“When I was born, the doctors said I would never walk.”

Jason Moore said this was what his family was hearing when he entered this world. The 31-year-old Mexico man has lived with spina bifuda and scoliosis — spinal deformities — ever since he was born, but that hasn’t kept him from enjoying life as a golfer and recently sinking his first ever hole in one at The Oaks in town.

May 14th was already a special day when Moore played The Oaks with his stepfather, Anthony Broeker, and his 17- and 15-year-old brothers, Grant and Wyler Broeker, as it was Mother’s Day. The day became unforgettable when Moore hit a double-bouncer from the tee that rolled into the par 3 fourth hole. 

Despite the feat being a rarity in golf, Moore said it was brought up before any of them even hit a shot on the hole, and his brother, Grant, was the one who first noticed and even guessed that something amazing happened.

“We pulled up to hole 4 at The Oaks, where you hit it over the lake,” Moore said. “My (17-year-old) brother said, ‘Someone is going to get a hole in one here. I feel it.’ I went up there and hit it and it went in.

 “We joked, ‘With my luck, I’ll never be able to par this hole again.’ With my luck, it’s going to take me six-plus shots to get this hole.”

One shot is all it took for Moore to achieve a feat that has the odds of 12,500 to 1 for the average golfer, according to the PGA. Moore points out that he’s never been an average golfer, though, as he has grown up with spina bifuda and scoliosis.

Spina bifuda is a birth defect that covers a rare less than 200,000 US cases per year and leaves the spine in babies underdeveloped. Moore said he was diagnosed with the most severe form of the condition called myelomeningocele that left his spine unconnected where it was poking out of his skin and affected nerve function in muscles and organs throughout the body due to spinal cord damage.

Scoliosis is less rare with more than three million US cases per year but is debilitating as Moore was also born with a sideway curvature of his spine that left is resembling a dollar sign.

“Everyday life was pretty tough,” Moore said. “I could do stuff a normal person could do, but it just might take me a little longer.” 

This was after many surgeries, of course, as Moore said he has had about 40 surgeries in his life, with his first happening at two days old and his most recent one happening in 2020. He said he has needed operations on his brain, spine, legs, hips and other areas that have kept him out of a wheelchair. 

“Back when I was having them, I was just used to it,” Moore said. “I was used to being in the hospital with surgeries and doctors. It was just part of life.”

One of those surgeries has played an important role in keeping Moore physically and spiritually upright. During his high school senior year, he had a titanium rod installed that is the full length of a spine, which he said corrected his slouched-over appearance and moved him from 5-foot-4 or 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-9.

Moore said there are still tasks he either can’t or struggles doing like lifting heavy objects and walking with any speed, and there are lasting effects like him having to walk with leg braces or live with deadened nerves in his back from the rod surgery. However, the operation eventually helped him return to a task he once enjoyed. 

Golf was a sport Moore discovered and started playing for fun in high school as he noticed it fit him better than any other sport. He has played baseball in his life but found himself always too slow while other sports like football and basketball were ruled out due to height and speed. Moore still had his concerns when he picked up the clubs again about three to four years ago.

“I didn’t know if I could swing a golf club anymore,” Moore said. “Now, I can’t hardly twist.”

One day, Moore said he grew tired of speculating and being a spectator as he was driving the golf cart as he typically did for his family during a get-together. 

“I’m tired of watching them play,” Moore said. “I’m going to try it and see what happens. I was actually able to do it and thought, ‘Maybe this is my sport.’ Driving the cart was, of course, fun, but I wanted to actually get out there and try it and see what I could do.”

Not only could he still swing a club but Moore also found out that he could send it a decent distance. His swing doesn’t have as much power as other golfers, as it mainly comes from his arms because he can’t twist the rest of his body into the ball. Still, him sinking a hole in one now has given him a moment some golfers don’t have.

“For somebody with a disability, I’m sure that chance is even bigger,” Moore said about the slim chances for a hole in one.

After a challenging past, Moore said he is looking toward a future that has him golfing whenever he has the chance. This brighter future is possible because he actually tried.

Moore said he has impressed himself these previous few years but has been told that others are now watching him with admiration.

“Once I started golfing, friends of my stepdad said, ‘You’re an inspiration to us. You actually get out and try it and are fairly decent.’”

On that fateful day, even though Moore shot ahead of some golfers with his hole in one, he was slow to react after his shot on the fourth hole. Moore’s disbelief of what just had occurred didn’t allow him to truly cherish the moment until later but made clear there were people to cheer him every step of the way.

 “When I hit the ball, I think my group was more excited than me,” Moore said. “I was kind of in shock and was like, ‘No way. Out of all these people, I get it.’ It didn’t hit me until almost the end of the day.”