Golf enthusiast Jordan Thomas was just 16 years old in 2005 when a tragic boating accident changed his life forever. It was during a family scuba diving trip in the Florida Keys that the young man was dragged into the boat’s powerful propellers, resulting in the loss of both of his legs from below the knee.
Refusing to be defined by his disability, however, Thomas not only returned to the golf course before he could even walk with prosthetics, but the tenacious teenager also set up a charitable foundation from his hospital bed, giving himself a new life-mission: to support those who couldn’t afford prosthetics but were let down by insurance companies.
Now readying for the 2025 U.S Adaptive Open, this highly inspirational figure talks to M&F about his physical and mental recovery through sport, and his unwavering desire to help others in similar situations.
Just nine days following his life-altering accident, Jordan Thomas was already focusing on a nonprofit foundation to procure prosthetic limbs for those in need. “I’m a bit of a disruptor,” he tells M&F. “I think that the status quo is broken in terms of how we treat children with limb loss.”
Despite the tragic loss of his own legs, Thomas says that he always understood he was in a state of privilege because his family were able to support him financially, while others who rely on the system are often failed. Today, the Jordan Thomas Foundation has gone from strength-to-strength and has supported more than 200 children, raising over $10 million, in order to provide physical and mental support to those who have lost limbs.
“Ultimately, it all comes down to insurance companies that don’t cover prosthetics,” explains Thomas of his motivation. “Because at the end of the day, they don’t want to pay for the prosthetics, and so they’ll say things like, ‘Oh, it’s not medically necessary that this child have a prosthesis to run’. But I can’t think of a more necessary thing in a child’s life than to be able to run as a child. The impact that being sedentary can have on mental health, physical health, well-being, and social connection is incredible,” he says.
So not only is Thomas engaged in fundraising to plug the gaps that insurance companies fail to address, but he’s also calling for changes in political policy too, to force financial support via legislation. “It’s maddening,” he shares. “Insurance companies need to cover this.”
Jordan Thomas Reclaimed His Physical and Mental Health Through Golf
To reclaim an important part of his old life while building his foundation and working on his own mental health, Thomas first returned to the golf course in a wheelchair “to get into a golf cart and just get driven around because it’s a space for me that’s familiar and comfortable and safe,” he reflects.
Still, it wouldn’t be long before Thomas was vertical again. “Ultimately, we as humans have this incredible ability to adapt,” he explains. “My accident was on August 16, 2005, and I walked again on October 14. I mean, I started with just chipping the golf ball 5 yards because I felt like I was on stilts trying to find my balance again.”
Fortunately, Thomas did find his balance, and once he re-mastered his swing, his game continued to soar. To find his golf footing, Thomas explains that he had to relearn everything from walking the terrain of a golf course on prosthetics to figuring out his weight distribution when making strokes. To that end, Thomas used technology like weighted sensors to perfect his stance.
Now a top-ranked adaptive golfer, Thomas came fifth overall in the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open in 2022. Last year, he came second in his impairment category (G3 impairment in both legs), and in 2025 he is looking to return to the Open after becoming the first double amputee ever to qualify for the Tennessee State Amateur.
The Jordan Thomas Foundation is Changing Lives
“I’m feeling really good with where my game is, and I’m actually going to DC. Tomorrow, to play the golf course, to have a look at it before the Open kicks off in July,” he tells M&F. “But yeah, I feel pretty good about my chances. I feel good about where my game is, and I hope to have some success.”
Still, despite those hopes of medals, Thomas says that golf is primarily a way for the change-maker to raise awareness for the essential work that the foundation does to support those that the financial companies continue to let down.
Through the Jordan Thomas Foundation, he’s also able to create events that bring kids outdoors and see what’s possible when the human spirit is willing. Still, the athlete explains that providing support isn’t about necessarily creating the next paralympian. “I think one of the most powerful things that I’m most proud of is that we had a girl that took the first step of her life with a prosthetic that was secured through the foundation,” beams Thomas. “She also used a prosthetic from the foundation to walk across her high school stage.”
There is no doubt that Jordan Thomas has become a hero on and off the golf course, and it’s easy to see why his mantra of “Press On!” saw him become nationally recognized as a CNN Hero among many other well-deserved accolades. “I’ve found a purpose,” says the unassuming hero, proudly. “And I don’t doubt why I exist on this planet.”
To find out more about the Jordan Thomas Foundation, now celebrating it’s 20th year of service, click here!
