31 August 2026 - Australia to Stage World-First Para Golf Event under New International Classification System
Updated: 5 hours ago
Australia will host a landmark new international championship for elite golfers with disability in November, with the inaugural Australian All Abilities Open set to become the first event of its kind to be played under the new International Golf Federation (IGF) classification rules aligned with the International Paralympic Committee’s 2025 Classification Code.
The 54-hole Australian All Abilities Open will be staged at Sandhurst Club in Melbourne’s southeast 11th to 13th November 2026.
The championship marks a significant expansion of Australia's elite all-abilities golf offering, with a field of 64 players competing across all eight IGF sport classes. Men's and Women's Open titles will be contested alongside combined sport class honours.
The new format represents a substantial increase on the previous Australian All-Abilities Championship, which featured a 12-player field.
NEW Classification Pathway
The Australian All Abilities Open will be the first of what the IGF expects to become a growing network of internationally recognised events across Oceania, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia.
The development is considered an important part of building the international competition and athlete pool required should golf ultimately secure inclusion on the Paralympic Games program.
The new IGF Classification Rules are separate from the existing World Ranking for Golfers with a Disability system. As with other IPC-governed sports, athletes seeking to compete under the new system will be required to undergo an evidence-based classification process to determine their eligibility.
Sandhurst Club to host expanded field
Sandhurst's North Course has been selected for the championship, with its four tee complexes on each hole allowing for competition across the tournament's four combined competition classes.
The event will be open to eligible athletes across a range of impairment categories, including seated and standing athletes, vision-impaired athletes and athletes with an intellectual impairment.
With Australia hosting the first event under the new classification system, the Australian All Abilities Open is set to provide an important test case for the future international structure of elite disability golf - and potentially a significant step towards the sport's long-term Paralympic ambitions.
The IGF Classification Rules group athletes into sport classes based on activity limitation, ensuring fair competition across eight eligible sport classes:
Seated 1 - Wheelchair or seated athletes with severe reduction in club head speed (CHS) and increased club face variability (CFV) that cannot be partially remedied via adaptive equipment.
Seated 2 - Wheelchair or seated athletes with moderate reduction in CHS and/or increased CFV that cannot be partially remedied via adaptive equipment.
Standing 1 - Standing athletes with consistent severe reduction in CHS and/or increased CFV that cannot be partially remedied via adaptive equipment.
Standing 2 - Standing athletes with consistent and severe reduction in CHS and/or increased CFV that can be partially remedied via adaptive equipment.
Standing 3 - Standing athletes with consistent and moderate reduction in CHS and/or increased CFV that can be partially remedied via adaptive equipment.
Vision 1 - Players who have no light perception, or some light perception and the ability perceive movement, but inability to recognise shapes
Vision 2 - Players who have significantly limited vision (visual acuity)
Intellectual 1 - Players who hold confirmed II1 international eligibility with Virtus and meet IGF eligibility through a Sport Cognition Test Battery.
These eight sport classes combine into four competition classes for the tournament, each with separate tee positions on the course.
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