This week Why Golf has travelled to Sunningdale Heath Golf Club to find out why it’s so loved by its members!
Recorded in front of a live audience, we hear from owners Tom Reid and Kristian Baker about the culture they’ve tried to foster since taking over to ensure the club, in their words, ‘is where everyone should be able to come and feel welcome.’
We also hear from G4D player Mike Browne about his inspiring journey to becoming a champion golfer as an army amputee.
Find more Why Golf content on Instagram, and find out more about everything the Why Golf platform has to offer on thisiswhygolf.com.
The Why Golf podcast is presented by Skyscanner.
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the yolf podcast is brought to you by Skyscanner the ultimate travel hack that searches billions of prices on flights hotels and cars so you can feel confident you’ll always find an amazing deal hello and welcome to yolf we are on the road this week and we are spreading the word about one of the greatest sports on the planet you can check us out don’t forget on Instagram on YouTube and on the website as well just search for this is why golf.com this week we’ve got some amazing guests and I cannot wait to speak to them hello good good evening and welcome to yolf we are on the road for the first time ever and thank you to everybody for coming this evening where we’re delighted to have you is everyone excited about the next 40 minutes or so I’m sorry it’s been a dreadful day it’s been raining constantly for 15 hours is everyone excited about this oh that’s lovely thank you we’re here at sunning Del Heath with which actually is a club I’m very close to I am a member here and I love hanging out here I love playing the course and being around everyone and I’m super excited tonight to speak to two gents who have known for quite a long time Tom and Christian Tom Reed and Christian Baker looking very smart I’m just going to wax lyrical a little bit about both of your careers Tom first off you started the game of golf at the age of 12 you turned scratch at 17 at pro29 you’ve played on the Euro Pro the sunshine and the challenge tour in 2016 awarded top 50 us kids golf award only the second person in Europe to have achieved that absolutely BR I could go on about the fact that you spend so much time with David Le better as well and Christian you have a really impressive CV you 23 years down the road at went with came here and a whirlwind of energy here doing a brilliant job you’ve worked with leading amateurs and Pros including Ross Fischer and Harry Ellis who’s won the British amateur championship and the English amateur Championship ladies and gents can we put our hands together please for Tom and Christian I mean there’s a there’s a lot more I could say about you but we’d be here for another three hours first off how are you both Tom you’ve been coaching for what the last seven or eight hours yeah exactly that seven or eight hours just finished half an hour ago and uh yeah it’s been a really long day but coaching at the minute is super super busy as The Season’s already started so Christian and I were probably doing I don’t know 5 to eight lessons a day between the two of us my goodness um and then squeezing in everything else that’s important here at the club as well and and a podcast as well straight after a podcast oh my goodness having spoken for seven or eight hours Christian you’ve just been teaching how do you feel after a day of of coaching drained exhilerated um yeah did you have anyone that didn’t listen to a word you said no good no I think it um it is training it’s you know I think um the one thing when you’re teaching is it’s like being in a meeting for an hour because someone’s listening to every word you say so it’s not as though you’re sort of you know if you’re behind a computer you can maybe kind of just disappear for 10 minutes and I grab a coffee or have some down you know so yeah it is but it’s also no it’s all good fun good stuff is there anyone in this room Christian that you would not coach that you would refuse point blank to coach I can see some talent in the room I don’t know can you plenty oh good put your hand up you had a lesson from Christian or you’re having lessons from Christian Mike yes Mike how’s your how’s your golf game going how’s it going be kind uh I came to him to reduce my driving distance and it’s it’s it’s [Laughter] worked he’s the only one I teach who doesn’t listen oh my oh what a brilliant answer so your game has gone downhill since uh being coached by I know you’re jesting how how many lessons have you had with Christian uh about four I think four yeah yeah it’s been a disaster so far right no it it will get better is is it getting better it it will do I yeah well the fifth one’s always the best the fifth lesson is always the best Mike enjoy your Ros uh so Tom first can you tell us how you here at Sunningdale Heath got involved with with the club well it started with Christian actually we were having a conversation in the staff Canteen at Wentworth where we worked together uh both busy coaches there and we we were sort of discussing the idea of having our own Golf Academy and uh Christian came up with the concept of building a golf Studio at sunning Del Heath golf club and a very long story short um the plan and permission came through after the what second attempt third attempt how many plan and permissions did it take to build that building out here uh in front of the clubhouse to build that studio and we ran that together uh once it opened up for two years whilst I was working at Stoke Park for David Leed better Christian was still at Wentworth coaching and we were splitting our time between the two to try and develop the business here at at sunning Del Heath and then two years later you know the golf club was was struggling a little bit uh financially and and it needed some support some more resources and we essentially provided a proposal and a plan that we thought would future prooof the golf club which you know eventually involved us you know delivering that that plan um 18 months later that the golf club had to go to a vote and at a 75% majority which was a pretty nervy um day for us I’ll set the scene we were in this room and there was 65 people in it chairs lined up Christian KN at the front and we were almost like