The Loop

Watch and marvel at this old video of an armless golfer absolutely striping it

April 20, 2017

The next time you blame a poor round of golf on a minor physical ailment, think about Tom McAuliffe. Who? To be honest, we'd never heard of the guy until Thursday, but this archive footage of the deceased disabled golfer is incredible.

Without arms, McAuliffe held a golf club between his neck, shoulders and face. It doesn't look like it was very comfortable, yet he was able to consistently hit solid, straight shots (he says in the video that he can hit a drive 150 yards).

OK, enough with the build up. Here's the short film from 1932 titled, "The Golfer With No Arms":

The film is worth watching just to hear the old-time sportscaster narrating it. But seriously, that's impressive footage.

According to golfspelledbackwards.com, McAuliffe had to have both his arms amputated after getting run over by a train when he was a kid. But that didn't stop him from picking up golf and eventually taking his "trick-shot" act around the country. The self-declared "World Champion Armless Golfer" is said to have shot a personal-best round of 85. Did anyone ever nominate this guy for the World Golf Hall of Fame?