Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Golf Digest Middle East|November 2020
I’ve overcome some adversity to get here
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

CHRISTIAAN BEZUIDENHOUT

(PRONOUNCED BA-ZADE-NOTE)

EUROPEAN TOUR

AGE 26

LIVES DELMAS / SOUTH AFRICA

I WAS 2 YEARS OLD WHEN IT HAPPENED. My memory doesn’t go back that far, but I’m told I was in the grocery store with my parents, and there was a soda bottle on the ground. I picked it up and drank from it. It wasn’t soda, it was rat poison. When my parents turned around, I was already unconscious on the ground. They rushed me to the hospital, and I spent weeks in the ICU. The doctors said I almost died. That rat poison affected my whole nervous system. Ever since I’ve had a stutter.

The stutter made things at school hard. I didn’t like to speak. I didn’t want to get made fun of. It was also a challenge with golf. I started swinging a club when I was 4 and playing tournaments when I was 8. At tournaments, you have to talk to people. And if you won, you had to speak in front of everyone. In those situations, I’d tense up, hit a blank, and not be able to get words out. The anxiety it created was awful. My doctor put me on beta-blockers to help keep me calm in situations like that, and it helped. But it derailed my golf career.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2020 من Golf Digest Middle East.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2020 من Golf Digest Middle East.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من GOLF DIGEST MIDDLE EAST مشاهدة الكل
Tempting Entrée
Golf Digest Middle East

Tempting Entrée

INDUSTRY IDENTITIES AND A FORMER SIX NATIONS STAR AMONG THE BIG NAMES ROLLED OUT FOR THE EAGL’S SUMMER DRESS-REHEARSAL

time-read
3 mins  |
June 2021
Golf Digest Middle East

Year of the Comeback

Tour pros of all ages are rediscovering their mojo

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2021
THE GOLF STAYCATION PERFECTED
Golf Digest Middle East

THE GOLF STAYCATION PERFECTED

Golf Digest Middle East’s inaugural Play & Stay is coming to Radisson Dubai DAMAC Hills and Trump Dubai

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2021
THE GENIUS OF JORDAN
Golf Digest Middle East

THE GENIUS OF JORDAN

HE WANTED A CONFIDENT, RELIABLE SWING. HE FOUND IT IN A CLEVER WAY

time-read
5 mins  |
June 2021
The Starter
Golf Digest Middle East

The Starter

The Nairn Golf Club

time-read
1 min  |
June 2021
Undercover Caddie
Golf Digest Middle East

Undercover Caddie

Think you could carry a 40-pound bag for a living?

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2021
DRIVE BLAST PUTT
Golf Digest Middle East

DRIVE BLAST PUTT

THREE WAYS TO RAISE YOUR GAME

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2021
Get Set - Ball-striking success starts at address
Golf Digest Middle East

Get Set - Ball-striking success starts at address

AMATEURS OFTEN STAND OVER THE BALL with their feet too wide apart. I understand the appeal—they want to feel more stable throughout the swing, and a wider stance seems a logical way to achieve that.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2021
Take 5
Golf Digest Middle East

Take 5

It’s hot but that’s no excuse not to warm-up before every round and range session

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2021
Classic Closer
Golf Digest Middle East

Classic Closer

Our monthly guide to taming the region’s stroke index 1 holes has gone off-piste. Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club professional Matthew Brookes heads to arguably the toughest finishing hole in Middle East golf

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2021