, like you were saying.
It's really, really um.
It's just amazing to me thatyou know you can go on the golf
course with this heavy piece ofmachinery and it's built so well
that it doesn't hurt the greensand it's allowing someone to do
(14:23):
that.
I know out of oak knoll golfcourse there's a gentleman
that's using a david's chair.
I mean he was out there threedays a week.
You know, and and again, theseare not in stone ridge, these
are not flat golf courses.
No, you know.
And and again, these are not instone Ridge, these are not flat
golf courses.
No, you know so to be able tojust probably the hilliest golf
course in our I think so it's.
It's a very hilly golf course.
It'll, you know, battle some ofthe hilliest, and so for it to
(14:45):
work on that is incredible initself.
And then, you know, the thingof it is.
I guess that I have a questionabout is, like, how many David's
chairs do we need in our area?
Like, I mean, because three.
It seems like if we could getthe word out about, you know,
adaptive golf, that there'sprobably a huge need for this.
Have you?
(15:05):
Can you tell us a little bitabout that?
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Well, and that's it.
You know, I think getting theword out about adaptive golf,
bringing an adaptive golf clinicto Southern Oregon would be
great.
We helped out with an adaptivegolf clinic up in the Crestwell
area last year and it was anokay turnout.
(15:28):
I think we can do better, but Ithink that's part of it, you
know, is showing people, notonly getting adaptive golfers in
here but other people to cometo these clinics.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
And then you get the word out and we should have one
at every golf course well,what's interesting about what
you're saying is I've been pgahope certified since it started
and I'm not sure if you'refamiliar with that.
So we're actually having a pgahope training here at golf and I
was going to kind of surpriseyou with that because I would
love to have a David's chair inhere for that and converge the
(15:59):
two.
I think it really needs tohappen.
I think it could be a benefitand then to also have the PGA of
America really actually getbehind something like this is
huge.
Actually get behind somethinglike this is huge.
Because when I was certified Iwas telling Darren this, I think
maybe last week we talked alittle bit briefly about you
(16:20):
coming on and and I remembersuiting up essentially and we
had to put a brace on our legand I had to fold my knee back
on like if I didn't have a leadbut I didn't have a leg right.
So I'm like a crutch essentiallywhere my knee goes and it's the
most awkward feeling in theworld as a golf pro and a golfer
(16:44):
at a high level to have my hippushed up into a position that I
would never have it in andlearn how to play and then have
extra short golf clubs and extraflat golf clubs and all these
other things that you don'tthink about.
That are a need and they allcost money and the awareness
(17:04):
needs to happen so people canget out there and feel like they
have a reason to continue, Imean honestly, a sense of
purpose is really important forpeople, and I think the thing
that we're finding with golf andas a golf professional that
I'll speak on, cause I'm a bigproponent of this is it helps
with PTSD.
(17:24):
It's proven to, and there'sdifferent forms of that right.
You have something crazyhappened to you, like ALS right
or any any disease for thatmatter.
Or you get hit and you you losefeeling and you can't, and you
need this chair to be able toplay the game you love, and now
it's here and available to you,and then you have a facility
(17:47):
like ours where we're going totest it to make sure we can do
everything Like.
My goal is that David's chaircan be at golf garage anytime.
I mean, that's a huge hugething.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Think about it from from our perspective, where we
don't have mobility limitations,getting strapped into a chair
like this.
We feel it's very cumbersomefor us.
But for somebody who hastremendous limitations, who
doesn't have feeling in theirlower body, for a chair to be
able to stand them up into aposition that otherwise they
couldn't do has got to be thebest feeling in the world.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Oh, it's amazing.
And and I think the thing weneed to remember is how about a
guy that's paralyzed, um,getting out with his buddies on
the golf course?
And it's it's not just theperson using the chair that
benefits from this, it's theirfriends.
And then, um, I hear thestories, you know, but, oh, I
talked to this guy the other day.
