Golf Athlete - Matthew Sims
Location: Llanelli , South Wales
Coach: Brian Hughes
Matthew Sims is 25 years old. He has Downs Syndrome. He is a passionate and talented golfer who has represented Wales and Great Britain, an achievement his mum and dad say they would never have believed possible.
When Matt was a baby, he had severe coordination problems so his parents put him in a harness attached to a door frame and would spend hours with him, kicking a ball to and fro. With their perseverance and his, Matt made huge progress.
Matt’s first taste of golf was as a young boy, when his mum and dad took him to Porthkerry Park near Barry to play pitch and putt. His talent very quickly became evident. He took to the sport so much, he insisted on them making a hole in the middle of their lawn so he could practise. But that wasn’t enough for Matt – shortly afterwards he was caught digging another hole in a flower bed to make his own ‘bunker’.
Matt’s serious training began when Cardiff City Council formed a golf section for players with a learning disability. Matt joined this and entered his first competition at Heath Park in Cardiff on a pitch and putt course, where he won the event. On the strength of his performance, the section leader invited Matt to play in a match at St Andrew’s Golf Club. After some confusion about directions, Matt and his family went to the wrong club and arrived late for the match. But Matt was still able to go round the competition course and impressed everyone with how well he did. That really marked the start of his golfing success.
Matt was chosen to play with the Special Olympics Wales team at the SOGB national games at Cardiff in 2001, then at the Dublin world games in 2004. The Dublin course was an extremely challenging one with 96 bunkers. Matt’s parents remember clearly how at the 18th hole he drove slightly into the rough, then pitched his ball onto the green 20 feet from the hole.
They say: “There was a huge crowd but you could have heard a pin drop. Then the ball went straight in and the crowd just erupted. We’ll never forget that moment.”
Also in 2004, Matt represented Great Britain against Europe in a competition at Monte Carlo.
Matt’s achievements are a great source of pride to him and his family. Their fireplace is covered in his medals and trophies. Matt’s most memorable golfing moments include meeting Seve Ballesteros at the Dublin world games, winning the Burroughs Award given by the Golf Foundation at the Belfry course in the Midlands, and holding the Ryder Cup on a visit to Wentworth. Last year he also attended the Ryder Cup practice day. This year he was thrilled to be invited to play in the BMW PGA Pro Am championships.
Matt has now become a full member of the Peterston Lakes Golf Club near Cardiff and has a handicap of 19. He is training hard towards the world games in Shanghai and plays 18 holes whenever he can, either on his own or with another club member. During bad weather he practises his swing at the golf range. He is putting in a lot of extra golfing practice and doing regular sessions at the gym to build his stamina.
Matt regularly plays for a team in Carmarthen, and all of them are very supportive of his bid for a world games medal in Shanghai.
TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ATHLETES OR COACHES, PLEASE CONTACT THE SOGB NATIONAL OFFICE.
TELEPHONE: 020 7696 5569 OR EMAIL TO: pr@sogb.org.uk