Mike Jones is an beginner golfer with a scratch handicap whose dream, aged 57, is to qualify for the Senior Open Championship.
“I’m a golfer,” he says, introducing himself, “who occurs to have a incapacity.”
Jones’ outlook is a outstanding one. He misplaced his left leg after a highway accident on Halloween 2015.
There have been some “brutally darkish instances” throughout six weeks in hospital, till a dialog with one other affected person reworked Jones’ mindset.
Eight years on, he has not appeared again.
“I have a look at my accident and assume it is the very best factor that occurred to me,” Jones says.
“It is a loopy, loopy assertion, however it’s so true.
“Clearly it might be nice if I had my leg once more. But when I would had the accident and nonetheless had my leg, I do not know whether or not it might have modified the way in which I understand issues or strategy issues.
“This completely modified my notion on what’s essential, what we have to transfer ahead and easy methods to be constructive.”
Jones, from Pontypool, was once {an electrical} engineer.
He was on the every day commute when he was knocked off his bike.
“It was a really low pace accident however it crushed my left leg under the knee – each bone was damaged,” Jones says.
“The most important damage, the life-threatening damage, was my thigh hit by way of the again of my pelvis. It snapped my pelvis in half and broke the top off my femur. I practically bled to loss of life on the aspect of the highway – the paramedics saved my life.”
Jones, who was aged 50 and had a son at college, remembers mendacity in his hospital mattress questioning “what I’m going to do for the remainder of my life”.
He was in tears when a double amputee who had suffered with diabetes “wheeled over and mentioned ‘Mike, we have to have a chat'”.
“He mentioned you’ve two selections, you’ll be able to both sit in mattress, really feel sorry for your self and go on that downward spiral, otherwise you determine to take your restoration head on and do one thing about it,” Jones provides.
“I can not thank the man sufficient. The subsequent morning my spouse got here and mentioned ‘what’s occurred to you?’. All the things was let’s push on, do my restoration and get out of right here.”
Jones set himself a goal of being dwelling for Christmas – and hit it.
By the next spring he had a prosthetic leg and, having watched incapacity golf movies on the web whereas in hospital, Jones’ first cease when he was capable of stroll was the driving vary.
“I hit all of them proper and it simply developed from there,” he says.
A greater golfer now than ever
Jones had taken up golf in his late twenties, in a short time getting his handicap down to 2.
Lately he performs off plus 0.3.
“I’m a decrease handicap than I used to be after I had two legs,” he says with a smile. “It is simply studying to adapt your sport and enjoying to your strengths.”
Jones has travelled throughout Europe enjoying EDGA – previously generally known as the European Disabled Golf Affiliation – occasions, whereas he spent a few years enjoying as an beginner alongside {golfing} stars on the Legends Tour.
“Jean van de Velde was watching me drive the ball on the vary,” Jones explains. “He came visiting and mentioned ‘if you happen to change this or assume this fashion, I am positive you may hit it higher’. Inside two swings I used to be considering ‘that is unimaginable’.
“Michael Campbell gave me a short-game lesson. You need to pinch your self generally and assume ‘is that this actually taking place?’. It would not have occurred if it wasn’t for disabled golf.”
Jones now works within the sport, organising golf days, and offers motivational talks about his experiences following the accident.
His dwelling course is Monmouthshire Golf Membership, the place the previous Wales rugby captain Scott Quinnell is a daily enjoying accomplice.
“Scott has put his physique on the road for his nation on the rugby discipline,” Jones says.
“He all the time says ‘it is all best for you, you’ve solely obtained one dangerous knee, I’ve obtained two’.”
A giant week at Woburn
This can be a large week for Jones. He’s in Woburn for the inaugural G4D Open, a landmark occasion being staged by the R&A in partnership with the DP World Tour with the help of EDGA.
The championship, which runs from 10-12 Might, will characteristic lots of the world’s greatest golfers – female and male – with disabilities and will likely be some of the inclusive ever staged.
“We cater for everybody – totally different handicap ranges, an enormous vary of disabilities,” says Jones, the gamers’ consultant on the EDGA tour.
“We now have paralysed golfers who play out of a specifically tailored cart, gamers with cerebral palsy, gamers who’re quick in stature, arm and leg amputees, neurological disabilities as effectively.
“We now have 9 sports activities courses at this Open, so everybody has a chance to compete on a stage enjoying discipline.”
Jones will likely be joined within the Woburn discipline by one other Welsh participant, Dylan Baines, who he inspired to play golf after they met whereas having therapy on the similar clinic.
Baines had been informed he would not walk again after a road accident, however received what was simply his third EDGA occasion final autumn.
“I used to be so pleased with him and happy for him,” Jones says.
So what probability a victory for Jones this week? He’s optimistic due to some first rate type, which additionally gives hope for Senior Open Championship qualifying later this yr.
The likes of Bernhard Langer, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington are due in Wales when the event takes place at Royal Porthcawl in July – and Jones goals to hitch them by coming by way of a qualifying occasion forward of the event.
“To compete in opposition to the legends correctly – that might be a dream come true,” he says.