we were campaigning to be mayor and we had a uh had a projector screen out we were doing a presentation about what we wanted to do with sun do Heath and the members voted Us in at a 97% majority and um we became became owners of the golf club 5 years ago now that was a huge day yeah a huge day for us because there was a lot on the line you know our business here in the golf studio um you know we we were employed at other golf clubs so we had everything on the line so which I think ultimately made the case more genuine this was this was us devoting our careers and and profession and lives to this project um so we were all in and and hopefully the members felt that and 5 years later um it didn’t go exactly as we planned no because it never does know what happened um but well Co happened yeah five months after we took over uh we entered our first lockdown and we sat it didn’t we we the clubhouse had been ripped out because we were going to renovate it it needed some you know some uplift and uh the place was just a big dust bow stuff everywhere you know not open for business and then the lockdown happened and then all of a sudden we we’re sitting here with a with a golf club we’re in lockdown and we don’t have a clubh house and and we couldn’t run business and we both looked each other and thought oh dear what have we done but interestingly in that 10-e period we were able to build a website build build a back a house system to run the business through intelligent golf design a logo and and actually just put the whole thing together with with a little bit more detail so it was a strange moment you it’s odd to say that something positive came out of it but 10 weeks later we were way more ahead of the game came and then when we reopened in May there was this just euphoric return for all of us yeah as as sta but for the golfers as well and it really kickstarted us you had that time that window of opportunity and you you seized it really and took on challenges and and was successful yeah I I one thing is interesting saying there I remember Alex my son says to me now he said Daddy you spent literally all day in the office at home because for the first week we were planning because we didn’t know you know what was going to happen and we had builders that have gutted this um we had all the plans for the summer and we were like well what do we do now how do we adjust everything so literally we spent 10 hours a day on zooms with each other with various people just trying to work out well how do we readjust everything what do we do um and it was yeah it wasn’t it was a a hard time we things like we Tred to keep engaged with the members with things like quiz nights and and everything else because we really needed their loyalty and support which they genuinely really gave us all beyond that but equally it was a time when people were thinking well what’s the world going to look like in a year’s time you know do I need a golf membership you know what’s would I be had afford a golf membership there’s so many questions that everybody had and we had and everybody else had and we were like so we just spent literally all day um brainstorming yeah and and problem solving because there was you know it was just constant um you know with the the builders were knocking the door wanting their money and we you know had to had to pay that and that sort of thing but we were thinking well how do we you know how do we get through this so yeah it was it was um it was a challenge we did you know with things things like takeway food because we so we had our Chef who we just got in who you know was absolutely amazing but we like well you know again he came up with the idea of can I do some takeway food so we started that and I think we kind of pushed the boundaries with everything didn’t we we didn’t kind of it just sounds like you came up with so many great ideas when the doors did reopen it was it was a good place to be you found that people were coming they were play you guys were playing enjoying the food here and the momentum started on what is now a really successful members Club yeah that’s nice to hear because that’s how it feels and a club’s about people yeah and for us Christian and I you know we’ve been coaches for most of our adult lives so we’ve we put a lot of emphasis a lot of effort and Care into people and you know we we we do the the job because we’re good at it and we love it but we love people we love helping people and being able to create a culture and an atmosphere in a golf club that’s friendly and that’s relaxed um I I’d like to think that people that come and play this golf course don’t feel like they have to be you know on their best behavior and and and make sure that their dress code’s perfect you know certain things that I think traditionally golf clubs see as hugely important we don’t see as much it’s more about the experience and the atmosphere that you arrive to and I think that that’s what that’s what makes a club yeah it does feel like a very friendly family atmosphere here you sort of walk in don’t you and you feel like you’re at home you can have a cup of tea have a chat with Kath who doesn’t want to be mentioned but I am mentioning her because she’s amazing and Brilliant and I’ll I won’t go near her I promise you’ve got a question have you yeah it must stem from these two but I’ve been a member of about eight or 10 golf clubs in my long career and this is without any doubt the friendliest Golf Club I’ve ever seen in my life it’s unbelievable oh that that is so lovely to hear thank you yeah and and I just want to point out that you came and played the other day and just jumped on the course and there was a pram going on correct we so laid back and you can play wherever you like it doesn’t matter he just jumed I love that and anyway Kath came and told you she did she’s over there one day I I’ll get Kath in Vision um it’s really lovely to hear I think we want that as part of the community we we speak on why golf on the podcast about important how important our mental health is and how important our physical health is and we all know what golf gives us but that feeling as you walk through the doors you’ve got an eye I know Christian on what food is serves all of your stuff you speak to them about welcoming people the interaction the stories that people share it