Q Golf - Official online magazine for Golf Queensland Summer 2012 | Page 21

g att Cooper’s Blo M Follow Matt on Twitter: [email protected] The forgotten heroes The anguish of golfers attempting to earn a living from the game they love is often all too easy to see. But the agonies the families of golfers suffer is less well appreciated. I meet a lot of golfing families at tournaments. Walking the fairways it’s almost impossible not to and I’ve often found that most of them are eager to have someone to talk to: mums and dads want to talk about their pride and joy (or chat to relieve nerves); wives and girlfriend are anxious too (and often a bit bored!). Some of them have become friends, people I bump into three or four times a year and I’ve found myself becoming a fan of their son/daughter/boyfriend/ girlfriend/husband/wife. It is often less because I want the golfer to succeed and more because I know that somewhere his or her mum, dad, girlfriend/wife, sister or brother is nervously watching a TV or hitting the refresh button on a laptop or iphone. What you quickly learn about the families of golfers is that watching from the si