Golfers rely on their sense of hearing for shot feedback, safety, and the game’s social aspects. A simple example would be the phrase “Fore!” It signals golfers of incoming errant balls to avoid injury. Yet the German professional Allen John proved at the 2026 Joburg Open that, while essential, a lack of good hearing sense cannot prevent someone from rising in golf.

It was just his 10th start on the DP World Tour. But Allen John still managed to make the cut comfortably at the event in South Africa, despite heavy winds interfering with his hearing aid.

“Most of my game is based on feel. So even on contact, I don’t do feedback through the audio, especially when it’s windy like today, the hearing aid is like a microphone so I always have to adjust myself. Overall, I think I’ve found a really good way of managing with the feel and to not be reliant on the hearing too much,” John said in a media presser after the 2026 Joburg Open.

Allen John was born profoundly deaf on August 31, 1987. He has relied on hearing aids since he was just two years old. The aids helped restore about 85% of his hearing.

As the German professional said, he has now started to understand and adapt to the conditions based on feel rather than hearing. That’s what would have helped him at the 2026 Joburg Open because the strong winds would have certainly affected his hearing capabilities even more.

Weather challenges plagued the event. In fact, players were asked to stop play amid Round 2 because of rain and thunder.

Despite the challenges, the German professional fell in love with golf.

He started playing the game at 10 and has been included in the national team multiple times since 2003. The journey was rather challenging. After turning pro in 2003, he reinstated amateur status in 2016 and turned pro again in 2018.

Since 2016, Allen John has played in 9 DP World Tour events. He played 2 in 2016, 1 in 2018, 1 in 2019, 3 in 2020, and 2 in 2026. The 2026 Joburg Open was his 10th start on the tour, and 3rd this season. Before this, he played the 2026 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open and the 2026 Investec South African Open Championship, where he retired and finished T105, respectively.

But on his 10th start, he made the cut comfortably.

Not just that, he has finished his four rounds at 7-under par 273. While not all golfers have finished their rounds, he is currently at T18. And this is not even the only miracle he has pulled off this week.

During the pre-qualifier for the event, he hit his first-ever hole-in-one.

“It was my first hole-in-one ever, over 20 years as a golfer, and I’ve never made a hole-in-one,” Allen John recalled.

It’s been 23 years since he turned professional in 2003. Yet, he has never made a hole-in-one.

Thanks to the hole-in-one and consistent performance throughout, Allen John finished T1 at the prequalifier to play the event.

Allen John’s story is inspiring, but there are a few more who have achieved this feat.

Golf professionals who have competed despite physical and mental challenges

Just like Allen John, Kevin Hall is also deaf. But that didn’t stop him from turning pro and even getting 7 starts on the PGA Tour. He didn’t make the cut in any of the events, but playing on the biggest platform in professional golf is itself very inspiring. The most recent event Hall played on the PGA Tour is the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Billy Mayfair is another name who has made it to the PGA Tour despite facing troubles. He was autistic and didn’t have any physical challenges.

Mayfair had 761 starts on the PGA Tour and made the cut in 478 of them. In fact, he has won 5 PGA Tour events, including the 1993 Greater Milwaukee Open, the 1995 Motorola Western Open, the 1995 THE TOUR Championship, the 1998 Nissan Open, and the 1998 Buick Open. He still competes on the PGA Tour of Champions today. Mayfair has not won any title on the senior circuit but made $4,202,118 in official money.

Apart from them, many others have not competed on the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour but have become professional golfers.

Christine Shin, for instance, is an Australian golfer who is deaf. She is pursuing the PGA of Australia professional status.

Tommy Morrissey and Alex Fourie are famously known as one-armed golfers. Neither of them has two arms of equal length, and yet they play golf professionally.

Fourie was born in Ukraine with one arm and a cleft palate. He was adopted and raised in Alabama, became a golf professional, and is a prominent adaptive‑golf ambassador.

Stories like Kevin Hall’s, Billy Mayfair’s, and others’ highlight how determination continues to push boundaries in professional golf. The same is true for Allen John. The German professional’s memorable week at the 2026 Joburg Open shows that resilience and trust in one’s game can overcome any challenges.