Discovering golf proved to be only good medicine for Italy’s Loris Stradi after a serious car accident changed his life. 

It would take two months in the hospital and two years of rehabilitation before Loris could walk again. He would never forget his wife Gabriella's help.

During his rehabilitation, passing a golf course on his way to the physical therapist, Loris thought of golf, of its stationary ball and the fact that it's a non-contact sport, and something clicked in his mind.

Loris recalls: “When I was first working to get over my injury, golf was like a foreign country to me. When I would go to the health spa each day, I passed by a golf club; so I suddenly thought maybe I could play golf, and here I am.”

Enjoy Loris’s story of a remarkable comeback in life, with golf as his focus, here with EDGA. 

During a golf session for youngsters at Kenya Railway Golf Club you can hear the shouts of joy as children with a disability play on a golf course for the first time. “Watching the kids sharing something special as they play golf together, it makes everything worthwhile,” says Ann Wangui Irura. 

Anita, as friends call her, is an administration assistant at a school for children with special needs in Nairobi called Kenya Community Centre for Learning (KCCL). Eight years ago when trying different sports to engage with the students, she tried golf and realised the game could help them to focus on a task and see personal improvement. Something clicked. 

Today, Anita is the founder of the community venture Golden Tee Inclusive Golf, bringing the game to disadvantaged youngsters with a disability, changing lives through the power of golf. 

Enjoy Anita’s story with EDGA here. 

Stacey Johnston-Gleason lives practically on the first tee box of the Mission Mountain Golf Course, a flat sweep of green nestled against the rugged peaks of western Montana. To some, living on ‘Hole One’ might sound like a flippant remark, but to Stacey, it’s something more—a way of being, a kind of metaphor for how she’s tackled life: one shot, one challenge at a time.

Her connection to the Special Olympics runs deep. Born with fetal alcohol syndrome and adopted later in life, she found her family through the community that had already given her so much.

Golf is not just a game to Stacey. It’s a lifeline, a thread of connection, not only to the fairways and greens but to something bigger. 

Discover Stacey’s story with EDGA today. 

“When I was a little boy the doctors told my family that I wouldn’t be able to walk, run, bike or swim, and would spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.”

Fast forward 20 years and Guy Harrison, 23, from New Zealand, was preparing to play on the G4D Tour in Spain; playing with some confidence after working hard on his game and competing to a high standard – off his 8.3 golf handicap – propelling himself up the Net World Ranking for Golfers with Disability. 

Guy, who has cerebral palsy, says today: “Golf is my true love – getting out on the course with mates, seeing new places. It was a massive benefit to start golf at a young age so I can enjoy progress in the game.

“With the support of my parents we proved the doctors wrong and kept me out of the wheelchair using golf a lot to help me. I started my golf at five years-old going out a couple of times a week with my Dad to a local nine-hole public golf course and it just went from there.”     

Follow Guy’s story in golf today with EDGA. 

Riccardo Bianciardi is a strong advertisement for all the good in Italian golf as he says hello to us in his smart azure blue Italian shirt bearing his national badge, and greeting us with a wide smile. 

For some time now, golf has been a salvation for him, helping him engage with life following the neurological condition he was born with but also as a balm for recent struggles. In October 2018, Riccardo had a kidney transplant that wasn’t successful. He therefore had to start kidney dialysis, and looking for distraction after five months in recovery he took part in his first EDGA event, the Italian Open which, remarkably, he won! 

Fate would play its hand again in 2022. Riccardo had a second kidney transplant, which this time went well, and nine months later he won the EDGA Giovanni Nasi International, also in Italy. To be able to get himself well and record such a feat is surely amazing and a mark of the man.

This is an interesting story from one of the most generous golfers out there. Enjoy Riccardo’s story here with EDGA. 

Natasha Stasiuk finds her inner calm through golf. 

This friendly 26-year-old from Oakville, Ontario, clearly loves the game. When considering her own improving performances, winning tournaments and helping to fly the flag for Canada, she will agree this is partly due to a lot of hard work and support, but success for her also means the joy she feels in playing on a golf course, looking for the perfect swing; all an antidote to the anxieties of life.  

Living with Autism for Natasha includes also managing an auditory processing condition.

She tells us: “Playing golf is where I feel free and don’t feel judged. It’s my happy place. It’s where I feel most confident in life.”

At 26, Natasha is becoming more used to the pressure of the first tee, more experienced in gathering her strength for the challenge ahead, while not forgetting the challenges of the past.

Discover Natasha’s story with EDGA today. 

Imagine playing some great golf aged 87, having given up the game once aged 75 because you had gone blind. From losing his sight in his seventies to enjoying golf again with the help of his guide, the story of Danny Daniels is remarkable. 

At first his age-related sight loss threatened to beat Danny, but his wife of nearly 60 years, Diana, wouldn’t let him give up and turn his back on the game he loved. 

Instead, Diana volunteered to become Danny’s guide out on the golf course (learning about the game gradually). Today Danny and Diana are a perfect example of how both a player with a visual impairment and a supportive guide can flourish together. 

Read or listen to their story with EDGA today.

René Schwenk, a native of Pforzheim in South West Germany, embodies the spirit of perseverance and dedication that defines a true athlete. René shares, “Why do I love golf? Because it’s a sport in which you’re never going to be perfect, so you always have to work on yourself. Sometimes it’s really challenging, but it brings you a lot of joy, working on yourself and reaching small goals.”

Despite the physical and mental tests René has faced as a young man, his resilience helped him adjust to playing the game again and today he is playing some of his best golf. 

“It’s so important to have goals, you know, and to set yourself goals and to work towards them,” says René. “That’s what this kind of G4D gave me back.” 

Enjoy René’s story here with EDGA.

“They pulled me out of darkness and made me walk to the light of the world. They always encouraged my challenge,” said Simon Seungmin Lee, from the Republic of Korea.

The then 25-year-old spoke these words in 2022 when thanking his parents after his victory in the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open (a tournament he has subsequently nearly won on two further occasions, including July, 2024). 

Many of us can only imagine what it is like to work so hard in order to compete in high level golf, let alone hole the putts that win the trophy. And the first people Simon thanked were his parents. 

To win, Simon, who is autistic, had to conquer the pressure of the big tournament which took place on the hallowed Pinehurst Resort Course No. 6. This is a remarkable young golfer, with a remarkable story we can share with you now on our latest EDGA Podcast.

Casper Holst-Christensen, hailing from Denmark, attributes his deep-rooted passion for golf to his father, Jon. “My love of golf stems from my Dad,” Casper reflects fondly. “I think he actually bought me and my brother clubs back when we were four or five years old.” 

Living with ASD, or to give its full name, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Casper experiences the world uniquely. “For me, I’m very impaired in my hearing, so I don’t really have any sense of filter. I hear every single thing going on around me all the time.” 

Casper has trained himself over the years to maintain balance in golf and life. “That’s why I love golf nowadays. It’s the constant mental battle on the course every time I play. It doesn’t matter if I play Sunday rounds with my Dad or in big tournaments, it’s the same feeling, it’s the same battle.” 

Enjoy Casper’s story with EDGA here.