Tough Love and Second Chances - EDGA

Imagine never having tried golf and then just 18 months later playing in the final of a European matchplay tournament, teeing off with highly experienced players in front of an assembled crowd, filmed by professional cameramen for the golfing media. Miroslav Halmo faced this pressure situation just recently in the EDGA-RSM European Playoff Series in England. He said later it was like something in...

Until Vincent Helly was six years old, he didn’t speak at all. In his early years he lived in silence. His family faced severe anxiety with the pessimistic diagnoses of doctors at the time. Put him in a psychiatric clinic was the view. If autism is often misunderstood today, there was far greater ignorance of the condition even 20 years ago. This summer, at the age of 25, Vincent has been represen...

In 1992 I visited Finland to play in a representative match between British Club Professionals and Finnish Club Professionals at Kurk Golf Club just north of Helsinki. It was my first time in the land of clean air, the northern lights and Santa Claus. Tero Peltola is connected with nature and uses the long summer days to play before work on his own and afterwards with his family. Tero was speaking...

Few people will have a clearer focus on the ups and downs of golf, and the ups and downs of life, than Kurtis. Kurtis was born with scoliosis, which is a deformity of the spine. His spine curves three different ways, and the greatest of these curves is around 50 degrees. Kurtis grew up south of Ottawa, out in the countryside, and it was here that golf started on an old driving range when he was ju...

It seems that Petri Takkunen goes about his business quietly. Petri enjoys and is good at three different sports, Shooting, Archery and Golf. These are not the sports that he had once played, but after losing his left arm in a car accident 25 years ago, and when the doctors told him that he couldn't go to work anymore, he decided that 24 hours per day without work or a hobby was just too much. I c...

For the last week I have had the pleasure of being in the company of Felix Norrman along with seven other players as they competed in the EDGA - European Tour Cazoo Open at the 2010 Ryder Cup course in Celtic Manor. These few days have allowed me to get to know Felix a little more and to understand what makes him tick. The 24 year old Swedish player finished 3rd in Wales and when I recorded this p...

One of the first golfers with a disability I saw play was Duncan Hamilton-Martin. Duncan was playing in Swindon, and I was there to observe the event. My objective was to get a feel for what golf for the disabled was all about. Duncan was on the tee, and if I remember rightly, he ripped a tee shot down the middle. Off he went down the fairway as if it was the most natural thing in the world. For D...

Losing sight in one eye to a genetic condition is bad enough, but when the same disease strikes in the other eye, some 17 years later, well, that is a whole different story. Barry McCluskey is registered blind, yet since losing his sight in both eyes, he has improved golf due to better focus. More focus on practising the right way and developing an appreciation for the game of golf has to offer ha...

Sometimes a person’s courage and positive attitude leave a clear imprint on those they meet. This is one of those times. When he was born in Tasmania, southeast Australia, his father and uncles continued a family tradition and gave him a nickname. In Aussie lingo, he was a bit of a “big jiggler” and so we now find ourselves talking to ‘Jigs' Denby and boy does he have a powerful story to tell. Ple...

According to the UK National Health Service, almost 2 million people are living with sight loss. This is the story of just one. Gavin Burden from Salisbury in Wiltshire. Gavin tells us about how a brain tumour, which possibly had been growing since he was a youngster, manifested itself first with migraines and finally with vision problems. In this story Gavin talks about work, family and the tough...

Mark Smith has been a stalwart of golf for the disabled for the entire period since EDGA was formed. That doesn’t mean to say that he is old, far from it. His first forays into international competition took place while he was still but a youngster, and he has gathered a wealth of experience and a catalogue of great stories.  With an impressive category one handicap, a game built on accuracy...

This is the story of Mariano Tubio. The golf course in Ranelagh had been like a second home for Mariano who as youngster was inspired to reach 1 handicap by spending time with and watching the 1967 champion golfer of the year, the legendary Argentinian golfer Roberto de Vicenzo who played at the club. An accident at 28 years of age turned that one handicap player into a fifteen handicap player, bu...

