“The game I love”: Why Loris is supporting others to enjoy the health benefits of golf

Discovering golf proved to be only good medicine for Loris Stradi after a serious car accident changed his life. 

The Italian’s passion for the game has been rewarded, both in making lasting friendships on and off the course that have gone on to help others, and at the same time succeeding in G4D (golf for the disabled) tournaments and winning trophies.

Loris was 28 years-old, back in 1995. He is from Modena, Emilia-Romagna in the north of Italy, from a family of merchants selling raw materials for baking and pastry making.

After working for a while in the family business, Loris set up his own business as a driver for the Italian Post Office in Modena, driving armoured vans with a police escort. He had also married his wife Gabriella in 1994, and they were expecting a child. Life was good, he was excited about starting his family.

Then, the unthinkable happened: a car at an intersection ran a red light, and he was rammed. The ambulance rushed to the hospital and he needed emergency surgery. He was admitted to intensive care with fractures to his face and leg with a severely damaged diaphragm. There were genuine fears he might die.

Loris recalls: “The most important motivation during my hospital stay was definitely my wife, Gabriella. We were two young people: I was 28, she was 26, married for two months, and she was pregnant. Gabriella was from Florence. She had moved to Modena without ever having lived there. The first few months were spent waiting for the birth, while she was also preparing her thesis.”

It would take two months in the hospital and two years of rehabilitation before Loris could walk again. He would never forget his wife’s help: with the newborn, her way of juggling her academic studies, and her constant, patient support for Loris.

“I couldn’t give up, and I committed myself to getting back in shape as soon as possible, given everything Gabriella was going through,” explains Loris. 

Once healed, Loris could no longer practise the sports of his youth due to permanent injuries: walking was no longer easy, he had difficulty moving on his left side, and his balance was compromised. During his rehabilitation, passing a golf course on his way to the physical therapist, he thought of golf, of its stationary ball and the fact that it’s a non-contact sport, and something clicked in his mind.

“Because of the resulting disabilities, I couldn’t play other sports. So I tried golf, full of curiosity, and started my first lessons. And now I will never stop playing golf,” says Loris who, at the time of writing, has a WHS Handicap Index of around 23.

“Today I am a member of Argenta Golf Club and I love playing, on the one hand to be in nature and play with good friends, but also for the competition, which is fantastic,” says Loris, who has travelled to Portugal, Spain, Germany, and the Czech Republic to play EDGA-supported tournaments.

As a reward for his good performances, in 2023 Loris qualified for the prestigious RSM European Net and Stableford Play-offs, in which 16 players from around Europe, golfers with a range of disabilities, had qualified to play in knock-out rounds to find an overall Net and Stableford winner, part of a unique and popular EDGA event supported by leading audit, tax, and consulting firm RSM UK.

When Loris walked through the doors of North Hants Golf Club in the south of England that September, his natural smile was at its widest as he was ready to tee it up in earnest to test himself under pressure.

Qualifying suddenly felt like a key part of a sporting evolution that had helped make Loris well again after a long battle to regain his health. This laid-back golfer is in no doubt of the physical and mental health benefits afforded by “the game I love”. No wonder then, that the smile stayed in place for Loris throughout his stay in England. 

Out of 16 international finalists who assembled at North Hants, Loris was one of a quartet of Italian players present who lit up the venue with their camaraderie. This, and the ‘Azzurri’ blue worn proudly in national colours, were much enjoyed by the Hampshire locals and fellow players. The Italians earned the tag of ‘the class of ’23’ and featured Loris, Angelo Colussi and José Bagnarelli from Milan, and Riccardo Bianciardi (winner of the corresponding Net event) from Siena in Tuscany. 

Loris would be delighted to win his matchplay final in the Stableford in a great contest against Pentti Vaara of Finland, but playing in this event and in the wider RSM golf day that followed, Loris and his companions also made many new friends as they talked together on the fairways.

“I felt very honoured to compete in the RSM Play-offs as an EDGA player,” smiles Loris. “When I was first working to get over my injury, golf was like a foreign country to me. When I would go to the health spa each day, I passed by a golf club; so I suddenly thought maybe I could play golf, and here I am.”

Golf has dominated much of his thinking and philosophy. Loris, who organised a ‘Golf and Food Cup’ in his beautiful Emilia-Romagna region to combine two of his passions, also wants to help other people with a disability to enjoy the game. “Golf is now a very important part of my life. Since 2022 I have been on the team of the CIP, the Italian Paralympic Committee for the Province of Modena, and I collaborate to bring other people with a disability closer to sport. I know that many of my friends back home will have been proud that I got to play in the RSM Play-offs and help to grow awareness of G4D.”

In 2024, together with his friend and Italian national teammate Cristiano, they set up the Cristiano Berlanda Foundation to promote sport as a means of rebirth after a trauma or an adverse health condition, encouraging people to find a positive outlook in life. Cristiano, who was born with a leg disability in his right leg, himself became an experienced G4D golfer. A former professional DJ, he has a similar twinkle in the eye, smile and desire to spread the spirit of golf to others as does Loris, and they have proved to be a great match as they encourage many others to start in golf.

Loris explains: “The idea of ​​creating a Foundation arose at the end of 2023. We realised we could leverage our experience to help, through targeted projects, people with disabilities who wanted to get involved in sports – any sport, and even better if it involved golf. I brought with me my experience as an information officer for the Italian Paralympic Committee. The regional secretariat often involves me in events such as trade fairs, as a spokesperson and as a speaker sharing personal experiences. Cristiano has all the expertise he acquired from being born with a lower limb disability, and therefore all the experience he’s gained over 50 years of life. We are two different experiences of people with disability: I, who became one, and he, who was born with it.”

Loris’s enjoyment as a golfer reflects the wider mission of EDGA, which works to make golf more accessible for individuals with disabilities. By fostering an inclusive environment from ‘first touch’ golf opportunities (first chips and putts can be great in rehabilitation for example) to international competition, EDGA is playing a key role in reshaping the sporting landscape.

Meanwhile, sponsorship of the RSM European Play-offs has provided a vital platform for a wide range of golfers to reach their potential, while RSM’s backing, and that of other key EDGA supporters, extends to grassroots programmes, ensuring that aspiring golfers, regardless of their physical or mental challenges, have access to the sport.

When Loris Stradi held up his trophy for his win in the RSM European Play-offs all this support came together in a wonderful moment that Loris and his friends and family are unlikely to forget. Encouragement created the opportunity, and this generous golfer from Italy seized the day and won well, with grace and the utmost respect for his fellow players. 

“It’s the game I love,” he explains. “To help grow the sport like this in Italy and to a wider audience internationally is very special and an honour.”

With thanks to RSM for their support. Click here to find out more about the RSM European Play-offs.

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