In the summer of 2004, at the age of 18, Josh Basile, AdapTee’s founder, suffered a severe spinal cord injury (SCI) while on a family vacation at the beach. After being rescued and pulled to shore, Josh remembers his dad running onto the beach. Josh said, “I cannot move anything below my shoulders,” and he asked, “Are we going to make our scheduled Tee time tomorrow.” Josh’s dad, a surgeon, could see the bending of his neck and told him, “Josh, really hurt yourself, and we wouldn’t make this one.”
Josh spent the next three months at different hospitals before returning home. His body transformed from a 185-pound college athlete to a 135-pound quadriplegic. Over the next five years, he would join his dad and friends to play rounds of golf. Josh would participate as a spectator and wheel each hole. He loved getting out of his home and being surrounded by the game of golf, but he felt the urge to play.
In a dream, after playing a round with his dad, he envisioned a pendulum-putting device that could strike a ball. Josh immediately went into action and created his first version of the pendulum putting device out of PVC pipe. He tested it at his local public course putting green, and it worked. He then went on to figure out how to hit longer shots and started using a hand-held slingshot.
Over the next decade, Josh and his nonprofit Determined2Heal would continue to advance the game and bring out over 200 quadriplegics and paraplegics to play adaptive slingshot golf throughout the US, and even Cuba (ESPN and New Mobility Magazine).
In 2021, Josh acquired a swingless Power2Golf club, which allowed him to advance a golf ball over 200 yards, opening the door to play from tee to green for the first time. This unlocked competitive opportunities for Josh in the years to come, which began to paint a clear opportunity for all individuals who cannot complete a swing path to play competitively.
With the assistance of Andrew Mitchell, AdapTee’s Executive Director, Josh and Andrew developed rules and guidance so that other members of the disability community could share the same joy that Josh has experienced in returning to the game of golf.
In 2023, Josh and Andrew competed in their first official adaptive golf tournament by playing in the 36th Pennsylvania Amputee and Adaptive Open. This was the first time a golfer paralyzed below the shoulders competed in a sanctioned golf event without physically ever touching a ball or club. Josh and Andrew finished the tournament in third place. The following year, they returned, scoring a final round 76 and tied for first place. Because there is no class within the Modified Rules, Josh’s round did not count for the USGA records and rankings.
Since 2021, over 150 paralyzed participants have experienced AdapTee Golf. One particular participant was Rob Wudlick, a quadriplegic, who was inspired by the round and went on to engineer a new lightweight putting device to be used by all new players and continues to work on designs for new devices that will broaden what is possible for future players. Rob is now AdapTee Director of Equipment and R&D.
Our history will continue to be written thanks to the dedicated AdapTee Golf team and our many supporters who are on a mission to bring the game of golf to millions of people with disabilities across the US and world.