This is the story of Andy Stevenson from England. Broadcaster and TV producer Andy Stevenson describes himself on his Twitter profile as being born “without a full complement of limbs”. What Andy modestly omits from this profile is his ‘full complement’ of career highs so far. Just as he was inspired by great figures in UK broadcasting as a boy, we hope his unique story here can inspire a few youn...

This is the story of Kirsty Wilkinson from Australia. Kirsty says that when life is a real struggle, sometimes, somehow, you have to “just get out there”, and let the rest look after itself. Kirsty Wilkinson did just that, with a golf club in her hands, and it put a smile back on her face again. Two car accidents, diagnosis of a condition called Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a brother w...

This is the story of Tommaso Perrino from Itlay. Tommaso was on the path to a life on the European Tour before a motorcycle accident at just 17 years of age, which led to years of rehabilitation and cost him a career as a professional player.  His passion for the game was never in doubt, and today, he coaches, helping others to get the maxim from their games and living life in the world of go...

This is the story of Manuel de los Santos from The Dominican Republic. I have had the privilege to get to know Manuel and his wife Elena over the last ten years or so. In this interview we reached into areas that Manuel has never before discussed in public.  I thank both Manuel and Elena for trusting me with the details of an early life that brings context to the man who has earned the respec...

Masato Koyamada is living proof that despite life's inevitable ups and downs, the years we are given are to be embraced, used to the very best of our ability and above all to be enjoyed.  I must confess that I do not speak Japanese and also reveal that Masato doesn't speak English, although I suspect his understanding of my first language is better than mine of his. Masato and I communicated...

In late November and early December 2019, I had the opportunity to spend some time with my guest for this episode. My first time seeing him play was earlier in the year when he was competing in the US Disabled Open at the Independence Club in Richmond, Virginia. It was great to watch him play, but even better to get to know the man behind the beard. This is the story of Chad Pfeifer.

People who make things out of wood are artisans first, but many are engineers, artists, and some are even game changers for the modern world. One day a German carpenter had the creative foresight to envisage a wheelchair-based powered machine, which would become the ‘ParaGolfer’, and he built his early models out of wood. Christian was looking intently at the problem because he needed the assistan...

Alessandra Donati from Italy is passionate about life, golf, and helping others find the game that is making a difference for her and many others. Ale took the time to chat with me about her neuropathic disease with a long name, Charcot-Marie-Tooth that can be shortened to just three letters, CMT. Ale explains the importance she places on golf, from a physical perspective, and how golf allowed her...

My conversation with Kate Pollard took place at the Australian All Abilities Championship in Sydney. Sue, my wife, had spent some time chatting with Kate over the previous few days and suggested I should speak with Kate.  Kate was happy to chat, and what follows is a story of what she, her husband Scott and the rest of her family deal with, when their son Cameron tees it up in every round. It...

I caught up with Julien Mouchet at his home in the southwestern part of France. He had just finished his day’s work at an inclusive enterprise where 50% of the employees are people with disability. Julien manages the call centre and so I was grateful that he took just one more call that day to record this interview. Cancer in his left hip at just 19 years of age resulted in a significant differenc...

"It's not the end of the world, it's not the end of your life. In many ways, it's the beginning. It's just a new chapter." These are the words of Terry Kirby from Hull in England. His story is one that is all too common. But what is not common is how Terry has accepted the set-backs he has faced with a dry sense of humour and a commitment to make the best of his life.  This is the story of Te...

Tony Coates is the epitome of a straight-talking Aussie who has taken the cards that life has dealt him in his stride. I sat down with Tony just a few hours before he was about to tee off in the Presidents Cup Demonstration event, at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club. The thought of playing for Australia against an International team, over the same course where some of the world's best Tour players ha...

My guest this week is former amateur jockey Nicky Weeks from England. I caught up with Nicky a day before she played in an event in the Rose Series during the 2020 Covid period. Nicky was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in her late thirties, with the first symptoms coming immediately after a day of accountancy examinations, which led to her becoming a qualified accountant. In golf, Nicky found n...