just can’t be replicated anywhere else it all happens in here doesn’t it yeah I think you know and that is absolutely lovely to hear say you know thank you you know that’s what it means to us is a golf club is a community and I think um you know Tom and I’s background being at Wentworth Wentworth was when we were there a fabulous community and a real um I think it was Roy who’s here this evening described the golf club as being like the local pub back in the day you know it was a community where people would get together and that’s exactly what how we see the golf club is regardless of backgrounds or you know demographics it’s where everyone should be able to come and feel welcome and comfortable um and I think our staff touching on that play a mammoth part of that um you know I genuinely think we’ve got the best staff Toe to Toe with anybody else in the country um and they make all the members I hope and genely believe feel that you know they’re their friends more than they are you know oh totally well Kath knows more about my life than a lot of exactly my relatives it’s like being at the hairdressers we come and have a chat actually I prefer to speak to kther and my we’ve always said we we want it to be like you know where people can come and just feel that it’s like a home from home and that’s very hard to do you know that’s down to the people we could it’s not about the environment in terms of the building the you know the actual fabric of the building doesn’t create that it’s the people yeah it certainly does you you mentioned just in terms of um what’s been happening at the golf club you built a studio to our left for people listening to this we’re in the clubhouse and if you exit left you’ve got a a studio and then across the way over the 18th and 16th there are two other Studios over there aren’t they yeah that’s right the second one opened up uh just over a year ago now and there’s one over there that’s right yeah and also a physio room as well so we have an in-house physiotherapist we Ed that go studio for members Pates I know you gentleman of uh on Wednesday mornings over there have you ever been to Pates oh good you wouldn’t know I’m joking I’m joking but the the studios give us an opportunity to coach I mean with the UK you with the British weather we are struggling between 3:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. and in our careers in the winter 6 months a year business stops at 300 p.m. because you know it’s difficult for people to learn right it’s dark it’s c is wet the studios actually have enabled us to grow our coaching business because the peak time now to have golf lessons is between 3 p p.m. and 9:00 p.m. so having these Studios has flipped the whole business on its head there’s no there’s no offseason for us anym more and having them here as well we we teach 65 children per week at this golf club now you know which you times that you know through 12 months a year in 10 years time and it really makes us feel great to know that we’re contributing to to the local community and to actually grow in the game it’s a statement that we hear a lot in golf now just tell us a little bit more about the the junior section so 100 junior members at this golf club um a very active Junior section in fact our Junior organizers over there C spearheading the junior program as he has done so since we we got here Logan his son is part of our ambassador program who I was was just teaching earlier on this evening and we have so we have four ambassadors at the golf club who are funded by the members who are here so can I just say Craig and Logan um thank you for being here and Craig you do such an amazing job I’m going to come over so Jack I don’t know if you can flick the camera round but Craig you do such an amazing job I get 8,000 whatsapps a day about competitions that are going on here where does that drive and passion come from to to Really push this junior section on because I think I reckon this is one of the strongest in the country it is definitely one of the largest in the country um it beats working doesn’t it yeah that’s true um but no I think it takes me back to when uh Tom and Christian took this over and he said to me Tom said to me well you’re always set lessons with Logan why don’t you look after our Junior section at the time there’s like 12 Juniors and went that should be easy and then within about 2 years we’re up to you know 50 3 years 60 so on and so forth but you know it’s just really I mean I love the game I’ve always loved the game um and I’m just really proud to be part of growing that game at this club it’s just great and everyone’s the the children are happy on a on a Sunday everyone’s smiling playing golf coming in oh no no absolutely not we force them to play no no no they they they are absolutely happy Logan do you get do you get forced you get forced to play or do you want to play well I’ve played whenever I want it’s just to be fair it’s my dad that books me in I just walk up and played in a half of my mates yeah and you you’re pretty good what’s your handicap my handicap is 5.5 F does he get a round of applause Logan’s off 5.5 so good how old are you again 15 15 15 years of age he’s a bit of a talent isn’t Christian yeah and I I mean there’s a lot of talent in the room but particularly over there it’s that they Craig’s I think and again oh the lack of talent there Craig is there oh sorry um what is it what’s the strength to Logan’s game what’s your strength your game father this is a comedy night now isn’t it no it’s funny chipping your nickname is Chippy since you started five years ago oh that’s brilliant I want to see you shipping um this yeah it’s it’s fabulous here it really is lovely I I want to touch on uh coaching oh diversity as well let’s go there the membership here is 5050 yeah women to men how did you achieve that and how many members do you have and is there an aim for a certain number are you at capacity now so we had a head start because most golf clubs I think it’s about 20% ladies 15% ladies and obviously we orig ladies golf club so at least we had that head start start that we were kind of 100% ladies or for those listening this used to be a ladies golf club way back yeah so um originally it was a ladies golf club and then um probably about I think 20 or years ago they started sort of allowing