Adaptive Golf: The Financial Impact – Todd Keirstead

Most conversations about growing the game focus on juniors and women. Todd Keirstead makes the case for a third group that is consistently overlooked: people with disabilities. Drawing on data from the US Census Bureau, the National Center of Accessibility, Clemson University, the PGA of Canada, and a national economic impact study, Todd walks through the real numbers – rounds lost, revenue sitting unclaimed, and what it costs a facility to do nothing. This is not a feel-good talk. It is a detailed, data-driven argument for why adaptive golf is a serious business opportunity, backed by a roadmap Todd has already presented to the National Golf Course Owners Association of Canada.

💡 What You’ll Learn

• Why approximately one in five people in the general population has some form of disability – and what that means for the catchment area of any golf facility
• How to segment the adaptive golf market into three distinct groups: those already playing, those who played before an injury and stopped, and those interested in learning for the first time
• How to translate those population percentages into projected rounds of golf and revenue across membership, green fees, equipment, apparel, and travel
• Why the 22% who played before their injury are the easiest demographic to re-engage – and why facilities are currently leaving that revenue on the table
• The six pillars of Todd’s inclusion roadmap: access, attitude, choice, partnership, communication, and strategy
• Why attitude at the point of first contact can undo significant facility investment – and what it actually means to create a welcoming environment
• How adaptive golf coaching differs from standard instruction, and why adapting your teaching style to the individual is both more challenging and more rewarding
• Why mentorship programmes – not just one-to-one coaching – are the mechanism that makes adaptive golf sustainable at scale

👥 Who is This For?

• PGA Professionals looking to grow their lesson business and broaden their client base
• Golf facility operators and general managers assessing new revenue streams
• Those responsible for membership strategy, community engagement, or sponsorship development at a golf club
• National and regional associations considering how to build adaptive golf into their programmes
• Any golf professional who works with individuals with physical or mental health conditions and wants a framework for thinking about it

📂 Format & Structure

• 1 video Masterclass (approx. 45 minutes, including live Q&A)
• Estimated completion time: under 1 hour
• Watch at your own pace, on any device

🎤 About the Speaker

Todd Keirstead is a PGA of Canada member of over 25 years, a golf entertainer whose trick-shot shows have been featured on ESPN, the Golf Channel, TSN, and TMZ, and have helped raise millions of dollars for charity worldwide. His experience performing alongside people with disabilities at adaptive clinics – including work with the US military and wounded veterans – led him to found ’Bring Back the Game’, a programme to return golf to individuals who had lost it through physical or mental injury. He served as golf competition supervisor at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, working directly with 550 athletes from 17 countries and spending time with Prince Harry discussing the benefits of the sport. He is the founder and CEO of ParaGolf Canada, a national initiative creating pathways for Canadians of all abilities to participate in golf, and a recipient of the Warren Crosbie Community Leader of the Year award.

The CPG Masterclass Series embodies a range of talks and presentations for PGAs and PGA Professionals that cover a variety of subjects and topics, delivered by world-class, industry leading experts from their respective fields.