OVERVIEW
The LifeLinks Program at The Arc of the East Bay introduces people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to the game of golf. With guidance from PGA Professionals, volunteers provide participants with basic instruction on swing mechanics, chipping, and putting. Over time, clients also learn the other fundamentals of golf: honesty, etiquette, sportsmanship, persistence, and responsibility.
Graduates of the LifeLinks Program have the ability and confidence to enjoy playing golf regularly at public and private golf courses with non-disabled partners.
The concept of “inclusion” is the heart of what we do at The Arc of the East Bay.
THE GREATEST GAME
There is perhaps no better inclusionary activity than golf. Golf welcomes all participants. Renowned golf instructor and golf coach at the University of Texas, Harvey Penick, even wrote a book entitled: And If You Play Golf, You’re My Friend.
One does not play golf without absorbing the game’s core values – honesty, etiquette, sportsmanship, persistence, and responsibility. These are values that transcend the golf course and make golf the ideal game for helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities meet the social requirements of having a job and/or participating in daily life.
And from a motor skills perspective, what can compare with golf? A golf swing requires the use of practically every muscle in the golfer’s body. Repetition develops those muscles. Repetition also helps a person develop the mental acuity to plan shots and move muscles in the proper order to get the ball airborne.
LINK-UP WITH LIFELINKS
- Sponsor the Arc’s Community Challenge Tournament – an annual golf event pairing LifeLinks participants with volunteer golf coaches in a 9-hole scramble format.
- Volunteer your time – become a LifeLinks coach; play in the tournament.
- Donate golf equipment – participants need clubs, bags, golf balls, tees, towels, etc. Previously owned equipment is much appreciated.
- Donate Cash – $100 pays a client’s tuition.
HISTORY
LifeLinks began with eighteen clients from The Arc of the East Bay’s San Leandro Alternative Ventures program.
Each participant received weekly golf lessons at Monarch Bay Golf Course in San Leandro, California. Five coaches, with help from the professional golf staff at Monarch Bay, provided lessons involving all facets of the game; long game, short game, putting. Coaches also concentrated on teaching the time-honored values of the game.
The program culminated with a 9-hole scramble pairing a developmentally disabled golfer with a coach (additional coaches were recruited for the event) in a competition held at the executive course at Monarch Bay in April of 2013. The tournament was repeated in 2014 with KPIX News Anchor, Ken Bastida, being paired with a LifeLinks participant.
INTAKES, REFERRALS, TOURS, AND INFORMATION
1101 Walpert St.
Hayward, CA 94541
Phone: 510-357-3569
Fax: 510-352-8714
www.arceastbay.org
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The Arc of the East Bay offers life skills education and employment services tailored to the needs and goals of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our clients set their own annual goals, often with input from their families. Dedicated Arc staffers – called Direct Service Providers – then work tirelessly to help clients achieve those personal goals.
