After being diagnosed with a neuromuscular condition which resulted in the loss of his balance, Michael Clark assumed his golf days were over.
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He never imagined that six years later he'd be back on the fairway hitting the ball similar distances to when he was growing up.
"It felt great to hit that first one," he said.
"I used to practice chipping at home, but without something like this machine I couldn't even make a full swing."
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The machine he is talking about is called the Para-Golfer - a device that gives anybody with lower-body difficulties the ability to play golf.
Strapping players in with a harness, it allows the user to easily stand up so they can comfortably tee-off.
For Clark, the machine represented an opportunity to restore everything he loves about the game.
"The social side is the big thing," he said.
"Just being outside in the sun and knowing that I could go around with my mates on a Sunday again with something like this is pretty cool."
That feeling of hope was the desired intent of Ballarat Golf Club head professional David Wallis. After borrowing the Para-Golfer from Golf Australia on Monday, he said the results blew away his expectations.
"My goal as the head professional is to try and create new ideas to bring more golfers in," he said.
"I think the inclusion side of golf is massive, so we had this idea to make everything accessible for everyone."
Wallis said the club hosted a two-hour clinic on Monday in which three volunteers, Clark among them, got to use the machine for the first time. He said the feedback around the club was fantastic.
"Everyone has been asking what it does," he said.
"They love hearing the stories of people with disabilities being able to play golf.
"The old stigma is going out the door, and if we don't join the processes making golf inclusive we are going to fall behind and we don't want that."
The club had the Para-Golfer for four days before Wallis returned the machine on Thursday evening.
Wallis told The Courier he intended to seek funding in order to purchase a Para-Golfer for the club permanently.
Be it through a grant or sponsorship, he was hopeful of securing funding by the end of the year.
"Golf is for everyone, it doesn't matter how you perform, it's about getting people on the course," he said.