Certified adaptive golf instructor and player Ryan Matthews said the quiet part out loud about his backstory: “You know, you think about having two parents divorced at a young age with no money, no opportunity; you have one arm; you’re in Addison, Michigan. Like, what are you gonna do?” The answer wasn’t obvious to him growing up, but today Matthews has found pride and purpose on the adaptive golf tournament circuit and especially so as a golf instructor for both able-bodied people and those with physical impairments or disabilities.
Tiger Woods’ athletic father, Earl, famously put a club into his son’s hands at age 2. A pro by age 20, Tiger won his first major at 21. Matthews, born with his left arm ending at the elbow, didn’t play golf until he was 23 when he and his dad, looking to spend some quality time together outside, played a round at Ella Sharp Golf Course in Jackson. Matthews’ dad only beat him by one stroke that day in 2009. Today, Matthews is ranked as one of the top five players in his classification in the U.S. Adaptive Golf Alliance. In July, he will play for Team USA in the Cairns Cup, a Ryder Cup-style premier international event for disability golf, hosted this summer at the San Roque Golf Club in Spain. By 2016, Matthews was regularly beating his lifelong childhood friends (who had two arms) on the links. That year, egged on by those same friends, on a lark, Matthews entered a tournament hosted by the North American One-Armed Golfer Association (NAOAGA), a partner organization of the USAGA, and made a good showing. Since then, he has played his way into international events in England and Ireland and, in 2024, qualified for the U.S. Adaptive Open, where the world’s most elite adaptive golfers compete. This January, he was selected as a team captain for a NAOAGA Winter Regional match in Florida. When he’s not competing, Matthews makes his living as a full-time golf instructor at Correct2Compete in Zionsville, Indiana, an indoor golf and fitness training facility near Indianapolis. Oh, and, by the way, he’s also a signed brand ambassador for Lululemon athletic wear. While the tournaments and accolades (and the clothes) are definitely nice, Matthews is most grateful for the people, relationships, and fulfilling career he’s forged along the way. He credits his parents, Diane and Mark Matthews, who divorced when Ryan was 2, for not allowing him to think that he could fail. “My father was an athlete who could play any sport,” Matthews said. Mark coached Ryan from a young age in basketball and football, and Ryan made varsity for both teams at Addison High School, not only playing as a basketball starter, but also leading the team in assists and Lenawee County in steals. He was also selected as an All Conference player. Ryan played soccer from a young age as well, until he was recruited as the varsity football team’s place kicker as a freshman, a position he held all four years of high school. Though Ryan Matthews, like his father, was a competitive high school athlete, making his athleticism stand out with one arm required extraordinary hard work, dedication, and discipline. Matthews humbly remembers it as being “stubborn” and not wanting to be treated differently. “I just wanted to be a normal kid, just like any of my friends,” he recounted. “That’s why I was trying to be so good at sports, because they were so good at sports, and I didn’t want to be the kid that didn’t get passed the ball because I had one arm.” After high school, Matthews attended Jackson Community College and worked in home remodeling. But, at age 23, his life would be forever changed, as it turned out that the day he played his first round of golf with his dad would also be the last time Matthews would see his father, who died unexpectedly two weeks later. Matthews’ world was upended by the loss, and he struggled for some time. “I wasn’t helping myself and I definitely wasn’t helping anyone else,” he recalled. To preserve and honor the memory of where he last saw his dad, Matthews never played the Ella Sharp course again, but he did begin to find solace in the game. “Golf was kind of a therapy,” he explained. “I mean, it’s kind of my way of connecting with my dad still.” As Matthews became more involved in adaptive golf tournament play, his competitiveness propelled him. “I was just average,” he said. “And I hate being average.” Five years ago, isolated during the pandemic, feeling blocked from taking his game to the next level, Matthews decided to move from Michigan to be closer to his mom and sister near Indianapolis. And that’s when things “skyrocketed” for him professionally. Being able to work as a full-time golf instructor with year-round access to indoor facilities not only upped his game, but he feels like it’s made his life come full circle. At 17, Matthews had notions of being a coach. At 35, he became one. He explained that some of his past varsity football coaches positively influenced him in that regard. “[And my dad] is the guy that showed me how to do all this stuff. Now, I have the opportunity to show kids the same thing, in a way.” Correct2Compete, where Matthews coaches, offers personalized golf training, including for adaptive golfers, which is among Matthews’ certifications. Many of his clients have experienced a traumatic injury, losing something they once had, like a leg or a hand, and he is “in awe of what they have overcome.” Matthews doesn’t think of himself as having to adapt in the same way since he has always had one arm. Initially unsure of how able-bodied clients would react to having him for a coach, Matthews’ supportive boss assured him they found him inspirational. “But it’s the little kids who get me,” Matthews admitted. “There’s two or three of them that have one arm that I coach, who are 6, 7, 8 years old and they’re getting the opportunity to learn how to hold the club, to swing it,” Matthews said before pausing and continuing. “I think part of being a good coach is instilling confidence, and that’s all I try to do with lessons and kids and adaptive golfers is put them in positions to succeed just a little.” Last year, Matthews also started a nonprofit, Adaptive Links, to help more adaptive athletes “redefine what’s possible.” Matthews, who it seems was also born with a competitive streak, asserts, “I go to the tournaments to win. I don’t always win — in fact, I rarely win — but I’m always in the mix.” And he continues to work hard at his game. Winning matters to him, but it’s not the only thing. Paying forward what his father, friends, family, career, and the game itself have given him in core values matters most. “At the end of the day, I really just love being around these people,” Matthews enthused. “The friendships, the camaraderie, the relationships, some of the lives I’ve been able to impact. Other adaptive and one-armed golfers who are just like me — that side of it is way more important.”
