Daphne van Houten was one of two female golfers to qualify via the World Ranking to play in the G4D Tour @ Magical Kenya Open (February 19-20), one of nine such events organised by the DP World Tour and considered to be at the pinnacle of ‘G4D’ (golf for the disabled).
The Netherlands golfer had played in G4D Tour events before but her appearance in Kenya this week ranked as a significant step forward after a year beset by health challenges, where regular play was difficult.
Daphne, from Teteringen, may not have had her best tournament, but no matter: she is back where she belongs in the top echelon of G4D; the 25-year-old is the Number 1 Ranked female player (position 23 in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability).
Speaking before teeing off in Kenya, Daphne talked of her pride in representing the women’s game. “It has always been a goal for me to inspire others to pick up the great game of golf, no matter what your (dis)ability is. I feel honoured to showcase the game of golf to others.”
Daphne started enjoying golf when she was just six.
At the age of 12, a medical screening showed she had Scoliosis. Only a year later, the curvature of her spine got twice as bad. As Daphne was so young, she was enrolled in the Schroth Method in Germany for five weeks. She started this course with a curvature of 53 degrees in her spine and came out with a curvature of 34 degrees.
Daphne says: “At the age of 17, I had a seven-hour operation where they put pins and screws in my back to keep my Scoliosis from getting worse. The doctors told me I couldn’t play golf for a year, but, after a month, I was already doing some short game and, six months later, I was back playing competitions. Now, at the age of 25, I am very glad I had the operation because there was a strong chance I would not be able to play golf anymore. I had a challenging year with my health last year, so I am now really excited to get back on the G4D Tour in 2024 and to give it my best try.”
Apart from the pain she often faces on the course, Daphne talks of her technical challenges: “Because I can’t turn my hips separately from my shoulders/upper body, I can’t get a lot of swing speed and I lose some distance compared with others. So, you have to find different ways to generate more speed, or be better at other elements in golf, like the short game. My short game and putting are quite good as I do need them; I have put in a lot of practice over the years (from when I was six and just starting!).”
When we chatted to Daphne, she said she was looking forward to a season where injury wasn’t the main topic. Looking back, we asked her of her heroes growing up.
“Anne van Dam has always been my hero in golf [van Dam is a Dutch LPGA and LET player, with five LET victories]. She is a few years older than me and has always been someone to look up to, and it helped me to make a vision of where I wanted and needed to be a few years later.
“In life, in general, my Dad has always been my hero; the way he carries life, loves his children and wife and always takes care of them. When I was younger, my Dad drove me around to every single tournament I wanted to go to and always kept an open mind about me playing golf. He always said, ‘keep playing golf if you enjoy it and, if you don’t want to play golf anymore, then do whatever else your heart wants!’”
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