THE G4D OPEN

May 9, 2023

Graham Freeman

Mixed Zone

Q. Could you start by saying your name and where you're from and where you play golf?

GRAHAM FREEMAN: Yeah, sure. My name is Graham Freeman. I was originally born in South Africa. I have British parents. I lived in a few countries around the world: Canada for a year, Germany for seven years, and now I live in Belgium where I've got my nationality.

Q. You're proudly wearing your Belgian sweater today?

GRAHAM FREEMAN: Yeah, for Belgian disability.

Q. How flying the flag for Belgium this week, how do you feel to play in the first-ever G4D Open at Woburn?

GRAHAM FREEMAN: Honestly I feel completely honoured. As a wheelchair player, we don't often get this sort of access to events that happen. There are a couple wheelchair players in every event but it's obviously difficult. The machines are expensive, and it poses other problems.

Q. Well you've got quite a competitive group here this week, haven't you.

GRAHAM FREEMAN: Yeah.

Q. Do you all know each other?

GRAHAM FREEMAN: I think I know most of them at least from Instagram or some of them I'm meeting for the first time, some of the other guys I know, I've met them before. So it's a good opportunity to meet them for sure.

Q. How important is it to raise awareness with ParaGolfers and golfers who play in a chair, how important is it to raise awareness?

GRAHAM FREEMAN: I think it's very important because generally in the press, we actually show up, but there's only one or two or three in a competition out of 80.

So I find the number of ParaGolfers is a bit low in all the competitions. But we have our different challenges. For example, if we are in a bunker on an uphill, we can't get to the ball properly, okay. There are new rules for us but they don't quite cover everything.

Q. Is Woburn quite a challenging track for you in a chair?

GRAHAM FREEMAN: I think it will be, yeah, probably because of the distances and things like that, and the narrowness of it. We'll see.

Q. You played a lot of EDGA events. What's it like to play in these EDGA tournaments to play competitive series golf to play with other players with disability?

GRAHAM FREEMAN: I love it. I go to as many as I can or as many as I can afford to be honest. But I also play club competitions. I play against all my members in Kampenhout in Belgium. I've got no problem playing EDGA or just club golf, Mid-Amateur, it's all good.

Q. We were talking yesterday to another chair player, Kris Aves from England, and he mentioned your name and said he had seen you playing and you were an inspiration. How does that feel?

GRAHAM FREEMAN: Surprised to be honest and honoured. I don't consider myself much of an inspiration. I don't like to be in the spotlight. But as I said, it touches me that he said something like that. It's really nice.

Q. And the final question, what sort of advice would you give to other people who may be in a chair or have a disability who haven't thought about golf? What is it about the game that you find most satisfying?

GRAHAM FREEMAN: Well, I think for me, the most satisfying thing is to be able to get out on the golf course, out in nature. The ParaGolfer allows us to do that.

Yeah, I think there should be more visibility by taking a ParaGolfer to a hospital or rehabilitation centre so the guys can at least try it. I'm willing to do that with anyone, and hoping that I can make a little project like that when I'm back in Belgium in the off-season.

Q. So you're talking about golf as part of the whole rehabilitation process?

GRAHAM FREEMAN: Yeah.