Andreas Brandenberger describes himself as “the guy with short arms and really long clubs.” The line provides a sampling of his sense of humor but only hints at what he’s overcome.
Brandenberger, 38, was born in Greece with a rare condition called phocomelia that left him with truncated upper limbs. Placed in an orphanage as an infant, he was adopted by a family from Kansas and raised in a small town outside Lawrence. Athletic from a young age, Brandenberger was determined not to let his differences deter him. He played the same sports that engaged his friends: basketball, soccer, baseball, football. In high school, he was named to the All-State wrestling team.
Golf, though, wasn’t on his radar.
“I knew that Tiger Woods was out there in the background,” Brandengerger says. “But that’s about it.”
The aha moment came in college at the University of Kansas. One day while channel surfing, Brandenberger caught a TV segment about a short-armed golfer named George Utley, discussing all the things he could and couldn’t do. Utley, it turned out, couldn’t tie his shoelaces but he could stripe a ball down the center of a fairway.
“I thought, ‘I can tie my shoelaces, and this guy looks like me,’” Brandenberger says. “I decided I was going to be a golfer, too.”
A local club-maker helped get Brandenberger started with prototype sticks, six-feet long with a paddle at the butt end that Brandenberger could secure under his arm. With his first swing at the range, Brandenberger says, “the club went farther than the ball.”
That was then.
Today, Brandenberger plays with upgraded clubs that he designed in collaboration with Ping, and he ranks among the standouts in his favorite sport. This weekend, he’ll fly to Maryland from his San Diego home to compete in the U.S. Adaptive Open, his first appearance in the event.
Established in 2022, the tournament is the newest addition to the USGA’s rota of national championships. In its short life, it has been an emblem of inclusivity and a source of inspiration, open to amateurs and professionals of all ages with physical and intellectual impairments who possess a WR4GD Pass (World Ranking for Golfers with Disability).
The year’s edition, set for July 7-9 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., will feature 96 players, competing in eight impairment categories, with overall men’s and women’s titles also on the line. Every player in the field is an elite talent, and each name comes with a compelling story.
For more on Brandenberger’s story, check out the video above. To follow the action at the 2025 U.S. Adaptive Open, keep an eye on this space.
