Our regular readers will know that I often use this column to take a stand against a variety of issues plaguing golf. From declining membership, to mismanagement by committees and boards, to the Rules of Golf, the Slope System and more, you all know that I rarely hold back when something gets me really “teed off.”
Well, this month, I’m addressing something that is far, FAR more important than golf.
You may have noticed that, over the last six months, Inside Golf has featured a collection of stories by Andrew Crockett about regular, everyday Aussies whose lives were suddenly thrown into turmoil when they were diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.
A truly horrible disease, Prostate Cancer kills nine Australian men every day. Currently there are 200,000 Australian men living with prostate cancer; 20,000 new cases are diagnosed every year and, sadly, each year we lose 3,300 Australian men to this disease.
The amount of phone calls and emails I’ve received in response to these various stories has been heartwarming (and heartbreaking at times). In truth, I would suspect that every one of use will know (or have known) at least one or two people who are battling the disease (personally, I know at least half a dozen).
This month, in honour of Movember, I have decided to take a stand against Prostate Cancer, and (shamelessly) use this column to try and raise funds to not only battle this horrible disease, but also support other Movember causes around Men’s Health—like Testicular Cancer, male suicide/mental health, and more.
So, at the end of this month, November 26, at the Eastern Golf Club, I will attempt to “Go the distance” and play a marathon round of golf for Men’s Health. From the early morning hours, well into the evening (hopefully), I will attempt to walk and play as many holes of golf as I can, with a few mini-goals along the way. At 50 holes, I’ll pause to remind all 50-year-old men to make sure they get checked/tested for Prostate Cancer (if Prostate Cancer is detected early, there is a 98% chance of survival beyond 5 years. If detected late, that number drops to 26%.). At 60 holes, I’ll pause to honour the 60 men across the world that we lose every HOUR to suicide, etc.
I’ll be updating my progress and developments throughout the month on both our Twitter feed (@InsideGolf) as well as on a dedicated Movember page.
A four-time winner of the Australian Golf Media Awards, including Best Photojournalism, Best Opinion, Best Column and Best Photographic Presentation, Inside Golf Group Editor Richard Fellner is the quintessential Golf Tragic, having played the game for over 50 years (but has never gotten any better!) He has played and reviewed courses all over the world, and has interviewed many of the great players of the game (including Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Greg Norman). Richard is a member of both the Australian Golf Media Association and the Golf Society of Australia, and has been a featured guest on many Australian "sports talk" radio shows and networks, including ABC Grandstand, SEN 1116, Melbourne Talk Radio 1377, 2GB and others.
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