SOCIETY OF ONE-ARMED GOLFERS/JOHNNY WATTERSON:Playing golf with two arms can be frustrating enough but imagine coping with the use of just one
JOHN CONDIE has gone out to a handicap of 22. Soreness in the shoulder has prevented him from practising but the 17 handicap he used to play off is still a target if the injuries clear up.
For a one-handed golfer, 22 is not where he wants to be but in golf that probably describes every player outside single figures and with the World Championship coming up in June at Dunmurry GC, just outside Belfast, a little bit of good weather should help.
When John's motorcycle hit a car in 1971 his head went in one direction and arm in the other. Severing all the nerves down one side, he had an anxious two-year wait before doctors decided the endings were not going to knit back together and the difficult decision to amputate was made.
"The consultants in the Royal Victoria Hospital said that it would take 15 months to two years for the nerves to heal. But in my case they didn't. The decision was a difficult one but I had given it every opportunity."
Golf came into his life 15 years ago when friends challenged him to play after watching a tournament in Rosses Point hit by gales and driving rain. It began as something of a joke but took legs.
"It was absolutely impossible at the beginning," he says. "But in time I got, as they say, the bug and that was that. I've managed to qualify for the last 16 in the World Championships about four times now. On the Monday and Tuesday of the week, you play qualifying rounds and then it goes into a knockout phase where handicaps do not count. Yes, it's more difficult but it gives you determination."
This year's championship in Dunmurry takes place in June. It has also been played in Mullingar, Carlow, Athlone, Meath and Rosses Point. Ireland has produced two champions, Brendan Swan and Michael O'Grady. In June they expect about 60 to descend on Dunmurry from various parts of the world.
"We've guys with handicaps that go down to five and one guy from St Andrews plays off scratch, although, he has an attachment," says Condie.
"The rules of the Championship stipulate that every stroke must be played with one arm."
The rules, otherwise, are exactly the same as in any golf event, as are the breadth of skills illustrated by the competitors.
"There's a guy called Nick Champness who won the long drive competition not so long ago," says John. "He hit the ball 312 yards and landed it on the fairway. He plays off six.
"There's another guy coming from the US who is off five.
"I've been playing 15 years now and I suppose I'd specialise in chipping and putting. I'd get 180 to 190 yards, whereas Nick would get 300 yards. Playing backhanded, though, would get more length than hitting forehand."
John still gets phantom pains, not uncommon with amputees.
"I suffer a lot from phantom pain in my left arm and fingers that can be quite severe, even though the arm has not been there since 1973," he explains.
"Some people don't seem to be affected by that. I think it sometimes depends on the accident. But 36 years later I didn't think I'd be suffering from any phantom pains."
He was receiving lottery money for the last two years but in this Olympic year that has dried up. He still practises as much as possible and has just returned from Portugal, where the warmer weather was kind to the real shoulder pains, induced by repetitive use, he suffers.
The World Championship, though, is a big incentive.
"You pick up a lot of tips from people," he says. "And not just tips about golf but about life as well. It's a week in the calendar where we are all in the same boat. It's a chance to get together."
From June 2nd to 6th history will be made by the Society of One-Armed Golfers, when they stage the championship in Northern Ireland. By then the Antrim man may have just inched closer to that 17 handicap he used to have.
