Shropshire golfer overcomes ‘twist of fate’ to join the game’s elite

Tony Lloyd, from Telford, took up the game as a five-year-old using his father’s clubs – which he found fitted neatly under his armpits, allowing him to strike the ball.

Now aged 49, Tony, who is based at The Shropshire Golf Club, is part of England Golf’s pathway to international competition once again.

Born with the genetic condition phocomelia – which, in layman’s terms means short limbs – Tony has had to develop his own swing and has gone on to become a superb golfer.

“It’s just a genetic twist of fate, I guess,” he said. “It just meant my arms didn’t develop completely. They basically end at just about the elbow on both hands. 

"I’ve got a digit on one side which I call my thumb, and then I’ve got two fingers on the other side. So, obviously, no hands is another thing, never mind the short arms.”

He has learned to do all the ordinary things with what he has, although shoelaces, ties and top buttons present a challenge. 

“My parents always just used to let me get on with things and just learn how to do stuff,” and swinging a golf club was no different, as the five-year-old Tony pulled a club from his father’s golf bag. 

“One day we were at the local driving range, and he was hitting golf balls, and I think I just literally pulled a golf club out of his bag and naturally put it under my arm like I still swing now. I could use his clubs quite comfortably, but I soon grew out of them.”

As Tony grew and the clubs became too short for his unusual way of holding them, that is until he was paying a final visit to the limb centre in Roehampton, London. His regular therapist was away, but this chance meeting would change Tony’s life.

“I was 18 or 19 years old, and the therapist said, ‘Look, we’ve not been able to help you with anything else, so we probably don’t need to see you again, but is there anything that you can think of that you can’t do which you wish you could?'”

Almost mischievously Tony said he would like to play golf – and it proved to be the right question, at the right time, to the right person. 

The therapist was a golfer and took on the challenge to get Tony swinging a club and even snapped the head off his own three iron and welded it to a piece of copper pipe.

In his enthusiasm, he neglected to wrap any kind of grip on the club before passing it to Tony and saying, “Here try that.” Moments later, Tony was swinging the homemade club, “And do you know, it actually worked. I mean, it ripped my armpit to pieces, but it suddenly made me think, wow, this is something I could actually do.” Tony now boasts a gold handicap of 8.8 – which would put him in the top 15 per cent of fully able-bodied golfers.

He added: “I was spotted by the local golf pro Dave Kelly at the range, and he thought of the idea of maybe getting a driver shaft and putting another one into the end of it. That was much better, with a proper grip on it, way better than a copper pipe ripping my armpit apart. I could practise properly, and I actually did nine holes.

“I was put in touch with Anne, who had her own golf business, by a colleague at the Lloyds Bank where I worked. Personal Touch Golf in Stafford didn’t just make me a couple of clubs, they actually put 10 clubs together for me.”

A chance meeting with golf legend Peter Alliss in 2005 put Tony on to the pathway for international competition – the the late golfer-turned-commentator telling Tony he would be able to enter competitions specifically for people with disabilities.

“Professionals see me play and then invite me down so they can work with me. So, I’ve worked with Mark Roe, he’s a commentator now but former European Tour winner. And Andrew Murray, former European Open winner.” 

One unforgettable moment was when Tony was invited to hit balls on the range during the European Tour British Masters by former Tour player and Sky Sports commentator Nick Dougherty. 

Surrounded by Ryder Cup players, tournament winners and some of the very best professionals in the world, Tony stepped onto the range with some trepidation to take his place live in front of the cameras and hundreds of thousands of viewers around the globe. 

He recalled: “Inside I was just looking around thinking, my goodness, I’m on a range here with these guys. I  don’t think it’s an arrogant thing to say, but when I was hitting golf balls I was doing what I like doing, and because it’s a real passion of mine I was in the comfort zone to a certain extent. 

“Even so, once they took the microphone off, there was a sigh of relief.”

And asked what he would now tell his five-year-old self, first picking up a golf club, Tony said: “I’d say stick with it, just try it, and learn. It’s such a good sport… it’s great socially, it’s also great for your health. 

"It’s got so many benefits, but the euphoric feeling you get when you hit that good shot, I always remember the best shot of the round. That is the shot that keeps you coming back all the time. 

"That’s what I would say to my five-year-old self, stick with it. I just hope I’m still playing in 10 years’ time to see these guys just take it to the next level.”