October 5, 2009
Manuel de los Santos
Manuel de los Santos was just eighteen when he was hit by a car whilst out riding his motorcycle. The collision put Santos into a coma for four days and resulted in the loss of his left leg just above the knee. The young rider from the Dominican Republic had dreams of making it big as a professional baseball player with the Toronto Blue Jays but the accident caused him to rethink his aspirations and shortly after the accident he moved to Paris and took up the game of golf with a vengeance.
Now just 7 short years later, Santos lines up with the professionals at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland and plays off a handicap of just three. He is able to drive a ball over 300 yards straight down the fairway but what makes Santos unique amongst amputees is that he refuses to wear any form of prosthesis. He uses crutches to walk between holes and spurns the use of a buggy, declaring that “It’s a sport. I’m an athlete. I walk.”
His next goal is to become a scratch player and, looking at what he has achieved to date, who would bet against him?
Santos found inspiration in the film, The Legend of Bagger Vance, which depicts the struggles of a golfer struggling to succeed against all odds, after his wife brought home a copy. Surprisingly he found that he had a natural balance and after enrolling at the local driving range he was soon putting in over 8 hours practice each and every day. He impressed staff so much that they let him practice free of charge. This practice paid off handsomely and he won several tournaments for handicapped players in Europe in quick succession.
Considering that golf is primarily a game of balance, Santos achieves miracles by balancing his 80kg body weight on one leg whilst taking a deft putt and does not move a muscle. This is astonishing given that the secret of golf success is the requirement to have a very stable base which provides the platform from which the upper body produces direction and power.
Watch him whilst he does this and the picture is extraordinary. If you could only see him from the waist up, you would not know that he has only one leg. His balance and stability is better than most golfers who have both legs available!
