A group of wounded North American war veterans have thanked a St Andrews charity for introducing them to the game of golf.
The group of beginners from Canada and the USA were hosted by St Andrews Legacy as part of an on-going programme to give physical and psychological therapy to former soldiers of war.
On the first of three trips organised by St Andrews Legacy this summer, the veterans were welcomed to St Andrews Links, The Kittocks at Fairmont St Andrews, and to Kingarrock Hickory Course at Hill Of Tarvit near Cupar.
This last event was organised by the University of St Andrews Ladies Golf Club and also featured representatives from the St Rule Club.
R&A professional Jim Farmer then took the veterans into the Royal and Ancient Golf Clubhouse for a tour.
Sergeant Dan Matthews of the 3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment, explained how as a veteran of Bosnia and Afghanistan, he was part of ISAF under NATO in 2003 when he was in an ambush that killed two colleagues.
Dan’s right eye was damaged and he was diagnosed with PTSD the following year.
He helped save the driver of their vehicle but he took his own life three years later.
Unable to leave his house for a year due to flashbacks, a breakthrough came when Major Jay Feyko of Soldier On Canada invited Dan to The Mandarin course to photograph a golf day.
“I was seeing what the sport was doing. People were talking to each other and laughing. It rained so hard I was hydroplaning in a buggy but the guys finished 18 holes. I thought: if this sport can do that to people I need to find out more about it”.
Dan said his subsequent trip to St Andrews had been “huge”, adding: “I have a chance to play a game that brings people together. I don’t feel I’m an outsider. We’re all on the same team.”
Former soldier Moses Sonera said that when he played golf he felt like he was “free again”.
He was 24-years-old when he joined the US Army in June 1998.
Six years into his army career Moses was in Iraq, working as a combat engineer. On March 30 2004, a mortar exploded on top of his quarters. “A couple of guys were killed. We survived a lot of stuff but I got hit and I realized I was no superman. The medics tried to save my left leg – it was 18 months to the amputation. I was 30-years-old then, married with three children. My wife always supported me in the army. I changed more than her. She and the kids, there are four now, they saved my life. At first I couldn’t trust nobody”.
Moses said he initially thought golf was “only for rich people, people with power”. But he added: “I got respect over here and it helped me get better in my game. My goal is to be a better golfer. When you love the sport you want to get better”.
A third visitor was Michael Lammey who has undergone 55 surgeries in the 10 years since he was scalded by superheated steam that escaped from a leaking boiler aboard the USS Frank Cable AS40.
At a temperature of over 700F, the steam was hot enough to blow out the boiler fire.
Medically retired in 2010 at the age of 27, Michael now runs a company called Safety Happens, specializing in giving advice on best practice and avoiding complacency. He talks to photographs of his injuries taken by his wife.
He took up golf 18 months ago, “because that’s what retired people do.” He added: “I bought a driver and couldn’t hit anything. It was a lot harder than I thought. I had no idea how in-depth the game could be”.