You're that guy from Davischair and I saw a guy on a golf
(18:42):
course and I'm like you knowthey're trying to describe what
it was and it was so awesome and, and even strangers just get
joy out of it and then, um, theyjust, you see, the benefit of
it.
It's not just the person usingthe chair, it's like with our
track chairs, when people go tospecial events, whole families
come out and then they spend aday on the beach that they
couldn't with their familymember.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
We're going to mention it again a little bit
later, but real quick.
What is the David's Chairwebsite?
Speaker 3 (19:10):
It's wwwdavidschairorg.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Okay so on the david's chair website you see
that you have a ton of of videosof people out on the beach, in
the forest um who have mobilitylimitations and the smile on
their face is absolutelyuncontrollable and infectious
and and the smiles you see onthe family's face is getting to
(19:32):
see their loved one partakingactivities that they haven't
been able to partake in in along time or or since an injury
or a traumatic event is.
It's absolutely priceless and,as you said, these chairs are
expensive.
I mean, the golf chairs are 30something thousand.
You said what are the uh trackchairs that can go on the beach?
Speaker 3 (19:55):
yeah, just they range um, just like when you go out
and buy a car.
What do you want?
So um you get a standing chair.
They're up to 24 000 right, soand, and what you and you add,
all the and, and what do youwant to add?
Speaker 2 (20:07):
sorry, kia makes a lot of good cars.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Yeah, no one's laughing at me like dude, no,
but you know the bottom line isis, um, they're right now um
action track chairs.
What we use our track chairs.
They hook us up a little bit,which is really nice, and we're
spending about 15 to 16 thousanddollars on a pretty much chair
that we kind of designed as a,as a good model with a good size
(20:31):
seat for most people, with somelittle accessories.
We have an attendant control sopeople that can't use the
controls can be driven bysomebody else.
And then we now have a mountwhere that attendant control can
, because most of the chairscome right-handed, so the
attendant control now mounts onthe left side handle so it
becomes a left-handed chair.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
All the things you don't think about until you have
somebody in, and then you'relike, oh, we need this now.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Yeah, my buddy, casey Murray, is a quadriplegic and
when we started doing things itwas the Casey test and he's
pretty amazing for aquadriplegic the things he can
do.
But we're like, hey, we have tohave four-point harnesses
available and a seatbelt.
We we have to have four-pointharnesses available and a seat
belt.
We have to have everythingavailable for the most extreme
(21:17):
person with the most limitationsthat can use the chair to the
most able-bodied person thatuses our chair.
But you know it's trial anderror because we didn't know
what we were doing when westarted David's Chair.
We just had an idea and we saidwe want to provide access to
outdoors and recreation andwe're going to do whatever we
can.
And that's how the golf chairsthey were the perfect thing for
(21:38):
it.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
They are so you have.
So when you raise enough fundsto purchase another chair now,
keep in mind that these chairsrequire a lot of maintenance and
upkeep and new batteries everyso often, and this stuff is
expensive.
But you place these it's notjust the initial purchase of the
(21:59):
chair.
You put these chairs and youlocate them in, like beaches
along the Oregon coast.
There's ones that are kept atgolf courses, you know, around
the Rogue Valley.
You've expanded far outside ofOregon, correct?
Yes, we have when.
Where are you?
Speaker 3 (22:18):
where do you have chairs.
So, um, we Northern California,redwoods, we have a chair and
it's Cuchul State Park.
It's kind of spelled funny andpronounced differently than it's
spelled, but anyways.
And then we have Westport,washington, which is coastal
we're in Reno.
And then we have two chairs inTexas, based out of 10 Mile
(22:42):
Ranch in Texas, and the wholeconcept of that is that people
can travel somewhere and use aDavid's chair, reserve it,
reserve it, you reserve itonline through our website and
then you travel there and youknow that you have access to the
outdoors.
What we really want to do andthat's why I'm glad we're here
at the golf garage doing this isbecause we really want to
(23:02):
expand the golf program and it'shard to do it by ourselves.
