'Fore' Get Me Not Golf is an initiative to help those with a dementia diagnosis and living with the condition; Sky Sports Golf visited Seckford Golf Club in Suffolk to highlight the work being done to mark World Alzheimer's Month
Saturday 21 September 2024 12:57, UK
Great golf should be unforgettable, but sadly for millions of people living with dementia worldwide, this isn’t the case.
Around 55 million people globally have dementia, with Alzheimer's disease being the most common form, leading to an initiative being launched for golfers living with with the conditions.
"Every golf club is going to see people, some of their members, get dementia," says Tony Pennock, Seckford Golf Club general manager, who is a key part of 'Fore' Get Me Not Golf.
Having seen his parents live with the illness, Pennock - a lifelong Ipswich Town supporter - was keen to see what could be done in golf after getting involved with Ipswich's own dementia club.
After meeting Wendy Chard there, head of community engagement at Home Instead, the pair came up with the special initiative which grants people with dementia the opportunity to enjoy playing golf, for free, in a supervised and supportive environment.
"When they come for the first time, usually we see a little distress," Pennock told Sky Sports. "But this is all about fun. It's all about coffee, tea, cake, fun, laughter the whole way.
"Our volunteers will take the people with dementia onto the range and to the putting green. And if they're able, which some of them aren't, then we take them to play some holes. It's the whole experience.
"And it's just as important for the carers, who come to the clubhouse. One of the biggest things with this is that they are able to socialise with people who are in the same boat, and they can share stories so that they're not alone. We try really hard to not exclude anybody. Our whole ethos as a golf club is to be inclusive."
Pennock's mum lived with dementia for 13 years before passing away, while his dad, who introduced him to golf, now suffers from the condition.
"It's just the most horrible thing that a family can go through," he said. "I saw a picture on my phone the other day of my dad putting on the green here. That was the last time we ever did it, so that brings it all back to me.
"Just to see the love, the joy this gives to people... there was two or three who walked out a little while ago, who held on to my hand and said, 'thank you'. You can't say any more than that really."
Seckford Golf Club now has 30 volunteers signed up to assist with the 'Fore' Get Me Not Golf days, with all staff members at the club and those volunteers trained in dementia care and support.
But Pennock has plans to expand his passion project, keen to get as many golf clubs as possible involved in his initiative, to raise money and support for such an important cause.
"I want to roll it out as far and wide as I can," he said. "We're already talking to the PGA, the R&A and England Golf, to be able to get them to recognise what we do, so that we can hopefully get some funding to be able to take it out to the bigger world.
"My ultimate dream, as I've said right from beginning, is I'd love to find a cure. That's pie the sky, I suppose, but if we can start to get some money towards Alzheimer's Research UK, that's going to make a difference too.
"There are 80-odd thousand golf clubs in the world... if their dementia charity was 'Fore' Me Not Golf, then we could go stratospheric. But it's just about getting that message across.
"The next stage is coming, and we are moving things forward. So the family of golf worldwide, unite behind me please and let's see what we can do."
The month of September is World Alzheimer's month and Saturday September 21 is World Alzheimer Day. The Alzheimer's Society provides help and hope for everyone living with dementia, supporting people living with dementia through some of the hardest and most frightening times.