men members but there were still far more female members than there was Lady members even when we took over um but we always wanted and intended to try and keep it half and half which is what we’ve got now um and that’s what we want to just because to keep it Balan um and to try and if you if you only have 15% lady members where’s the inspiration for young girls to play yeah um because you know they don’t have any role models for example so there’s lots of things like that where we’re very aware that we need to do that and whether it’s small initiatives um whether it’s capping memberships and keeping certain categories open to encourage that but we’re very aware that we want to keep try ideally a third a third and a third would be ideal okay um so we’ve got 100 Juniors we probably can’t take many more than that but we you know we can try and keep the sort of ratio 50/50 sort of amongst the adults as well which we currently are but they’re they’re thriving sections aren’t they we’ve got um some ladies in the AUD do you enjoy the ladies section and when do you for everyone listening and watching when do you play what days well for oh Tuesday but for me I’m just a member a year and seven months and I move from Northern Ireland and I have to say that I’ve have been made very welcome here uh leaving a club uh Castle Rock where it was very friendly uh I was just a wee bit worried about it but I have to say everybody has made me feel really welcome and I love my golf oh that is wonderful to hear really is and and you enjoy your golf here at sunning Del Heath I haven’t ever been in such a friendly Club in my life and I’ve been playing golf for about 50 years and what makes it so friendly people and they welcome and as May has just said the girls here are fantastic and so the men I mean we’re just all good fun together everybody marks in you’ll always have a game no matter what standard you’re at you can always play do you feel do you feel happier when you come here much yeah much helps the helps the brain a therapy it’s therapy it’s free set you’re offering free therapy did you know this did you know no it’s interesting I um there’s a a a person I teach and uh she was actually told by her doctor that the best medicine for you golf really and on a very serious note and I kind of think you know there’s there’s a very serious side to that that I do think you know there’s the the social aspect as well as the the fitness and the health side of it you know walking two three miles but there also you know the social aspect um of actually having a conversations with people and um you know sharing problems whatever it might be on the golf course and I think people on the golf course maybe relax a bit more and and that side of things to talk a bit more openly and what have you say I do think golf is extremely important in people’s lives and I think we as a golf club recognize how important the golf club is you know it’s it is a business but it’s way more than that in the sense of it’s very important to people’s lives the golf club becomes part of your life and when you make changes or what have you you have to bear in mind you might be affecting people’s lives yeah so that is is you know every decision becomes an important decision I have another question here from Steve golf historically can be seen as elius what would you say is being done to break this down and what do you do here at sunning Del Heath to encourage everyone well Tom we we can we could start with dress code um I think that’s changed a lot over the last few years I think the fashion and golf have always been synonymous but I think now you can actually they they call it Adidas call it the petrol station test so if you play golf and then have to pick up petrol on the way home do you feel comfortable getting out of your car and your golf clothes and I I think now where you wear hoodies you actually can’t tell the difference between your your casual clothes and your golf clothes I think dress code has made it more accessible I think some people that knew that get into golf don’t necessarily feel like they have to dress up to do an activity so I think that that’s a barrier that’s been broken down over the last 15 years and Fashion’s now really celebrated in golf yeah it it certainly is I’m not particularly trendy on the golf course so I’m open to any sponsorship available um Steve thank you did that answer your question yeah good stuff one here from oh coxy Roy Cox he’s been at this club for 142 years um Tom Tom won I’m joking look you look great from a distance Tom won the Trilby tour you won the Trilby tour Tom what what year was that I can’t even remember D go that was when was that 2010 it was my first professional victory was it I had to wear a troby hat yes as part of the UN form and um is it hard to play in a trilby hat yes yeah and and I just don’t me and hats don’t go no but it’s part of the uniform and they find you if you didn’t wear them so I was fully Ked out and uh CU you have a good head you don’t you know the hair’s still there sorry there is a question Roy can you describe the format of the tournament of the Trilby tour how many rounds courses and competitors can you remember me Roy this this this is not a question I was expecting tonight let me think so it was top four scores out of 100 players go into a playoff and um the playoff was with two uh Philip Golding and Philip Archer if you remember those Philip Archer I did an interview with him in the man united changing rooms one time anyway I digress yes so at the time I was a a year One Professional uh wet behind the years um going out there just free swinging and I was playing against two European tour professionals and luckily for me um I had a sort of defiant attitude at the time and I thought it’d be really good to get one over theour four players and it propelled me to uh play some good golf and we had a Four Hole playoff and I birdied three out of the four holes Tom and uh and hold a big 50ft part on the last scen to take the trophy Round of Applause woooo that’s incredible I haven’t told that story for 10 years oh well done Roy that’s brilliant and one here from Stuart from Northern Ireland so you say St uh which is more rewarding playing your golf course or running your Golf Club Christian good question um I would say running running got