It just really is, and we'veused Oregon as our model for
David's chair.
But we want to be everywhere,because I want people to be able
to say I want to go on vacationand I want to play golf in
Myrtle Beach, south Carolina,and I want to, but how am I
going to do that?
Because there's no golf chairsaround.
(23:24):
But if we partner with a coursesomeday over there, have a
chair, people can do that, youcan go on vacation and actually
do the things that every one ofus able-bodied person can take
for granted at times, and do soobviously we've talked a little
bit about price, you know, andobviously we need to raise money
for this cause.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
It's an incredible cause and I love what you just
said.
It needs to be everywhere and Iagree with you 100%.
Who and where are these made?
You kind of made the commentearlier a little bit, but touch
on that a little more becauseI'm curious and, again, knowing
(24:04):
other golf professionals allover the country working in
Cleveland and Arizona, I thoughtI knew a little bit about
David's Share.
This is an awesome podcast to beon, quite frankly, because I'm
super interested in how I canshare this with the PGA of
America and the 30,000 PGAprofessionals all over the world
and say, hey, if each one ofyou guys get a sponsor or a
(24:26):
company, we can make this areality, it wouldn't even be
hard or a company, we could makethis a reality, it wouldn't
even be hard, and I think itwould be an amazing opportunity
to see this go national toglobal quickly if it was done
right.
So I'd just be curious, maybeif there is someone that is
(24:47):
working on them that we couldcollaborate with and say, hey,
we've got an order for 500.
Can we beat the price down?
Or is there some other way todo this?
Speaker 3 (24:56):
Yes, I will say yes.
Anthony Netto, who came to ourfirst golf tournament, is the
inventor of the Paragolfer, andthey were made in Germany.
Well, he since broke off fromthat company, came to the United
States, uses all American madeparts and has been making them
in the United States for thelast couple of years.
With the new VertiCat whichagain we'll see, and that's the
(25:19):
model I'd like to switch tobecause you can get parts We'll
be able to continue to get parts.
We can still get parts for theParagolfers, but they are
getting a little older.
It'd be nice to be able tophase them out and start with
the American-made product thatwe can get parts here in the
United States.
And, yes, bigger order, we canprice it down.
Anthony, I'm going to try andget him up here for our golf
(25:43):
tournament.
He doesn't know that yet, but Iwas just talking with him the
other day because I grabbed thechair from Oak Knoll.
We were having battery issues,so I took it, called him.
He answers we ran through someissues, charged the batteries up
.
I'm going to go back after thispodcast, put the chair back
together.
Hopefully it's running andwe'll get it right back out to
Oak Knoll.
So, shady can use it out thereagain and anybody else that
(26:03):
wants to go out there and use it.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Nicest, nicest guy.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
Anthony Nell's the guy we can, um, definitely speak
with him, work with him and,like I said, I'd like to get him
up here for our golf tournamentit's been a few years, um and
just see what we can do topromote it and, uh, see what he
can do to help us get morechairs also so disabilities are
obviously worldwide, they're.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
every town, every city in America has people who
have mobility limitations.
Every town in America has golfcourses and, let's face it, you
know, we try to make golfaccessible to the youth, to
people who can't afford it,because golf has this stigma and
this reputation of being a richperson's elite sport, and it
(26:46):
really doesn't have to be thatway.
But on the flip side of thatcoin, there are a lot of very
wealthy, very elite people whoare absolutely in love with the
game of golf and every golfcourse, every golf club, every
country club has them.
There's no reason we can't haveone of these on every golf
course, you know across thecountry.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Yeah, and at least start getting them in every
county, city and then growing itfrom there, because I think
it's contagious.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
So one thing I have a question on.
I was looking at the website aswell and obviously you have a
David's Chair trailer or whatnot, so they're housed in certain
areas, like you said, and thenis there somebody that has to
drive them to wherever theperson is, or is that you know?
Does that person that thatneeds the david's chair go to
(27:36):
wherever it's at?
