Kevin Holland has watched the progress of the G4D Tour from afar but is now grateful to have the opportunity to shine on a global stage alongside fellow leading golfers with disabilities when he competes at The G4D Open.
Staged in partnership by The R&A and the DP World Tour and supported by EDGA, the second edition of the championship returns to Woburn this week from May 15-17.
From an 80-strong field of male and female players from across the world, Holland is one of six players from the United States teeing it up in golf’s most inclusive event, featuring nine sport classes across multiple impairment groups.
Born with Cerebral Palsy, golf has proven to be therapeutic and cathartic. Ever since first picking up a club aged 10 and then practicing more seriously at the age of 15, the sport has given him a purpose in his life.
Now, aged 41, he hopes the G4D Open can act as the springboard for him to showcase his talent and play around the world in G4D events on a more regular basis.
Speaking ahead of the G4D Open, he told the DP World Tour: “It’s a dream of mine. It’s what I work for. It’s what my drive is.
“It’s what makes me stay on the range and put in the long hours to go and perform at the highest level. It’s where I want to be. This is what I worked so hard for.”
The G4D Open acts as the fifth of nine events on the G4D Tour schedule, following hot on the heels of last month’s first held in conjunction with a PGA TOUR event.
Having heard first hand positive feedback from countrymen Chris Biggins, who like him has Cerebral Palsy, and Rob Walden of their experiences of playing on the G4D Tour, Holland is eager to make his first foray into unfamiliar territory.
“I am trying to launch my career because I want to try and play more on the G4D Tour,” he added.
“I am looking to use this [The G4D Open] as a great opportunity to do so.”
I am trying to launch my career because I want to try and play more on the G4D Tour
In contrast to Biggins, who has a noticeable limp, Holland’s main challenge he has had to overcome in golf is the impact of having a right arm that is significantly shorter than his left.
It led him to improvise with his swing over the years, but he now believes he has found a solution that enables him to maximise his potential.
“In the last year I have fully taken my right arm off the club,” he said. “It has opened me up more and I can swing more freely and make a bigger back turn.
“I could play in a couple of different categories, but I choose neurological because it is starting to get more competitive in the US.”
Despite missing out on securing a spot in the field for this summer’s U.S. Adaptive Open at a qualifying event in Indianapolis earlier that day, there is a palpable excitement in Holland’s voice as he looks ahead to this week’s 54-hole stroke play gross competition.
“I am trying to approach the week as relaxed I can,” he said. “I am anxious to start practicing on the course.”
While golf offers new competitive horizons, Holland is also committed to playing his part in inspiring others to raise awareness and help grow participation.
As an adaptive golf coach back at home in Michigan, Holland takes part in clinics organised by the USGA – something that he believes are critical in the player pathway from sampler, to participant, to competitor.
“I try to help highlight golf as a form of therapy for people and to encourage them to get out of their house and keep growing through this great sport,” he said.
“They drop their jaw when they see me hit the ball. It’s a figure of speech but they are just shocked by how well I hit the ball.”
When asked who his hero was growing up, Holland names arguably golf’s biggest figure over the last three decades.
“The one who inspired me to get into golf was Tiger Woods,” he said.
“He is somebody who I look up to. He said he hits 10000 balls a day, that is something I am trying to achieve when I do my range sessions.”
There is an example of the dedication so many of these inspiring players have for the game even despite their physical challenges.
After working hard on his game to earn this opportunity, Holland is intent on making the most of it and hopes it can be the genesis for wider recognition.
