TUCSON- Tucson native Richard Sainz was born with a birth defect. When he was just 6 months old, his parents decided to amputate his leg.

But not one to be easily deterred, Sainz played every sport he could, excelling in sports throughout high school and college.

Sainz picked up golf at the age of 13 and immediately noticed his disability made it hard for him to grip a club. This first experience led Sainz to start thinking about ways to improve the game for others like him.

According to Sainz, he felt the strongest need was in prosthetic feet.

“There’s always been a dilemma with prosthetic feet you could either have something flexible but not durable or durable and not flexible,” Sainz said.

Now, Sainz is the co-founder of a state-of-the-art prosthetic foot for other disabled golfers.

And this Thursday and Friday, Sainz will be teeing off at a disabled golfers event, the Paralong Drive in Mesquite, NV.