physical limitations in your game?

[flopdarock]

does anyone have any physical limitations they have to over come in order to play golf?

i recently played with a guy that lost his leg while serving in the military in iraq... he had a prosthetic and it didnt seem to hinder his game any from what i can tell... i didnt even know until he told me(he had pants covering the prosthetic)... tho i have no clue how he played before he lost his leg...

so this got me to thinking about what others overcome just to play our fav past time...

i know im severely nearsighted but wear contacts to correct it... i also have very bad knees from 2 decades of surfing and a bad back from a sportbiking accident... my pro knows these things and adjusts my lessons accordingly... i think this is the only thing thats keeping me from a better long game and a lower handicap

[glebert]

I have somewhat limited range of motion in my right right shoulder; I had surgery on it as a teenager because it kept dislocating, and they intentionally limited the range of motion (I didn't golf at the time). What I have found is that with a conventional swing this will cause me to go OTT pretty hard. I have changed my swing to a very flat plane, with my elbow at my hip, which takes the right shoulder out of the equation.

[Shindig]

Compared to the veteran who lost his leg, I have no right to complain about any physical limitations.

But I'll mention them anyway.

I went for a fitness evaluation last May with a TPI certified trainer. I had problems with range of movement in my shoulders and hips. I do workouts designed to increase this range of movement. I haven't been re-checked since July, so I wonder what issues there are now.

[RocktimusPryme]

I do. I often feel myself overcome by bouts of SEVERE lazyness. So I stuggle to talk myself into waking up to make a tee-time. But ussually once I get to the course I dont regret it......ussually lol

[Pinseeker81]

I do. I often feel myself overcome by bouts of SEVERE lazyness. So I stuggle to talk myself into waking up to make a tee-time. But ussually once I get to the course I dont regret it......ussually lol

Truer words my friend, truer words. We should start a club...later...if we feel like it.

[Dub]

40 years old.....knee problems stemming from acl surg (left) and cartilage surg (right) 18 years ago.....arthritic now.

Foot pain from repeated breaks on a metatarsal bone (right). Twice playing football and once from hunting accident five years ago at the same location.

Rehabbed right shoulder from a fall that dislocated it and mucked it up to the point where I quit golf altogether for a few years.


Back now and taking things smoothly....not trying to do anything crazy but thouroughly enjoying the game.

I've seen guys enjoy the game into their eighties with serious issues but still love it. Wanna be one of them.

[RocktimusPryme]

Truer words my friend, truer words. We should start a club...later...if we feel like it.

As long as theres nothing on TV.... Seriously though the last part of that had me rolling for a good long while, genius stuff.

[cnixon83]

i tore my meniscus in my left knee playing golf last august. decided to try to go the way of strengthening the muscles that support it and avoid surgery as long as possible. when i was in high school i tore my rotator cuff in my right shoulder... just gave up baseball with no surgery, should of had it done. i have the range of motion that i used to... and i have a near freakish range of motion. anyways... my shoulder does come out of socket every now and then playing golf... hasn't happended for a few years, but it's enough to make any onlookers sick if they see it happen.

[TheWarHound]

I can't keep my left shoulder down . . . or my arms straight . . .

Seriously, I have been playing the last couple of weeks with a broke big toe . . . shampoo bottle fell on it while in the shower (I shit thee not!), so I limp, limp, limp, then hit the ball.

[denver_nuggs_15]

I had a limitation at the end of the summer/early fall. A golf cart was flipped onto my foot. I couldn't golf for 3 weeks. When I did return, I couldn't push off with my right foot for a while. I'm all better now, though.

My dad tore his achilles tendon, tore his bicep, and has a permanent shoulder injury. It's funny (not really) because it doesn't hinder him at all. He was bad before the injuries. He's said he wants to take lessons this year, so I don't know if he will be affected by the injuries.

I once saw a guy playing with a prostetic leg. He was like a 6 handicap. He was righty and his left leg was prostetic, so he couldn't make a full turn. However, he was damn good.

[indacup]

My limitation is located between my ears.