right running versus playing yeah I think um do you still have a passion for playing golf mild okay yes yeah um no teing it all day I think it’s a sort of thing um social golf absolutely but um no I think running it because having been involved with it for so long and listening to people for so long about what’s good and bad at golf clubs what’s good and bad in golf what’s good or bad about the sport we can try and do things we think will actually people want so we assume you know golf is very stuck in its way historically isn’t it people golf clubs are stuck in their their way traditions and all this is a word that’s used time you’re trying to change the mold though you yeah exactly so what we don’t want to do is we don’t want to lose tradition we don’t want to forget the history of the game or the club but we have to move forwards otherwise if if if we don’t CH you know um we often give the example um how families operate so if you went back and don’t shoot be down for this one day okay um but if you went back say 40 years okay it was very stereotypical that Dad and the boys in the house would go and play golf on a Saturday and Sunday and because they’d been working dad had been working a week and mom stereotypically might have been bringing up the children didn’t necess have a full-time career like Dad would have that’s all changed parents now I think Mom’s been to University he got the same degree as Dad they’ve got the same career as Dad they’ve got the same professions they both work just as hard I’m saying they did back then but as in they’ve worked let’s say the nine to five week so now families operate very differently and what we’re seeing is golf clubs maybe still some of them stuck in the ways and what we’re saying isold their families operate different as a unit now so it’s very much what we believe in is a family operates where Mom Dad and the children want to be together a weekend because they’ve all been working in the week and they want to see each other and operate as a as a unit during the weekend and what we’re saying is so how do we Embrace that so we can come up with ideas to try and encourage that versus like I say stereotypically I think gol a lot of golf clubs still um don’t necessarily Embrace that Embrace embrace the families absolutely as the weather outside my goodness it’s literally raining cats and dogs um so you’re not you actually can’t go anywhere you you’re an audience that cannot Escape escape this right now we will be moving on in a moment but Simon thank you Simon for your question you can take another sip of your beer biggest golf teaching myth what is it keep your head down oh why is it a myth for everybody well keeping your head down makes your body really static so if I keep my head down I’m fixed my body actually can’t move and the golf swing is a movement you know by definition it’s a swing so the best thing you could do is keep your eye on the ball cuz once you’ve hit it you then follow it with your eyes which allows your body to move so if anyone ever tells you to keep your head down bad advice yeah I was going to say it’s actually 1250 that that tip so he’s going to wait when you leave um what makes a good coach just to finally finish on what makes a good coach um the short answer I think we always used to saying be a chameleon so adapt to who you’re talking to because CH Christian and I today would have taught six different people each and we might have a lady who’s 50-year old that plays off 20 and then in the next lesson a 7-year-old um that’s just started playing golf so as a golf coach you have to be reactive to who’s in the room and and a level of empathy yeah you know you have to listen to you have to ask good questions and listen to the answers that gives you the framework to give a really good golf lesson so again it does center around being good with people yeah which you both are gents oh you’re a treat to speak to they’ve done brilliantly have you had a hole in one Tom I know you have you had a few how many how many I’ve I’ve had 19 19 holes in one oh Christian I’m hoping you’ve had a few as well no I’m I’m about half that not even that six still pretty good well it you can say but between them the gents have had 25 holes in one anyone had a hole in one in the room here oh yeah let’s go where where was your hole in one hole three 148 yards down the hill couldn’t see loads of people clapping went down Pull pulled it out three years ago three years how did it feel did it feel good it felt fantastic the rest of the round was absolutely awful oh don’t talk about that did you buy it you bought drinks in the clubhouse afterwards 200 200 bar Bill oh good for you where was your hauling one mine in gidi uh and Don go and uh I didn’t actually see it go in the hall all the ladies that were behind me did I had put my head down to pick up te and uh this I heard this great Roar and the ball had gone in the hole on the seventh and glid oh I I’m going to Google that hole Round of Applause please and anyone else had a Holy One anyone else oh my son’s had a hole in one have you where was that I can’t remember the went with path three course oh there we go the hole the first hole the first hole what club did you use 79 79 brick can we give him a round of applause he was so he was seven oh he left me hang he didn’t give me a high five thanks Maxi um I jent have you had a hole in one oh Steve go on Sky Sports Robert Lee former pro on tour has never had a hole in one we can spread the word Robert Lee who I used to work with he never had a hole in one my goodness and he’s a pro oh what two kids 8-year-old and a 12-year-old was in front of us Big Scream next next thing in front thought they’d been hit by a ball we went up 8-year-old said my brothers just got a hole in one on the sixth on the sixth hole amazing he hold a fivewood from 210 yards on Sunday for 12y old oh that deserves a ripple come on give him a clap amazing amazing um thank you well I’ll just mention my huling one when I was 14 so my dad had to pay for the barbill rast on sea golf club and it was the second hole and it was a thinned five iron and went straight down it was a terrible terrible shot but it still counts thank you for your time I hope you’re going to listen to our next guest can we pleas please give one more round of applause for Tom and Christian