My name is Rob Walden, and I am 53 years old. I grew up in a small copper mining town in rural Arizona named San Manuel. Three weeks after my 18th birthday, I enlisted in United States Air Force. In 1997 I married my beautiful bride Julie, we have one son, Jake, who is 20 years old and is an accomplished golfer in his own right and who is also pursuing a career in professional golf. My grandfather introduced me to the game of golf when I was about 11 years old and have been playing it ever since.
In 2016, I unfortunately had an accident at home with one of my ½ scale model airplanes where I lost most of my fingers on my right hand from the airplane propellor. I not only had to re-learn how to do my day-to-day activities but also how to play golf again with half of my hand missing. I enjoy volunteering my time to promote golf, a couple being the First Tee Phoenix as a youth volunteer golf coach and Special Olympics of Arizona. Watching a kid hit their first good golf shot or seeing how happy the players are within the Special Olympics is incredibly special and truly inspiring. My goal is to bring awareness and inclusiveness in golf for people with all abilities. I love the game of golf and all the challenges it brings and hope to be an inspiration to those around me regardless of handicap or disability by being an example of perseverance and with a good attitude anything is possible regardless of what life throws at you.
I am currently ranked 3rd in the USAGA rankings for US Adaptive Golfers and Top 50 in the world by WR4GD rankings.
