Before the freak accident in Africa which left him a quadriplegic, James Gribble had been obsessed with golf, playing off a handicap of between four and six.
Even in hospital, when he was unable to move any part of his body, the thought of the game kept him going.
"I was always planning to go back to golf, even literally in the first couple of hours lying in a hospital bed. I used to play rounds of golf while I lay there, imagining the birds in the trees and the smell of the grass," he said.
Now, thanks to a machine which holds him upright, he can play again. Sydney-based Mr Gribble took his Paragolfer machine to Blackheath on Monday, where a group of trainee professionals was competing in a pro am.
It was part of his campaign to bring the game to those with mobility problems, whether like him, as the result of an accident (he fainted and fell off a stool while travelling in Zambia in 2008), illness, such as a stroke, or for those born with some disability.
He also wants the trainee professional course to include a module on teaching people with a disability.
Lachlan Foulsham, a trainee pro at Killara who regularly plays at Blackheath and who organised the pro am, described Mr Gribble as "an amazing bloke".
"He's doing wonderful things for people with disabilities and golf. It's allowing them to get back into golf."
Mr Gribble had asked to sponsor the pro am, "mainly to raise awareness" with young professionals about the sort of help and coaching that people with mobility issues need to play, Mr Foulsham said.
Mr Gribble said: "It's a good opportunity to show another club in another part of the world just what the machine we use can do."
Mr Gribble, who has some but very limited use of his arms and legs, initially tried to play on crutches. "I'd drop one crutch and have someone strapping the club to my hand. Then I tried from my wheelchair but my knees got in the way."
With the Paragolfer, he sits in the machine to drive around the course and when he prepares to play a shot, he raises the back which lifts him upright. With a club strapped into his right arm, he swings one-handed.
In a demonstration for the Gazette he hit a drive straight and long down the middle of the fairway ("though not as long as I used to hit it", he said).
He is aiming to get Paragolfer machines into about 1 per cent of NSW golf clubs by the end of the year and has founded Empower Golf to pursue his goals. He is also on a mission to have golf included in the Paralympics.
"I think the fact that it's in the Rio Olympics next year is quite positive. I think golf particularly suits the paralympics because of the handicap system. Everyone can compete, regardless of age, gender or ability."
While Mr Gribble uses his machine (which costs about $35,000) for golf, others have used it for archery, for sport shooting and, in one case, to traverse rough terrain to take wildlife photography.
The Paragolfer can help in other ways, he said. For many paraplegics and quadriplegics it's the first time they have been able to stand up. It also means they can literally look at someone eye to eye.
"And if you have a partner it means you can hug them," Mr Gribble said.
Empower Golf relies on donations. See www.empowergolf.com.au for details or email james.gribble@empowergolf.com.au.
