How Binder Park Golf Course Makes Room for Every Golfer

PGA professional Alex Johnson looks back on the day a longtime member stood up and swung a club again.

If you've watched an injury or illness keep a loved one or a longtime regular off the course, you know they miss the rounds with friends and the conversations after the 18th hole.

Alex Johnson saw this firsthand with Matt, a longtime member at Binder Park Golf Course in Battle Creek, Michigan. After a snowmobiling accident, Matt could no longer stand up or swing a golf club.

Alex was there the day Matt stood up in a VertaCat for the first time since the accident, and he hasn't forgotten the look on Matt's face.

Alex Johnson and the Binder Park Family

Alex works as a PGA professional at Binder Park, a 27-hole course owned by the city of Battle Creek. The course sits on the outskirts of town, and many of its golfers have played there for years.

"It's a good community spot," Alex says. "We're more like a family than anything."

Matt had been part of that family for a long time, and he was close with the course's general manager. After Matt's accident, the general manager wanted to find a way for him to play again. He and Alex traveled to the PGA Show to compare adaptive golf carts in person.

"We saw a couple of options, but the VertaCat stuck out because of all the mobility it had," Alex says. "With some of the other ones, you're just sitting from the side. With this one, you could stand up, and that was an eye-opener for us."

Alex and the general manager chose the VertaCat because, as he puts it, "it was one-of-one."

From Fundraiser to First Swing

To pay for it, Alex and the course staff organized a golf outing, and the city of Battle Creek agreed to match what they raised.

"We raised as much money as we could," Alex says.

Six adaptive golfers played in the outing. "Having them out here was really cool," Alex says. "That's something you don't get to do very often."

Once the VertaCat arrived, the VertaCat team spent a couple of days at Binder Park. They showed Matt how to adjust and drive it while Alex and the general manager learned alongside them. During that training, Alex watched Matt stand up.

"We typically take for granted what we can do," he says. "It was cool to see him light up, because he hadn't been able to stand up or swing a golf club since his accident."

Why Adaptive Golfers Need a Course Close to Home

Today, Matt uses the VertaCat more than anyone at Binder Park, and he handles most of the setup on his own.

Other golfers soon heard about it, and Alex started getting calls from across Michigan. One golfer recently drove in from Indianapolis.

"If somebody's driving three hours, there probably isn't one close by," Alex says. A three-hour drive works for a special trip, but a weekly round with friends depends on a course close to home.

The staff at Binder Park keeps the process simple for every rider. Golfers call ahead to reserve the VertaCat, and Alex or the course's head professional fits the seat and controls for each first-time rider. The rest of the staff knows how to operate it, too.

Advice for Courses Considering a VertaCat

"We should have accessibility for everybody," Alex says.

Alex mentions the benefit of new business for courses.

Most golfers who come to use the VertaCat had never visited Binder Park before, and many bring a parent or a sibling along.

"The experience is so much more than the money at the end of the day," he says. "If financially you can do it, I would always say do it."

Matt found his way back to the game at a course that already felt like home. Binder Park is one of a growing number of courses where golfers can play from a VertaCat, and yours might be closer than you think.

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