Life was a painful slog until this 23-year-old KwaZulu-Natalian discovered his favourite sport, writes MICHAEL VLISMAS in Compleat Golfer.
Before it happened, Graham Fabricius could see all the answers.
Born with a photographic memory, he could look at the most complex maths equation and solve it with ease. But when a life-threatening illness robbed him of this, golf was the only thing that made any sense.
Blessed, he says, to have found a game he knew nothing about but at which he became so good, so quickly, that he is now eyeing a trip to the Sunshine Tour’s Qualifying School at the end of this year.
But the journey he has been on has been almost unimaginable, including a hereditary disease, life-threatening illness and the death of his elder brother.
Born with Scheuermann’s disease – a skeletal disorder that runs in his family – Fabricius suffered from intense back
pain for most of his life.
‘I’ve always struggled with a bad back. Some days I would wake up and wouldn’t be able to walk properly because of a stiff back. The doctor said I would grow out of it, but by 21 it was really bad.’
It’s something he still struggles with.
‘For three or four months I won’t have any problems, but then, all of a sudden, it puts me down and out for two weeks and I’m limping around.’
But he still had his studies, at which he was exceptionally good, and his love for maths.
He knew nothing about golf and it was never something he was interested in. And then, a few years ago, the headaches started to come.
‘That month was such a blur. I started getting really sick, and was told I had meningitis. I had constant headaches and, ja, it was tough.
‘For seven months I just slept, took medicine and went to the doctor. I couldn’t do much of anything. It put my studies on hold. My dad had started playing golf with one of his friends at Port Shepstone Golf Club. One day he said I should caddie for him. I went and they seemed to have so much fun. I was just happy to be alive after my ordeal.
‘So I went to the driving range and hit a few balls, and it felt like I was hitting the ball better than my dad. Then I played a full round one weekend, and I beat my dad. He was shocked. I built up from there and went from 20 to 18 to 10 to 5 within six or seven months.’
But as his health slowly improved and he discovered a new passion, one thing was still missing.
‘You know, I was really good at school. I never had to study – everything just came naturally. Then, after I’d had meningitis, I returned to my studies. But when I went to write an exam, I hit a blank – it was like I’d never seen the stuff before.
‘The doctor said the meningitis must have affected that part of my brain. I still find it hard to study. I study something at night and then, by the next morning, it’s all forgotten.’
And that’s when Fabricius’ life went from E = mc2 to E = golf.
‘The golf drove me. It was so much fun to be out there. It felt like it was something good to focus on, especially as I was trying to deal with not feeling … how can I say … that intelligent any more and couldn’t study with ease because of the meningitis.’
After playing with a group of friends from his father’s work, one of them gave him a set of golf clubs.
‘My first set was these old wooden clubs. Everybody was amazed when I became so good at golf so quickly. I didn’t really understand the sport. I never even used to watch it before. I didn’t know much about it at all. I didn’t really play much sport at school. But golf just came naturally to me.’
This year, Fabricius represented the KwaZulu-Natal Country Districts team that won the South African Country Districts title at San Lameer Country Club.
‘I’ve also started playing Premier League and am competing in a lot of tournaments. I’m trying to focus on turning pro and
I want to see if I can make a career out of golf. I play almost every day.’
Fabricius also has provincial colours for fishing, something he used to do a lot with his brother before he passed away, and with his parents, who run a fishing charter.
‘My life revolved quite a bit around fishing, but then my brother passed away and I sort of stopped.’
But for all that he has been forced to move on from, and much of what has been taken away from him, there is not a single note of regret in Fabricius’ voice.
‘I’ve sat down a couple of times and thought about how blessed I am with the talent I’ve been given. In those seven months when I was so sick, there were days when I couldn’t even move from the room. Golf got me out there and I just felt so happy to be outside and alive.
‘When things like that happen to you and you are able to walk away from it, it always makes you feel lucky and a bit more special.’
– This article first appeared in the July issue of Compleat Golfer
