| INSIDE THE ROPES
A Man
Pistorius triumphs at the London Paralympics, just weeks before travelling to Scotland to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
of
Many
Talents
Olympian and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, the “Blade Runner”, is also a very fine golfer, writes European correspondent Lewine Mair, who interviewed the record-breaking South African at last month’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
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AFP
here was a hero and an anti-hero among the amateurs at last month’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Oscar Pistorius, the “blade runner” who linked the Olympics and the Paralympics was the former; Bill Murray, the well-known American actor, the latter. Pistorius ran rings round the actor when it came to common courtesy. Where the actor had a public rant when a television reporter requested a two-minute interview, Pistorius greeted press and public alike with a handshake and thanked them warmly for their interest. In truth, he added to the general feel-good factor from the moment he arrived at Edinburgh Airport, where he came under the wing of the security official whose usual brief it is to look after Tiger Woods in the UK. When the said security official asked if he could help Pistorius with his clubs, the South African thanked him warmly but said he was fine to carry them himself. An 18-handicap man, Pistorius was bowled over by what was his first visit to St Andrews. After he had been shown to his room at the luxurious Old Course Hotel, he walked over the 17th and second fairways to the practice ground and, as he put it, “kind of froze” on the way across. “It was such an incredible experience,” he said, with a disbelieving shake of the head. “I’ve watched the pros playing the Old Course on TV for years and I know a bit about the history but to be here myself is amazing. Such a blessing ...”
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Pistorius uses regular prosthetic legs for golf – “I can’t play a lick in my blades” – and has to guard against swinging too quickly and too far.
AFP
The sense of awe felt by the athlete on his first practice round – it was absolutely the right time to catch him – was infectious. The rumpled fairways and the oceanic greens, along with bunkers great and small, were all studied as much for their timeless beauty as for course management purposes. There was absolutely nowhere he would rather have been. Before setting out, he had taken advantage of the two eminent teaching professionals – Grant Hepburn and Robert Baker – imported by Dunhill to work with the championship’s amateur contestants. Pistorius uses regular prosthetic legs for golf – “I can’t play a lick in my blades” – and has to guard against swinging too quickly and too far. When this combination arises, he goes over on his right foot and struggles to return to an acceptable hitting position. For the first nine holes, he followed the coaches’ instructions to keep his weight centred and to take the club away smoothly – and reached the turn in the low 40s. He struggled rather more on the homeward half and, on arriving at the famous 17th, dispatched two balls into the Old Course Hotel (He’s not alone – Ed). His light-hearted concern was that the second of them could have landed amid the cucumber sandwiches in the conservatory. Yet when he arrived at the 18th, he drove 330 yards to the green’s front apron and there was no question of his ball having taken a helpful leap from the tarmac on Granny Clark’s Wynd, the road bisecting the first and 18th fairways. Since this was only practice, the photographers asked him to pose for pictures on the Swilcan Bridge. He sat this way and that way and he stood: nothing was too much trouble 62
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for him. Then, when the professional snappers had done their bit, he came back to the tee-side of this ancient monument and took some pictures for himself. When he had finished, he hurried to catch up with the rest of his party and, as he went over the up-side of the Swilcan’s hump-back, he tripped ever so slightly. Pistorius, who had his legs amputated betwixt knee and the ankle when he was 11 months old (he had been born without any fibulas) would explain that uphill is the only situation where he can have problems. When, for instance, he had a new house built not so long ago, he had found himself tripping on one particular stair of what looked like a perfectly uniform staircase. He called the head builder back and, when the expert took out his measuring tape, he discovered that the step in question was ever-so-slightly higher – half an inch at the most – than its companions. Pistorius started golf at the age of 15. His grandmother had asked what he would like for a birthday present and he had opted for a few golf clubs. The young Pistorius warmed to the game at once and would play with his friends at local courses and driving ranges, of which there are plenty in South Africa. Nerves were his biggest problem at the Dunhill. While his running is all the better for having an 80,000-strong crowd hollering from the side-lines, a cluster of fans at the Home of Golf was another thing again, especially when they started to play for real. “It’s when you do something that you’re not accustomed to doing that the nerves can kick in,” he said, in a reference to how he had only had a couple of games over the summer. He revealed that he had felt much the same brand of anxiety prior to a Dancing with the Stars programme in Italy in 2011. “It was 157 seconds of absolute torture,” he laughed. “I’d like to say I had two left feet when, of course, I don’t have any feet ...” Pistorius laughs a lot and not so long ago kept everyone entertained as the key speaker at a prosthetics conference run by the University of Strathclyde. At one point, he had regaled his audience with the story of the day his parents finally relented and allowed him to accompany his older brother on a go-cart. When things started to go wrong and the vehicle was careering, uncontrollably, towards the main road, he saved the day by thrusting one of his wooden legs between the wheels. When asked if his participation in the Dunhill might encourage other amputees to take up golf, Pistorius clearly suspected that the way he played was unlikely to inspire anyone. Yet he made the very valid point that there were plenty of Paralympic athletes and a lot of amputees who would love the game. “You don’t have to be world-class sprinters or extreme HKGOLFER.COM
sportsman ... there are more and more people living with amputations now due to diabetes, civil wars and car accidents and golf can work for them where other sports can’t. Also, it’s a game where so many friendships can be kicked off.” The truth, of course, was that he was inspiring people right, left and centre at the Dunhill, including Paul Casey on the day the former Ryder Cupper played in his party at Kingsbarns.
“I’d like to say I had two left feet when, of course, I don’t have any feet ...” “Oscar was an absolute blast to play with and, of all the times that I’ve played here at the Dunhill, today is one of the rounds I’ll remember forever, said Casey. “Playing with Michael [Phelps] and Oscar, was brilliant. I’ve never done such a thing before, but I got the mobile phone out and had a picture taken with the two of them on the sixth tee. To me, these guys are heroes and it was a real treat. “Oscar,” he added, “is an absolute gentleman and is funny as well, I didn’t know that. He is just a great guy and an incredibly positive one.” Like the Dunhill teaching professionals, Casey had furnished a few tips: “Oscar has unbelievable upper body strength and absolutely smashes the golf ball. The upper body strength is apt to take over, so there was a bit of old school teaching from Paul McGinley (Pistorius’s partner) and I to get him around the golf course. McGinley, who was no less taken with his playing companion’s joie de vivre than Casey, did not make it past Saturday’s cut while he and Pistorius similarly failed in the team event. Pistorius, though he had wished for better for McGinley, was not unduly concerned for himself. Competitive he may be but, while he would like to get down to single figures, he loves golf for golf’s sake. “I don’t see myself improving much because I’m quite rubbish,” said Pistorius. “To be honest, I think that the best thing about golf as far as I’m concerned is that I don’t take it too seriously. I can get out, see nature and, in weeks like this, see the world.” He doubted, for instance, whether he would ever forget the sensation of turning for home on the Old Course for a first time and seeing the old grey town looming in the distance. In its own way, it had been as magical as anything – and that includes his gold medals in London – that 2012 had to offer.
Pistorius shows his form alongside fellow Olympian Michael Phelps at the historic Old Course at St Andrews HKGOLFER.COM
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