thank you thank you we’re going to take a short break the yolf podcast is brought to you by Skyscanner the ultimate travel hack that searches billions of prices on flights hotels and cars so you can feel confident you’ll always find an amazing deal our next guest here at Sunningdale Heath I’m really happy to be sat next to Mike Brown Mike you play on the g4d tour and I’m I’m going to tell our audience a little bit about you in just a second but please put your hands together for for Mike who’s been incredibly successful of late on the golf course so great to have you here now your golfing career started quite late you were let’s go back to where all started you were a gunner in the British army Royal artillery and you spent 13 years doing that and then you didn’t play golf back then no no I didn’t even didn’t have anything to do with golf say no and so you had an accident tell us take us back if that’s okay yeah um basically I I was on a training exercise at a place called Longmore which is down near Portsmouth so we were basically just out there doing some exercises and ended up breaking my leg and your left leg Yeah my left leg so I didn’t think nothing of it thought you know six weeks I’ll be good to go again and then uh went to the hospital s got got civac there and basically got an infection and um we don’t know where the infection come from but it at every muscle inside my leg I got um an infection called strep and decole so it’s like a bacterian infection Etc and it pretty much just at everything inside my leg so yeah that was that was sort of the demise of me being a soldier really and you had I’ve got here you had 22 limb Salvage operations yeah so over a period of how long so yeah in total I had I included in my leg amutation I had 30 operations but I had 22 Main operations there were 6 hours plus oh my goodness M so yeah it was crazy um but yeah that back in back then I didn’t really know much about it I was on 60 odd tablets a day and you know it was just I was on a d rad spiral to to wherever I was going to end up but um yeah so cut a cut a fine line I was in a thing called an elzar off frame for for 2 years so if you can imagine frame on your leg Yeah Yeah so if you can imagine like um a bicycle wheel I had five of them going from my hip down to my ankle and where the infection had at all my my muscles inside my knee um they took everything out and then re-broke my leg so I had to stretch it uh a millimeter a day for two years so you had to stretch yourself with a 10 mil banner and yeah that was it oh my goodness were um in a lot of pain for two years excruciating pain yeah it was um my mind my mind your mind’s a funny thing when you go I can’t remember the pain I was in but yeah I was in I was on like I say I was on like 60 tablets a day so I couldn’t really feel much mentally or physically but um yeah that was that was uh yeah that’s mad when you think about it now cuz I don’t think about it much but until I talk about it it’s it’s like yeah it was it was crazy and so back in 2013 when the doctor said to you there’s an opportunity there is a scenario where we could take your leg off yeah what did what was going through your mind so it was the easiest decision I ever made because because I was what they call elective amputation so it was my choice um because I’d gone through so much for that two years that I knew that my quality of life wouldn’t be worth doing I would you know I wouldn’t have had a very good life so it was sort of an easy decision when he said it didn’t work so after all that two years my that frame didn’t work so he’s like you’re going to go back in the frame for another two years and I was like no I’m not I’m not having that fast forward a few months my leg was actually amputated and I made that choice and it was at that stage that I realized I sort of seen a light um I was back running within 3 weeks of having a leg um you know it was just amazing and then that’s pretty much when I found golf so felt immediately better yeah like I was out I was out of pain I had no pain I was and this the prosthetic leg that you have now yeah it wasn’t the same as this one this is very Advanced to to what I basically started on a you know like a mountain bike shock yes I I basically started on one of them right quite quite difficult to walk to start with yeah there was yeah there was no mechanical it was just all like um all a hinge and there was nothing that could stop me so it’s like a learner leg basically okay so you have I was at a place called headle Court which is not far from here I don’t think leather head um the rehabilitation center yeah so that’s our Rehabilitation Center so basically you start on a a basic leg and then you just work your way up and then I got to a runin and then um yeah you can get what they call it which I’ve got now which is a microprocessor like so it it knows what I’m doing before I do a microprocessor yeah so it’s got a gyroscope in there it’s got a computer system in there it attaches to my phone and yeah it’s amazing so and so what did you press on your phone so there’s just got an app and then I just go into it and yeah you can press running so I’ve got running cycling um if I want to go to the gym I can just do like press up mode so it locks it out so I can get down and do press UPS yeah it’s pretty cool and do you take it off at night y yeah I put it on 7 in the morning and so it’s on all day so yeah I’m really lucky I’ve got the the best of a bad situation with losing two hinges so I might to call a th NE amput so you know I’ve got a really long stump I’ve got all my femoral head basically right my femur um so yeah I’m able that’s why I’m to do so much and it’s yeah it’s pretty a good situation for me to be in okay and you’ve have per year do you have the same leg or do you have go through a few well thanks to golf I go through about six a year do you you’re constantly walking I know we’ve played golf together and I I just was so impress impressed because we met through the encourse foundation which is a foundation that rehabilitates injured servicemen and women through the sport of golf and tell us how you came in touch with on course yes so um this is where my golf Journey started I was in a place called uh tedworth house which is a Rec reconvalescence Center so you go there after an operation or