TAMPA

SoloRider golf car helping veterans get back in the game.

A Tampa businessman whose company makes it possible for disabled golfers like himself to play the game they love is joining a statewide effort to help veterans get back on the course. Monroe Berkman, who owns SoloRider Management LLC, is teaming up with The Adaptive Golf Foundation to sponsor clinics for veterans, many of whom returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries they thought ended their days on the golf course. American Veterans Adaptive Golf, an initiative derived from the Adaptive Golf Foundation in conjunction with the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, will host its first clinic on Nov. 9 and 10 at Terrace Hill Golf Club in Temple Terrace. Berkman has arranged for several of his company’s specially designed golf cars to be available for veterans at the clinic.

“For thousands of veterans, getting back on the golf course is like getting their lives back,” said Berkman, who contracted polio when he was a youngster but returned to the game after buying Centennial, Colo.-based SoloRider in 2004. “Golf has mental, physical and emotional benefits that can play important roles in the rehabilitation process.”

The SoloRider single-passenger golf car features ergonomic hand controls and a patented seat that can be raised and rotated to put players in a comfortable position from which to hit their shots. The car’s even weight distribution and suspension system allow it to be driven onto tees and greens without damaging the turf and create a safe and comfortable ride for golfers.

David Windsor, executive director of American Veterans Adaptive Golf, said, “words can’t describe” the joy he sees in the faces of veterans when they get back on the course for the first time. “It’s a great gift to give to men and women who have sacrificed so much,” he said.

Following the Tampa event, the Adaptive Golf Foundation plans clinics in six other Florida cities where there are VA hospitals. Windsor says he hopes to expand the program nationally in the next two years.

For more information regarding the Tampa clinics on Nov. 9 and 10 please call 941-364-4653. For information on Florida Adaptive Golf, please visit www.FloridaAdaptivegolf.org.

About SoloRider

Established in 1991, Centennial, Colo.-based SoloRider Management LLC manufactures and distributes the industry’s leading single-rider golf car. SoloRider is the only single-rider golf car that meets or exceeds ANSI standards for safety, performance, stability, speed and suspension. In 2002, SoloRider received the prestigious da Vinci Award from the Engineering Society of Detroit in recognition of innovations that empowered all people, regardless of physical ability. Monroe Berkman, an avid golfer, polio survivor and longtime user of the SoloRider golf car, purchased the company in 2004. For more information about SoloRider and its support of American veterans, please visit www.solorider.com.