FOUR PLAYERS WHO FACED MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS HEAD ON AND CAME OUT THE OTHER SIDE
MATTHEW WOLFF
“Mental illness or not being happy, that’s an injury, and people don’t look at it as that. People look at it as, Oh, you’re not happy, or you’re a little screwed up in the head or you’re just playing bad. It’s like, get over it. But it’s more than that. If you don’t feel a hundred percent right, no matter if it’s mental or physical, it is an injury, and you should be able to rehab and take your time in order to get to a place where you need to be. I feel like I had that time.”
BUBBA WATSON
“There’s not a miracle drug that makes it go away. I have anxieties. I have doubts. I have pride issues. I have ego issues. I’ve got them all. I’ve got every issue you can think of and I’m still dealing with it, and hopefully I get better with it. I think me talking about it helps me. The more I hold it in, the worse it eats at me.”
CHRISTINA KIM
“You only get one shot at life. I have been through a lot in my life and have been on the other end of it where I’ve wallowed in my own misery and ultimately got in my own way. Instead of thinking of a mishit shot, I’m now just allowing myself to have a new opportunity to have a sick up and down. I’m upbeat because I have been through a lot of adversity in my life in the past. I couldn’t expect anyone else to have this sort of delusional positive mindset if they have never delved into those deep trenches of human emotion.”
ANDREW ‘BEEF’ JOHNSTON
“Being a ‘character’ has its downsides. I’ve been called a joke and things like that and I think that kind of had a little bit of an effect on me. I almost tried to fit in more. It made me miserable, made my golf miserable and I put more pressure on myself to do well. I had to go away and relearn that people like me because of me and not because of my golf. I think it’s vital really for anyone in sport and any kids growing up to just be themselves and have fun.”
almost trying to burp out a heart attack in the kitchen. It was like I had indigestion. I started feeling worse and worse and as I was walking down the stairs, that’s when my entire left side went numb.”
While lying stricken on the ground in his front room, Tubes was luckily able to text his mum who alerted Ange and called the paramedics.
“It’s not something you can really prepare for,” admits Ange. “When we got there, he looked as white as a sheet. His eyes were open but it was like there was nothing there. He was looking through us. It was horrible and something I never want to go through again.”
“It’s a good job we had Lewis Hamilton driving the ambulance,” jokes Tubes. She was amazing, so quick. The other paramedic just kept telling these really sh*t jokes. He was like a really bad Jasper Carrot. He told my mum afterwards that he was trying to annoy me to keep me awake.
“He did his job and I got taken straight to the operating theatre. The next thing I knew I was having a cup of coffee in the ward with a stent in my chest, thinking, ‘I nearly died’. I was so lucky because they told me I had minutes to live.”
A SECOND CHANCE
Since the ordeal, both brothers have been raising funds for charities promoting heart health awareness – and have even joined the TG campaign to help get as many defibrillators in golf clubs as possible across the UK. Tubes is now urging others to get checked out to help reduce dozens of preventable heartrelated deaths each day.
“You can’t predict, but you can prevent it. Even though my dad and his dad both suffered heart attacks, never once did I think I would have one at the age of 36. I was probably the fittest I had ever been. I was playing golf, going to the gym every day, and I had lost loads of weight. The doctors actually said if I had still been drinking like I did back in the day, I would have died on the spot.”
Bizarrely, one thing he can’t do now is scuba-diving – “I wouldn’t want to anyway,” he laughs – but he has been able to obtain his first-ever handicap after joining igolf. Most of his and Ange’s rounds are now documented in the form of ‘grudge matches’ on their Youtube channel, which has amassed more than 135,000 subscribers. Late last year they caught the attention of England Golf, who approached them to produce seven fun-packed episodes to help get youngsters into golf.
“It sounds a bit lame, but what we do is all about having fun, enjoying life on the golf course, and inspiring people to get out there,” says Ange. “I’ve got a kid now so golf is really my only outlet. It helps me mentally and there’s no better feeling than playing golf with people you like and love is there? That’s what we try to portray.”
“We do like to have a laugh, but we also cover some really important points, such as mental health,” adds Tubes. “One minute Lee Hendrie was talking about his own mental health problems; five minutes later he was doing an impression of one of his ex-managers. It’s real life. If we hit a sh*t shot, we don’t take it out. If we hit a great shot, we celebrate it. We want to make it relatable, so people feel like they’re with us on the golf course. We’re not precious about what happens. We’ll try anything and that’s probably why it works. You never know what we’re going to do or come up with next!”
‘WHAT WE DO IS ALL ABOUT HAVING FUN, ENJOYING LIFE ON THE GOLF COURSE, AND INSPIRING PEOPLE TO GET OUT THERE’