Unprecedented, 69. (Part 1)

"69".

It is very difficult to explain this number.

If you have never played golf,
I think it is even more so.

To the public, golf might look like
a luxurious sport or
just another leisure activity to enjoy on holidays.

Actually, I
thought so too before my accident.

The Chubu Disabled Open,
hosted by the DGA (Disabled Golf Association of Japan),
was held the other day.

▶ Click here for tournament details

I competed in the severe disability division and
played under special playing rules.

The result was 69.

And 1st place.
I received the Fighting Spirit Award.

A number that you might see as a winning score
in a professional golfer's tournament
appeared on my scorecard.

Honestly,
I was a little happy.

But,
what I really want to convey in this article is

"69 is amazing"

is not the point.

Even now,
I don't really know
how to evaluate this 69.

Because,

there is no precedent.

With this body.

Under these conditions.

In these circumstances.

There were no rivals standing on the same stage
with whom I could compete.

Having no rivals.

That does not mean
that I could not win.

It means that I could not lose either.

As long as it is a competition,
there are winners and losers.

But I felt that I
could not even stand
at the starting line.

In the first place, for me,

Before winning or losing in a competition,
simply finishing 18 holes while standing
was a challenge in itself.

Previously, regarding that challenge,

I was told,

"That is an unprecedented feat in human history."

Honestly,
I thought that was an exaggeration at the time.

However,

I do not know anyone else
with similar physical conditions
who wears a walking assist device
and continues to play 18 holes standing.

To that extent,
even before talking about the results of the competition,
it was a challenge for which no precedent could be found.

▶ I was told, "That is an unprecedented feat in human history." Honestly, I thought it was an exaggeration. However.

So for a long time,

"With this body,
it is difficult to continue playing golf as a competitive sport."

That is what I thought.

That is why I chose

“breaking 100 from the white tees”

as a challenge against myself.

It was not to compare myself with anyone else.

With this body.

From here.

How far can I go?

I wanted to find that out.

It was a challenge I faced alone,
invisible to everyone else.

▶ “Golf Challenge from Here”

But this year,
that view has changed.

The DGA has created
a new category for
severe disabilities.

For me, this is not just about
a new category being added.

“You are welcome to challenge yourself from here”

It was the first starting line
where I felt I was told that.

For me, who had been searching for a place to belong for so long,

“This is the place where you compete”

it felt as if they had shown me that.

On a course where there had been no one for so long,

finally,
my own tee ground had been created.

That was the feeling.

That is why I played the most serious golf of my life.
I played the most serious golf of my life.

The result was 69.

However, this 69
was not a number that appeared suddenly.

It is not a number with a handicap subtracted, either.

It is the actual score
I recorded over 18 holes.

Things I have built up over many years.

Things I have kept thinking about
precisely because I have this body.

And,
the people who supported me.

The irreplaceable things
that supported this body of mine.

All of that overlapped
to create this number.

That is why I
do not want to be proud of
just this number 69.

I am proud that I was able to leave behind an "unprecedented 69."

Why was this number born?

I intend to write the reason
in the middle part.

Let's both go at our own pace.

(Continued in the middle part)
https://note.com/golf_revolution/n/n352f1a176e93