Alan Gaynor was hoping that he’d not be in the field for the second G4D @ The West, not because he wasn’t keen to go one better than last year’s second-place finish, but because he had designs on having a round of 16 match in the West of Ireland Championship itself.
And it wouldn’t be the first time he’d had an extended run in the Championship held on the storied links where he grew up. Having had a handicap as low as +3 at one stage, it was a given that he’d be in the field outright and he’d put it up to anybody once it moved to head-to-head battle, but he doesn’t get to practice as often as he once did and he had to try to navigate Wednesday’s tournament qualifier to get in.
It didn’t work out, but if getting to showcase your skills and those of your fellow disability golfers in front of your family, friends and neighbours is second prize, it’s not a bad one.
“When you’re entering the qualifier on the Wednesday, you still believe you can go as far as possible,” he said, “but this was the plan really, you know. It’s obviously to play in this, but it would have been a great problem to have if I had progressed, but it’s not an issue now.”
Born without a left hand, through surgical intervention doctors were able to fashion a couple of digits to make the hand semi-functional, and since his father is a devoted golfer and the game is akin to religion in Rosses Point, it was only natural that Alan would give it a go.
“I obviously know no difference,” Gaynor said, “I’ve been playing golf my whole life. So, I mean, it’s not really something that I have let define me or anything like that and it’s the same for anybody who’s playing this week.
“Everybody has their own story, but, you know, it doesn’t hold any of us back. Everybody has their own unique story and everybody has their own way of dealing with this, but it’s just great that we have our own community of golfers now, and we’re all very competitive. The standard is extremely high. I think everybody’s comfortable to discuss their own various disabilities, but nobody lets it define them. We just get on with. We’re all golfers at the end of the day.
“And I suppose, when you’re a kid, you know no difference. You just get on with it. My dad was always a keen golfer and he just decided ‘we’re going to let him try it’ and if he takes it on, great, if not, then no harm giving it a go.
“But obviously from a young age, I loved it, which is the most important thing. And obviously, you know, I’m a half decent player as well, so there’s a bit of talent there, but I obviously worked really hard as a kid at it and once you find your own unique way of gripping the club, you just get on with it.”
Last year, Gaynor, who had an upcoming wedding occupying a certain degree of his thoughts, wasn’t quite as match sharp as he’d have liked, but still pushed Brendan Lawlor all the way and it wasn’t until the very last hole of the 36 that Lawlor was finally able to shake him off.
But in the nine months following the inaugural G4D @ The West, he’s been back in competitive mode, has the handicap moving back in the direction he’d like, and is relishing a chance to turn the tables on Ireland’s top-ranked disability golfer.
“We had a great old battle last year,” he recalls, “and I’m sure it will be similar this year but hopefully I can come out on top.
“I’ve played a lot more golf in the past year – played a good bit at home and played a few tournaments as well, and this is the first tournament this year.
“So, yeah, I’m looking forward to getting going and seeing where the game is at tomorrow. You don’t really know until you tee it up in the proper tournaments where you’re really at, so we’ll we’ll find out fairly quickly.
“Everyone saw the success of last year and it’s great that we’re back doing it again. I’ve been really looking forward, really itching to get going over the weekend and hopefully the weather might be a bit nicer to us than it has been the last couple of days.”
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