Competitive disc golfer, father of five, and right below knee amputee, Mike Now doesn’t give up easily, and he definitely doesn’t quit. His drive and grit is on full display when you learn that since losing his leg 3 years ago in 2018, he has competed in more than 25 disc golf tournaments. One of the tournaments was only 6 months after his amputation! He plays in the rain, through the heat, climbs steep and muddied sections of disc golf course, and has participated in tournaments that required multiple rounds in one day. In one of the tournaments, the course was so grueling that over 100 of the 900 players dropped out by the weekends end… but not Mike!
Mike lost his right leg below the knee on February 26th, 2018. His amputation was a result of a wound on his foot that had turned Sepsis. Following his amputation, getting back to playing disc golf was one of his biggest goals. With more than a decade of disc golf experience under his belt, most of it being competitive play, and with all five of his children playing as well, disc golf was a large part of Mike’s life. Mike’s success in returning to his sport is clear just by the sheer amount of competitive tournaments he has been able to compete in since amputation. However, the feat becomes more amazing when you realize the level of demand disc golf puts physically on your body. Being able to throw a disc golf 300+ feet on average is not your everyday casual frisbee toss at your local park. It requires a great deal of agility, balance, and strength, not to mention the physical toll of simply walking through the disc golf courses. Many of the courses require walking 10+ plus miles of hilly terrain. Add in weather elements of heat or rain, and you realize that amputees would face more specific challenges in completing a course.
Mike credits the quality prosthetic care he has had with Optimus Prosthetics as well as taking personal responsibility for his success as an amputee:
“Go to a quality prosthetic company and tell them what you want to be able to do. Communication is key. For example, most recently Rachel added a swivel right below the socket to help me make quicker turns.
It’s up to you to succeed at giving yourself the quality of life you want to have. Understand you played a role in causing this problem, so you have to play a role in fixing it. Never give up!”
