On Course Foundation: “We are all injured people that are now competing”
“I couldn’t do a lot of walking around. My boyfriend bought me a putter – just to do something in the house. Let’s upturn a glass or a candle-holder, whatever, and putt on the carpet. You are shuffling around a bit stir crazy and can’t do a lot because you’ve got no energy.
“Then I could start to transfer weight a little bit and I thought ‘maybe I’ll have a hit on the driving range’. One of the three-day events with On Course came through and I wasn’t sure.
“I was still wearing a wig and I wasn’t sure if I was ready or if I could walk that far round. I did it. I turned up and straightaway you get the banter back that you’ve been isolated from on a sofa for months.
“I missed that quick-witted humour. Everyone was in the same boat. They put your mind at ease, they tell you how it works. You walk in and there’s an instant sigh and you are not nervous because people are judging you.”
Salisbury-based Mike Browne, who plays off 4, opted to amputate his leg after breaking it on exercise
“I got an infection – in the hospital. I was in an Illizarov frame for two years, which is basically a bicycle wheel round my leg. It didn’t work. They took my knee out and fused it.
“I had a straight leg and I couldn’t live like that. I chose to have my leg amputated and it was the best thing I did. I was in a recovery centre called Tedworth House. I saw a poster on the wall. I put my name down and went to a one day event and fell in love with the game.
