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http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS Thursday, August 22, 2024 3

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Matt Krimmel’s body below his chest is raised vertically using the VertaCat

golf cart – a cart for those with mobility challenges and disabilities. Krimmel,

shown putting here on a practice green at Binder Park Golf Course in Battle

Creek, said he wants to get the word out to others about the cart, and that

he’s more than willing and happy to help others with disabilities to get back

outdoors and learn how to use the cart. (Shopper News photo by Will Kowalski)

today. The other two: The SoloRider
has a seat that swivels; and the
Paramotion is a less-grounded and
less-stable version of the VertaCat.
Krimmel, Osborne, Binder Park
GC head golf professional and assis-
tant manager Alex Johnson – along
with a mutual golf-playing friend
of those three, B.C.’s Dave Funk –
were all involved with choosing the
VertaCat as the cart that would be
the best to have at Binder Park for
those with disabilities.
They chose the VertaCat while
attending a PGA Merchandise Show
in Orlando, FL, last winter.
Prior to that, Osborne and Krimmel
started efforts to purchase some kind
of mobility cart for BPGC via a golf
fundraising outing last September at
Binder Park that brought in $19,000.
The $19,000 – raised via a 100-per-
son Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) golf fundraiser playing field
plus donations from several local
and area businesses, organizations
and residents – would have covered
the cost of a SoloRider (approximate
cost $15,000),.
But the VertaCat’s price tag was
closer to $30,000.
“That’s when the City of Battle
Creek came through in a big, big

way by getting the other $11,

we needed for the VertaCat,” said

Osborne, whose resume includes

being president of the Michigan

Section PGA, a PGA of America

District Director and a PGA Junior

Leader award winner

“See ... a regular (battery-powered)

Yamaha golf cart we have here costs

around $7,000 apiece, because we

buy them by the fleet. The SoloRider

costs about $15,000. And the

VertaCat costs about $30,000. So we

needed an extra $11,000 to go with

the $19,000 we raised with the ADA

fundraiser.

“And that’s when the City of Battle

Creek helped,” continued Osborne.

“The City felt that since Binder

Park is a city-owned golf course, we

should be the leader in providing this

type of mobility cart service to the

public. And they were all for help-

ing us out with getting us the extra

$11,000 we needed.

“And I should say that people need

to understand,”added Osborne, “that

the $11,000 didn’t come out of city

taxpayer dollars. It came out of the

golf course budget..”

Said Krimmel About

What The VertaCat Can Do

“When we were down at the PGA

Merchandise Show – I have a place

down in Florida as well, and I came

up to Orlando for the show last win-

ter – I tried all three of what you’d

call handicap golf carts that were

available there, and the VertaCat

was, by far, the best application for

my needs,” Krimmel said.

“I mean, the SoloRider, in my

opinion, is for somebody who can

still stand up on their own, maybe

take a step or two. The seat swivels

on the SoloRider, and you can swing

a club on it, but it’s not much good

for people who can’t move their legs

because they’re paralyzed, or who

have had one or both of their legs

amputated.

“The VertaCat, on the other hand,

has apparatus that can lift your legs

up vertically once you’re strapped

in there, and it also has a post that

I use for stability with my left hand

while I swing the golf club with my

right arm. It’s solid, it works great

on regular terrains, and it’s even

allowed on greens so that you can

putt the ball.

“So, the VertaCat, it just has the

best applications for everyone.

Anybody’s going to feel comfort-

able, they’re not going to feel like

they’re weebly and wobbly. The cart,

in general, is just absolutely awe-

some.”

See MOBILITY on 4

VERTACAT
Continued from Page 2