My experience at the 3rd International Congress on Golf and Health
What the world needs now is Golf, sweet Golf
I would like to start this article by extending a warm welcome to all of our new GYH Substack community members.
If you enjoy what you see and read here and want to spread the love of Golf to others, then please do share this post using the button below.
When I arrived in Edinburgh on Monday morning, amidst rush hour traffic and the general city hubbub, I felt a surprising sense of calm ahead of my attendance at the Golf and Health congress.
Indeed, the inner peace I felt was in spite of two prevailing factors, which would otherwise normally give me plentiful cause for angst.
On the one hand, I was contending with the self-imposed pressure of making sure I emerged from the congress with lots of new contacts and leads, all achieved through having networked my socks off, pressing the flesh and making a good impression in the interests of getting my name out there and growing the GYH brand.
Meanwhile, I also faced the daunting prospect of delivering a raw and vulnerable presentation to a large audience of complete strangers, telling them my “why” for playing Golf and in the same breath, reliving the trauma and grief I faced when losing my son, Innes, two years ago.
Nevertheless, I was determined that neither of these matters would distract me from enjoying my event experience, both as a delegate and as an invited keynote speaker.
After overcoming a fleeting bout of imposter syndrome during the morning networking session, I managed to pep talk myself into “working the room” and engaged in conversation with a number of highly respected industry figures and made some new connections, whom I hope will convert into GYH podcast guests in the near future.
Soon thereafter, I took my seat within the main auditorium and waited for the event to begin in earnest.
The first keynote of the day was served up by Catherine Calderwood, Obstetrician, Gynaecologist and former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland. Suffice to say, Catherine’s address was as educational, as much as it was alarming.
Seeking to make the case for how Golf can play a vital role in promoting health and wellbeing, Catherine framed the opportunity (or rather, the problem statement) through the lens of a national health crisis.
Consider this for a moment: in Scotland (a country with a population of circa 5.4m people), there are 650,000 people currently on NHS waiting lists. If you think that is a sobering statistic, then you should also try this one for size: 66% of adults in Scotland are either overweight or obese (ie with a BMI of 25 or above).
Catherine - a regular Golfer and a lover of the game - also made a point of mentioning that, during her tenure as CMO for Scotland, she passionately lobbied to the incumbent First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, to keep Golf “open” during the pandemic.
So, if you’re reading this, Catherine, I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart! Heaven knows Golf kept me (and probably thousands of others) sane during those crazy Covid years!
Immediately after Catherine’s session, we then enjoyed a deeply insightful and thought-provoking keynote from Julia Kettinen, a thought-leader on Golf, Health and Wellbeing from Finland.
As well as being a certified PGA teaching professional, Julia is very well read in the subject of Golf and Health and shared with us some of the key findings from her research, which pinpoints exactly why Golf offers the perfect combination of aerobic and brain exercise, as well as social and mental health benefits.
One of the most compelling calls to action Julia gave to the audience, in order to bring the benefits of the game to the masses, is to “bring a friend” to Golf. I found this a simple, yet incredibly powerful idea, which deeply resonated with me.
Those of you who regularly listen to my podcast will have recently heard me giving the example of inviting my friend, Ollie, to play 9 holes of Golf with me at my local course. As a fellow Dad and as someone who is also enduring the stresses and strains of being a new parent, I loved observing how much enjoyment he got from playing Golf.
Julia’s session prompted me to think about how important our role is as existing Golfers, in attracting new players into the game and in turn, sharing the health and wellness benefits in our communities.
Next up after Julia was a session from Aston Ward, Chief Operating Officer at CPG and Communications Lead for the Golf & Health project.
In a compelling address, Aston called on the assembled audience to turn clinical (and often highly sterile - no pun intended) language into emotive, human-centric messaging which inspires and motivates people to take up Golf, in order to transform their health and wellbeing.
Aston shared some highly amusing anecdotes (more on those in a future podcast!) about how leading brands and marketeers regularly leverage the power of language and visual aids, to reflect the everyday person’s lived experiences, in order to more deeply resonate with people and crucially, to instigate positive behavioural change.
Aston’s session served to not only excite me, but to also open my mind to the incredible opportunities we have here at GYH, to support and collaborate around this very cause.
As the morning session wore on, I suddenly felt deeply humbled and grounded by what I was hearing. Listening to Catherine, Julia and Aston (as well as a multitude of other deeply insightful and inspiring keynotes, which I won’t deep dive on here, else this will turn into a dissertation!), I was reminded of why I started GYH in the first place.
I’ve known for years that Golf has been working wonders for my physical, mental and social health. I’d been toying with the idea of starting a podcast themed around Golf, Health and Wellbeing for a long time, however I could never really truly, nor authentically find the conviction to do so internally. I didn’t have a clear “why”, nor a meaningful purpose for doing so.
So, when Innes died in February 2023 and knowing instantly that Golf would save me from the depths of despair, it lit a flame inside of me which - despite it sputtering and flickering from time to time - has burned fervently ever since.
Thanks to Innes, I have found a new purpose in life: that is, to inspire people to use Golf as a means of overcoming adversity and as a means to live happier, healthier and more fulfilled lives.
When I took the stage at around 12:20pm on Monday afternoon to tell mine and Innes’ story, I felt composed and confident. I knew that, if I spontaneously broke down into tears, then that would be just fine. I figured it wouldn’t do anyone in this audience any harm to see and hear the deeply personal impact Golf can have on people, particularly when you’re willing to go behind the research papers and engage first-hand with the subjects whose stories the findings are often predicated on.
After successfully delivering my keynote (with only the briefest moments of choking up part way through), I was met with unanimous warmth and gratitude by the audience.
To those of you with whom I spoke afterwards (and who are now sat reading this very piece), I thank you for being so kind to me and for your words of encouragement and support on the day. It meant a huge deal to me.
As I left the venue on Monday and headed back to the coastal bliss of Gullane (where I’ve been staying in an AirBnB for the last few days and where I’m currently sat at the dining room table typing this and lusting at the view of Muirfield through the front window), I did so in the knowledge that, not only have I earned my seat at the table, but that I now have a responsibility to champion the Golf and Health cause, more so than I ever did before.
Indeed, as Robert Baden-Powell once said, “We never fail when we try to do our duty, we always fail when neglect to do it”.
Until the next time, always remember to Embrace the Rough and forever Cherish the Fairway.
Great piece!