whatever and I was a Avid Motocross rider I was a footballer rugby player Etc and back then like obviously have to losing my leg I couldn’t do that so I seen a poster on the wall for golf and yeah that was that was me I thought I said to my um my sergeant was looking after me at the time I says can I go and have a go at that and he was like yeah so I went and did a one take tester um and instantly fell in love with it so you fell in love with golf straight away was it quite hard to start with oh I was absolutely useless really yeah I couldn’t hit a ball to save my life how long did it take you to get one Airborne um probably like 3 hours okay yeah so we spent all day there and I was doing bits and Bobs and I like I hit one shot and it went 50 yards but I felt such an accomplishment that I was like I can do this you know that it was like I hadn’t I had literally just lost everything so I’d lost my job and all that so it was like that particular moment in my life will never leave me I am so overwhelmed by your story because it shows such strength of character I know you in a really dark place but I read in an interview as well that you said I just didn’t want to feel sorry for myself because there are other people in worse situations and to come up with that statement I find that so that was so strong that was like when I was at Headley Court I mean I was see him in coming back from Afghan and Iraq and they had nothing you know they had limbs all their limbs missing and you know horrendous things and I was you know it was just I wasn’t so bad and it was like so like I could have just sat at home felt sorry for myself and just give up on life but that’s when golf come into my life and it was literally one come in touch with the other and it was just that particular time in my life where I needed it and it was there so oh M you’re a true inspiration you really are the people on Foundation um those guys how much have they helped you oh they they they changed my life you know they’re they’re amazing um they they’ve changed so many lives as well uh it’s not just mine I’ve taken mine to the extreme like with my my golf but so the object of of what the encour foundation does is it takes injured servicemen and gets them into the golf industry whether it be green keeping you know mechanics behind the bar or or anything you know because there’s so much Variety in golf you don’t it’s not just about the golf and it’s like for me this is what I fell in love with like not one person would have met in this room if it wasn’t for golf you know I’m not not just saying that but like that’s what I love about it you just meet you can take four people go out on the golf course and your best of mates afterwards and it’s just amazing so yeah that’s what the encourse is for us we there’s a lot of us that lost a lot and um yeah we we gained a lot back from it oh it’s it’s that connection isn’t it feeling part of something feeling part of a team and in a family environment yeah because like everyone’s lost their units and you know they’ve got everyone’s in the same boat like they’ve lost their jobs they’ve lost you know what they their purpose in life of being a soldier and it’s a totally different context but golf gives you that back within the foundation because we’re all in that same boat we’ve all been through the similar situations and we’re all coming out the other side yeah it’s it’s an incredible story and you’re doing so well you’ve just recently won in Texas on the g4d tour PGA tour yeah so that was your third win is that correct yeah that’s my third win so um 2022 I won the Irish open at Mount Juliet and then I won the what did i r last oh the race to Dubai you the race to Dubai I know I’ve seen pictures with you with Rory mooy yeah yeah that was that was amazing like I get to spend about half an hour with him in a room and we were just chatting about Ryder Cup and it was yeah I I just nice guy we know he a nice guy yeah he’s a dude so it was just that was very surreal being out but what what made me was like when they called when Iona called my name out like winner of the Rory just said what a Mike smack me on the back and just started clapping I was like that’s so surreal you know yeah it’s crazy but well you weren’t it you weren it what and then you recently W in Texas so this is the first g4d event on the PJ tour Yes we made a bit of history that was the first four disabilities yeah so it’s um it’s basically a top 10 in the world rankings for for disability golf um so so that it’s run alongside the war wagger the world amateur golf cuz it’s full of professionals and um amateurs so it’s yeah it’s run exactly the same so yeah I’ve just I’ve just got to number one amput in the world and number three yeah yeah it’s pretty cool um oh how how’s that feel yeah it’s pretty cool it’s not just pretty cool it’s amazing yeah it’s uh what did family and friends say yeah they like especially my mom she’s over the moon so that’s so yeah she will have been through a flipping Journey with everything my goodness over the last 15 years and so what’s next for you Mike I mean it’s like the world’s your oyster right now yeah so BMW WTH got that coming up um so you’re playing in yeah I’m playing the g4d on the Monday Tuesday but because of my race to Dubai and Texas fingers crossed we might have a main start so who’s going to support Mike um if he’s going to play in the PGA Championship at Wentworth we support few things coming in That’s so exciting so we’ll see see where that goes yeah totally so go how do you feel when you step out on a golf course I love it I love everything about golf I mean ju it’s it’s that fact of like especially in tournament golf I love the nerves that I still get nerves and I just I used to hate it but now I learn to love it and it’s I think that’s progress me to become a better player is just like like Tom was saying earlier when you when you free swing you can win a lot oh you can and what’s the strength to your game what’s your favorite part of your game at the moment driving I’m I’m driving the ball really well at the moment I know I’ve listened to all your interviews and it’s like you’ve said driving and everyone you’re so consistent with it yeah I mean I’ve I I I signed with shrien this year so um I went over with them and yeah great yeah it was it’s gamechanging for