On the eve of the Australian Amputee Open to be played at Melbourne’s Sanctuary Lakes, it dawned on me that that this isn’t just another golf championship.

Like typical practice days, players file in at different times. Some are desperate to get a final look at the course, learn the pace of the greens or just familiarise themselves with their new surroundings. And for those who have travelled far, rest is also critical for what can be a physically demanding week.

All are drawn to compete, but it’s not until you sit and listen to clubhouse conversations that you realise the event’s true value.

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For most, it has been a year since assembling at Sandhurst Club. But for many, it’s as if time has stood still, catching up where things left off between good friends.

Fast-forward a few minutes and you begin to understand the true value of these conversations.

This is where the magic happens …

Very quickly catch-ups between players can turn from golfer to support worker.  Everything from stump health to prosthetics, where someone knows of a solution to another’s challenge.

Members are exposed to new technologies through golfers just turning up with a new prosthesis — and it’s not too long before everyone is learning of opportunities to improve their own mobility.

At week’s end, people will leave the event not only satisfied with what they have achieved on course, but also inspired by what they have seen, the friendships they have made and the opportunities, through knowledge, to improve their lives.

It’s at this point where I think to myself, we are very lucky to experience this.

Golf, the game we love, is well known as a vehicle for social cohesion.

But for these golfers, simple conversations have the ability to change lives.

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This year, the AAO has been afforded “Challenge” status by the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA). This enables, for the first time, Australian golfers to advance on home soil in the EDGA Rankings for golfers with disability.

The AAO will be played at the Sanctuary Lakes Resort from 28-31 March.

Live Scoring Here – 2017 Australian Amputee Open