Sometimes the therapeutic powers of golf are underestimated, and certainly never more so in the case of Dave Ward, an ex-serviceman from Plymouth.
It was on January 8, 1989, that Ward and his fiancée were passengers on British Midland flight 92 from Heathrow to Belfast. Around 20 minutes into the flight, the plane crashed into an embarkment of the M1 motorway near Kegworth in Leicestershire.
Ward was one of the 79 survivors from one of Britain’s worst civil air disasters. Tragically, his fiancée was killed and Ward himself was in a coma for three weeks and awoke, severely disfigured, and minus his right leg, which had been amputated.
His career in the armed services – he served with the Royal Corps of Transport – was over in that horrific instant close to the M1. So began the long and agonising fight to regain a level of fitness which tested his resolve to the limit.
During his slow and painful convalescence, a friend from Plymouth suggested they play some golf. It was a ‘eureka’ moment for Ward on a path which next week leads him to London Golf Club to tee up alongside the senior professionals in the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, courtesy of the title sponsors.
“I’d never played golf before the accident, so I couldn’t see why I would wish to play afterwards, especially missing a major limb,” he confessed as he prepared to make the journey from the West Country to Kent to play the first two rounds in the company of two pros over the International Course at London Golf Club.
“However, golf has proved to be something of a salvation for me,” he continued. “It has changed my life in so many ways. I was quite broken after the crash and needed to be mended. Golf played a huge part in that process and introduced me to so many people who are now great friends.”
Once hooked, Ward gradually brought his handicap down and he currently plays off 12. He also met John Simpson, the Founder of the On Course Foundation, which helps wounded and sick Services personnel and veterans.
He added: “I’ve been very fortunate to play many of the world’s great golf course through the auspices of the On Course Foundation and the Simpson Cup, which is a Ryder Cup-style event between the UK and USA. I was so proud to be the captain in the first Simpson Cup at Sawgrass in 2012 and I’ve since played in every event at some wonderful courses such as Royal Lytham and St Annes, Congressional, Oakhill and Royal Birkdale.
“I was delighted to receive this invitation from Staysure to play in the Alliance Pro-Am. I’ve been at London Golf Club many times and love the courses there. Staysure will be insuring me for the next 12 months and I would like to thank them for that courtesy”.