[ghalfaire]

I had my left leg pretty well busted up in the 60s along with some other stuff.  The other stuff healed good as new but there was some nerve damage in the leg and it is about 3/4" shorter than the right.  It has an affect on how I swing the club and set up.  As a result of the injury I learned to play right handed since I can't "drive my weight forward" with the left leg.  But it has been years now and righty feels normal and am still pretty good at turning a club upside down and hitting lefty when I need to.  For a short time  I putted lefty and hit righty but that really screws up your head so I do it all righty now.

[OCdude12]

My brother's friend lost 4 fingers on his left hand back in high school but he can still play.  He's a real athletic guy in the first place, kept playing lacrosse for the high school team after the accident and then went on to start for his college team that won a national championship in their division also.  He still plays golf every so often and you wouldn't even guess anything happened.  Last time we played, we were just messing around on a par 3 course after work one day and I think I gave them like 4 or 5 shots, pretty sure he beat me, that sneaky bastard.

As for me, I don't have much holding me back like some of the previous posters have said, except for myself.  I also took one of the TPI evaluations awhile back and found I'm not the most flexible person anymore, and I think if I were to actually put some effort into getting into some sort of good physical shape it could make a big difference.  Thats the goal for 2011, I just have to keep myself motivated and actually do the work.  So much easier said than done.

[max power]

Torn ligaments in my right wrist, and arthritis in my left thumb (broken 4 years ago).  The wrist has kept me from playing a couple times for 6 months - year, but it's been manageable for the last 20 months.

[allin]

I had a closed head injury at age 24, two months over 30 years ago, from being hit in the head with a batted baseball. Basically a mild to moderate stroke.  I did many fine motor things, like eat and write left handed.  I also had surgery for crossed eyes, (lazy eye) as a teenager.  My brain now supresses, (ignores) the left eye except at very short range.  I had to learn to write right handed etc.  My strength, feel and coordination in my left side is somewhat impaired.  Only people who knew me before the accident ever notice.  Pre accident friends  comment that I moved gracefully when young, but not now.  I always thought I was a doofus!  The one thing I would tell someone is don't buy in to self imporant but usually well meaning types who tell you to accept your new reality / limitations.  When I first regained conciousness I could not speak, could not even walk unassisted for close to 3 months.  Medical personnel repeat like it was a mantra you won't know where you are at for one year, after that you won't see any improvement.  Certainly the activites I pursue changed, comparing yourelf to your pre injury abilities while playing baseball, basketball, dancing etc is very frustrating.  That is one of the reasons I started playing golf.  I am sure I would have played at a higher level if never injured, but the satisfaction of finding ways to make good shots is probably even more satisfying for me than others.  Except for a lack of length I am average or better in many gofl skills, especially putting.  I was lucky to even get the ball airborne my first 30 rounds or so.  I was forced from the beginning to focus on strategy and putting.  And over the years I have continued to progress in many areas, slowly and steadily.  I would say the only thing that bugs me is what people call muscle memory is poor.  If I don't practice or play for an extended period it takes me a very long time to get my game back, and changes take a long time to make.

[DaSportsGuy]

I broke my wrist when I was 8 and it still bothers me at times when I'm golfing. Nothing that hurts my game too much, just the off and on pain.

This season I played with a guy who had a prosthetic right leg. He had pants on and I didn't even know until we were driving up the 15th cart path and I was looking down and he must've thought I was looking at his leg and said he was driving with his left foot because he has a prosthetic right leg. I felt kinda bad because he must've thought I was looking at it but I was just looking down for some reason. I didn't even notice that he was driving with his other leg and would've never noticed had he not said anything. Never did say how he lost it or if he was born that way and I didn't ask. I don't recall his handicap but I keep all my scorecards so I went up and checked to see what he shot and he did shoot a 79 so I would say he was around a 7 or 8. I know he was a single digit I just can't remember the exact number he gave me.

[sean_miller]

Just poor eyesight really. Issues with clarity and depth perception now and then. Nothing too disabling, just makes it hard to find my tee shot and read greens sometimes - it all comes out in the wash since I'm never forced to watch a perfectly good ball land OB and I probably would have pulled that putt anyway.

[xxsoultonesxx]

Where do I start? Broken wrist when I was 17, torn meniscus in my right knee, two separated shoulders, one of them also has been dislocated, and that gooey thing between my ears has been knocked around a few times as well. Cold weather makes me move like frankenstein if I don't stretch out and stay warm.