Empower Golf Australia founder and world No.1 quadriplegic James Gribble, Bali bombings survivor and double amputee Ben Tullipan together with King Island local and one-armed golfer Jigs Denby recently took on Air Adventure’s 4-day Ultimate King Island Barnbougle adventure.
The trip was created to show that Australia’s most remote courses are accessible for all and that disability is no barrier to experiencing the greatest places on the planet.
Australian Golf Digest had the chance to watch Gribble, Tullipan and Denby take on these epic Tasmanian courses in the same way they take on life – with huge smiles – unwavering positivity and a can-do attitude from start to finish.
For the trio, it was more than a golf trip, it was a lesson on life and perspective.
The group was lucky enough to have Ross Flannigan from My Love Of Golf along for the ride to capture footage and images. Enjoy, and be inspired:
The cast
Gribble, the founder of Empower Golf, had it all but lost it in an instant when he became a quadriplegic after breaking his neck as a result of a simple fall while on a fishing trip to a remote island in Africa. He spent 12 terrifying hours lying motionless on the sand through the night until a Medivac helicopter could land at first light. He survived thanks to the kindness of strangers, and after a lengthy fight back to one of his passions, is now one of only a few quadriplegic golfers globally.
Tullipan is Australia’s worst injured survivor of the 2002 Bali bombings, losing both of his legs, most of his stomach muscles and suffering 63 percent full-thickness burns to his body after simply dropping into the Sari Club to buy a bottle of water. Shortly after his medical evacuation by the Australian Air Force on a Hercules back to Australia, he proved all the doctors wrong by miraculously learning to walk again on two prosthetic legs and now is a world-ranked disabled golfer. This October marked the 20th anniversary of the bombings.
Tasmanian native Denby suffered a head trauma which severed the nerves connecting his brain to the left side of his body and suffered paralysis of the brain, similar to a major stroke, after being viciously attacked by a stranger. He was rescued by the Royal Flying Doctor Serviec. He is now also paralysed in his left arm.
Courageous Australians
These courageous Australians have been given a second chance at life. Their determination and strength of character to triumph over personal adversity is nothing short of inspirational. They are living examples that life is 10 precent what happens to you and 90 percent what you make of it.
Gribble became the first person to play the incredibly remote King Island golf courses in the revolutionary Paramotion, a remarkable all-terrain electric wheelchair that raises the user into a secure standing position to swing a golf club.
Air Adventure Golf specialises exclusively in King Island and Barnbougle trips and leant on its experience and relationships in this area to give these unbelievable men the best chance to enjoy this incredible experience.
As large commercial airlines are unable to land on King Island, the logistics alone of transporting the 200-kilogram Paramotion is an example of a challenge faced to make this dream a reality. Air Adventure’s partners at Sharp Airlines were amazing with the extra lengths they went to in order to make the trip work.
With one billion people – or 15 percent of the world’s population – living with a disability, Empower Golf and Air Adventure Golf are on a mission to make it possible for disabled golfers to lead an active and fun lifestyle, by providing them the opportunity to be able to travel to some of the most remote golf courses in our country.