How does that kind of work, andwhere is it on the website that
they reserve?
It's a two-parter right, likelike how do we get this out
there to people?
Speaker 3 (27:46):
so as so.
As for the track chairs, um, wehave the toe and go option,
which is with the trailer, soyou can, right now we have tow
and go out of here, southernOregon, out of our White City
office, and then we have tow andgo out of Gold Beach, and
there's also what we call afixed site location.
So there's two chairs in GoldBeach, one that stays there and
then one that you can because alot of people want to go up the
(28:07):
river.
And so they'll grab the trailerand they'll go up on the river
and fish out of David's chair orthey'll take it somewhere else
on the coast.
So that's the whole tow and gooption for people that can tow
the chair somewhere on their ownadventure.
And then we also have tow andgo out of Coos Bay, and you know
we're always looking foroptions to expand.
Tow and go is a little trickier, you know, because there's
(28:37):
insurance requirements andthings, and but you know the
bottom line is we just want tomake them accessible.
And then we have eight fixedsite locations on the oregon
coast the one in westportwashington, the one in the
redwoods in northern california,the two in texas and then the
one in Reno.
So the whole goal is like wetalked about earlier is for
people to be able to go placesand plan trips, to go do things
and be able to access theoutdoors.
(28:58):
And then that's the same modelwe want to follow with the golf
program.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, so this is great.
It's almost like what comes tomind is like what can't you do
in a David's chair?
Because when you said fishing,I'm like, wait, what Fishing
can't you do in a david's chair?
Because when you said fishing,I'm like what fishing, that's
awesome.
Hiking, well, and that's socool.
All terrain, well, yeah, that's, that's so cool.
So you know, again, as a golfpro, like I just look at this as
(29:22):
, like you know, anybody that'sthat's in a david's chair.
They're like you know, I wantto get better golf, right, so
they're gonna want to get golfcoaching too.
You know that we should havedavid's clinics, like we should
be going out there and doingadaptive golf even more than we
are.
And you know, in SouthernOregon we don't do that.
You know not yet.
And that's what we're doingright here at golf garage.
(29:42):
Our coaches are all superpassionate about this as well,
you know, and I think it's justlike having the access of of
someone like you coming in andsaying, hey, we want to bring
this into golf garage.
I'm, I'm 100 on board to saylet's get as many people in here
as we can and let's make thishappen and let's figure out how
(30:04):
to get david's chairs everywhere, because I think that that
really is.
That's the home run.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
And partnerships with PGA professionals.
To you know, david's chair isproviding the tool and the
resource and the gateway forpeople with mobility limitations
to get into the sport andhaving that partnership with PGA
professionals around thecountry to help train them and
help them adapt to this onedevice is amazing because a lot
(30:36):
of these people, you rememberthey have rods and things.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
If you're paralyzed, you know to stabilize you and
you know you can yourlimitations on swinging and
things like that.
You know you don't get the hipsinto it all the time, and
things like that.
Some people still can get theirhips into it all the time, and
things like that.
Some people still can get theirhips into it.
And there is a little bit,learn how to coach that.
It's just a little bit better.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
One of the guys that I saw at Stone Ridge.
I was sitting up in theirclubhouse having a beverage,
looking at the beautiful view,looking out the windows, and
there's a guy in the David'schair out there and he's hitting
an iron from 200 yards out andput it six feet from the pin
let's go like, I like pro andpartner this david's chair.
(31:21):
This, this david's chair, is notslowing this guy down, because
if he's, if he's hitting a fiveiron or four, whatever iron, it
was he who that he was hitting,he was.
He was at least 200 yards outand just just just tearing up
the course.
Yeah, in a david's chair andand I'm going if it weren't for
(31:42):
this chair, this guy would notbe able to do this, and it was.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
It was extremely heartwarming and, and you know,
an experience I'll never forget,and it it makes you uh, not
want to make excuses when we uh,when we shank one indeed, and
and we talk about that a lot asyou gotta own, you gotta own
your own ability, you know, takeownership of it and not make
excuses.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
We talk a lot of on the show, not not just about the
, the discipline it takes in thegame of golf, but how that
applies to life too.