me so oh in our podcast I speak to quite a few of the guests they talk about discipline and how important discipline is our latest one of our guys that spoke on the podcast was Victor Cruz who won the Super Bowl he’s an NFL player back in 2012 with the New York Giants um touchdown I just want to say that word but he talks about how discipline was so important in his professional career with what you do do you have to be disciplined definitely um and obviously I’m getting older so I’ve got to be more disciplined with JY and stuff I eat and um as like Tom I know he’s played on some amazing tour again and it’s like you you just got to keep doing that process and be be dedicated to it and the more dedicated I am I find the better I’m playing so I’m just going to keep at it and lots of our guests they talk about breath work and meditation or mantras they say to themselves do you have any sort of man management or woman management skills that you say to yourself I just my my one thought on a tea is hit it hard okay cuz when I hit it hard I commit and that’s the only thing I can do commit to it yeah I like it oh Mike it’s i’ I’ve Lov listening to your story and I I just feel that I will get out on that golf course and for you I’ll go underpath I hope I don’t end in the trees now who was is your golfing hero who was who yes was is um so I’m quite like I said I’m quite late in life so I missed like the greats of sevy and all that I sort of come in later but um I’m going to probably say someone like it’s got to be Rory for me I mean the stuff he’s done is like phenomenal the way he changed his whole life around the game is just it just blows my mind just to watch him on the Range and so I’ve done a few like range sessions with him just being next to him and stuff and it’s just yeah I could just say there watching him all day it’s crazy it’s a sentence I’ll never say though I’ve done a few range sessions with Rory mroy um Will he win a major yeah it’s not if it’s when I think yeah he’s going to win some more he’s too good not to want to hear from Tom how does your leg affect your Technique what adjustments do you have to make um I don’t know because I never played before but for me what I find difficult is stances like uphill downhill seles Etc because when I everything is backwards for me so if I’m on a downhill lie mine goes left cuz because of my balance I almost have to pull it so everything’s left and then when I’m up here I have to push it so everything’s right so I’m I’m literally opposite but yeah pretty much stances and and all that sort of stuff which is um quite hard because obviously I haven’t got a knee downhill uphill was very difficult for me but we we overcome it got you adapt you amazing we always ask on why golf our clubhouse curveball first question is which we may have answered already your favorite golf course in the world Cypress Point Cypress Point not I’ve played it but that’s one I really want to play great stuff when you’re number two packing your golf bag what is the one thing that you always put in your golf bag for a round of golf my green theand oh for stretching on the course what do you do with your green theraband um everything so I’ve got a quite a a sturdy so that that’s my warm-up routine and obviously I’m getting old and I’ve got quite a few joints that don’t work so I need it I can’t travel anywhere without that right okay this is in your golf bag as well though yeah great so on the third T you do some stretches yeah it’s always in there and and my lucky ball marker what does it say on your ball marker uh it’s got my dad’s initials on oh what are what are the initials da da brilliant and does it help with your putting sometimes uh depends which course I’m on good stuff and finally what is your drink of choice on the 19th Hole um we’ve had a whole array of drinks so far I like a gin and ginger ale good choice gin and ginger ale that’s my my go-to nice and nice and light and refreshing and actually very refreshing I’m going to try that definitely here at Sunningdale Heath I’m sure they’ll make one for us and last question how did you find good coaches who could fully understand your physical limitations um that’s a really good question actually is that from Simon well done Simon you get nothing actually oh no you do we now have gift bags which is great so you can have one of those so so yeah my my first ever coach was a chap called aliser bar um this was through the encourse foundation so he was um like a he’s a Master Pro he’s was part of the foundation so he sort of did everything back in the day um but he sort of Jar’s cross wasn’t he yeah so I think he was yeah yeah Jared’s cross yeah so so yeah he sort of used to try and teach me the PGA way which you know we can’t I I I couldn’t get into some positions that a PGA you got to be here here here and I just can’t do that sometime so he was like right we’ll start from scratch on how you swing um and then we yeah we just worked around that and we worked to my limitations and um so we learned to basically hit the ball straight first and that then we increased the power but I think like most people nowadays they just hit as hard as they can and then dial it in but I was the other way around so yeah that’s how we sort of we we sort of figured everything out of what my limitations were and where I was hitting a straight ball so like if I hit if I hit a ball even now of like 80% or more I’m like quite Wayward so I’ve got to control it but and all that is is balance for me so I have to do a lot of balance work a lot of core strength and that’s what gets me to to be able to complete my swing so yeah oh Mike your Brill we’re so impressed with what you’ve achieved and what you will continue to achieve ladies and gents put your hands together please for Mike Brown absolutely brilliant thank you thank you um thank you that concludes our Y golf podcast and you have been the best audience so far tonight so I thank you for coming and supporting and we hope to go on the road more but I know that this is a really special place for you to come up here to Sunny Del Heath to play golf and to be be part of this community and thank you for for listening tonight some really lovely stories that will inspire us all I’m sure when we next hit the golf course good evening everyone thank you [Applause] [Music]
