Why competitive opportunities are important for Golf with many disabilities

From a young age, my brother, Matt Snowdon, shone in Golf. Hoping to share the game he loved with his son, our father gave Matt a small group of clubs in a red snoopy bag for his fourth birthday. No one knew it at the time, but those Snoopy clubs marked the beginning of an extraordinary trip to Matt, the one who is still unfolding at every single pace he receives.

“The first day we went down to the rank of running, he was probably five,” my father, Andrew, recalls. “I made a ball for him and gave him an iron. I really didn’t wait so much – maybe he makes contact or, the best case, he leads a straight.

A 3-year-old natural golf player is a rarity-even the rarest is the one with many disabilities.

Matt, who is 25 years old, is diagnosed with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These affect his speech and recognition, however their invisible nature makes it impossible to know about his disability by seeing him only. Matt can walk, speak and live half independent, but he struggles to build sentences, cannot direct or understand money, fight memory issues, and will always require some level of support.

“But in the Golf world, where he can really focus on him and the ball or just the one on the course, he has learned to manage the frustrations really well,” says Lance Clawson, Matt’s tall psychiatrist, who notes how unusual is for someone with Matt’s challenges to shine in sports. “You don’t see this too often, and you really don’t see it in Golf games, where it requires so much focus and so much ability to maintain control.”

With the help of Golf Top 100 teachers Bernie Najar, Matt has boasted a handicap index as impressive as 4.7, placing it in a category with less than 9 percent of male players in the United States. According to Jim Schmutz, President and CEO of the Maryland Special Olympics, Matt is, in the field of disabled golf, “probably a 10 best player in the world”.

The challenge for Matt is to find competitive game opportunities. “It was very easy for me,” Matt says about his latest experience at the Special Olympics, where everyone plays from Tees forward. “But I usually play from tips, (so) is not the way I normally perform from those types of light levels. I just like to play it in the most difficult way.”

That is why Matt hopes to compete in the US adaptive oppive. The USGA tour offers a competitive experience for players whose disabilities include, among other things, visual, intellectual and coordinating damage.

When Matt is not working intensively with his team of doctors and therapists to improve his communication and emotional adjustment skills, he is out of course, perfecting his game. For him, every day is a challenge as he falsifies his way into a world that is not designed with him in mind. But it is his steadfast car – inside and outside the course – this leaves a lasting impression on anyone lucky to cross the paths with him.

Abby Snowdon is an aspiration journalist who will enter her new year at the University of Virginia this fall.