We um a couple weeks ago we haduh seattle seahawks wide
receiver jermaine curse on theshow um who played in the super
bowl and and you know just his,his drive and his passion and
(32:32):
his level of competition.
And he kept on talking aboutgrit.
You know you don't make excuses, you don't feel sorry for
yourself.
You get up and you do it.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
No, and I think the biggest thing about having
clinics promoting it, showingpeople that you can do it.
There's a lot of people thatare in those situations where
there's mobility issues andthey're intimidated by the
equipment.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
Right.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
You know.
So we have to provide thoseopportunities for them to, to,
to learn and and to make it moreavailable, to make it more
visible to people.
So after the fourth or fifthtime they see it or told about,
they finally say you know what,I'm going to try it.
And we do that with the trackchairs and we'll have people
hesitant, they'll get in thechair and then you can't get
them out of the chair and you'relike come on we've got somebody
(33:17):
else waiting.
And that's kind of how it is,because they get a little
intimidated and then they're inthere and they're or carry me
it's freedom and independenceAbsolutely.
We love it.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Steve, thank you for coming on the show.
So we're going to get a David'schair down at the golf garage
for people to just check out.
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
I mean, my wheels are spinning my entrepreneurial
mind's already way past that, soit'll be exciting.
I have a nonprofit for juniorgolfers and whatnot, and I would
just be curious even who in thejunior realm needs David's
chair, cause that's, it's outthere too.
We always think of adults andyou know, because it's kind of
what we've seen and I think thatfor me, um, this goes way
(34:06):
beyond Southern Oregon and it'sa global need and I think, just
as a golf professional ingeneral, you know, we always
talk about growing the game andit's to everyone, it's it's
there is a need and there'salways a way.
So I'm I'm really excited tohave it down here.
I'm already thinking about waysto raise money for it at golf
garage.
(34:26):
I think that's kind of theunique thing about the garage,
as well as like havingnonprofits and charities.
I really want to push that.
Like I said, I have one as welland it's like junior golf, but
like this goes way beyond that.
We also we have the VA close byright.
There's just so manyorganizations out there that
need help and golf is the thingthat can give people happiness
(34:50):
and a reason to continue, and Ithink that for me, as a golfer.
I don't get to play a lotanymore, but when I'm on the
course, that is my happy place,right, I mean it's it's the most
beautiful places in the worldthat now we're allowing everyone
to be able to see this and haveaccess to you, and that's a
huge, huge blessing for everyone.
(35:13):
So, no, I'm, I'm lookingforward to it again.
Yeah, thank you for being onthe show with us.
This opened up my eyes to whatDavid's share really is, and I
was so excited to hear more andlearn more.
So, yeah, I'm, I'm a hundredpercent supportive and I'm going
to try to see what I can do ata national level with some of
the associations that we'reattached to.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Steve, tell us a website one more time.
Speaker 3 (35:34):
It's just wwwdavidschairorg, and I really
appreciate you guys having me onthe show and taking the time to
learn about us a little bitmore.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Thanks for joining us .
It's been fun.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
Yeah, thank you, steve.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
And stay tuned to the golf garage and the
MyGolfSource social media page.
We're going to have a lot moreinformation Again,
davidschairorg.
Check it out, learn more.
If you can help in any way,please do, and we're going to
have a lot more informationcoming up.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Oh yeah, one more thing we just posted on
golfgarageoregoncom the my GolfSource podcast link.
Excellent, we are there, baby.
So what's that website?
One more time, yep,golfgarageoregoncom, and you can
click about us and you will seethe my Golf Source podcast link
.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Go there and check us out, find it anywhere you get
your podcasts on Amazon, spotify, apple Podcasts, iheartradio
and more.
We're there.
See you next time.
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