Last year, comedian (and proud father) Dom Holland wrote a novel called Open Links in support of Anthony Nolan, with all profits going towards our lifesaving work. It’s a thrilling fairy-tale story about life, illness, and fathers and sons – and it’s available on Amazon or in hardcover via our eBay store.
For Father’s Day, we asked Dom to write a short post for us - about Father's Day and how it came to inspire this great story.
This year, my dad will be 81 and my eldest son is 19 – and so, with Father's Day impending, I find myself in a somewhat reflective mood. I think about the things that my dad might have advised me about. And with this in mind, what pearls of wisdom should I be sharing with my four boys?
Now, on this, I could be referring to something terribly worthy. For instance, the crucial importance of self-esteem. Or being kind and thankful for our own good fortune. Or understanding that happiness is never a factor of our wealth. These are all laudable virtues, but I’m reflecting on less lofty advice that my dad might have imparted.
Namely, that he might have stressed how much more fun my life would be now if I‘d learnt to play golf as a bloody youngster.
You see, I took up this fiendishly difficult game when my first son was born, and I now struggle to play to a handicap of his age. And this is not my fault. It's my dad's. Because he played the game (very badly) when I was young, and so he must have known what frustration lay ahead for me unless he did something about it.
But he didn't – and I am now a rubbish golfer. I say this with a degree of resentment because my status in the world and my golfing ability often combine to humiliate me.
This is because, by virtue of what I do for a living, I am now a celebrity. I know. I can sense your eyebrows rising. Personally, I loathe the world of fame and I abhor the word 'celebrity' and the cache associated with it. For me, heroes are the clever kids at school who decide to become research scientists and go on to figure out advances in bone marrow research.
The world of celebrity embarrasses me – and especially so when I’m invited to participate in a charity celebrity golf day. Sportsmen, in the main, make up the celebrity contingent at these days and they tick many of the boxes required. They are known and admired. They have money and more often than not, they can play very tidy golf. I am less well known. I am not rich, and I am not a good golfer. So when I’m introduced to my playing partners for the day, their disappointment is always apparent – and fair enough. They were hoping for a Lineker, and they've got a Holland… and not even Jools.
I quickly explain to them that the status of 'celeb' is allocated purely on the basis of wealth – so therefore you lot are clearly skint and you only have yourselves to blame. This gets a laugh, which is needed when they see my first drive and their hopes of winning a prize are dashed as well.
And so I’ve been something of a pushy dad when it comes to my boys and their golf, which has caused some marital friction over the years. Because my wife, Nikki, is much more energised by my boys becoming educated and faring well in their exams, on which I am much less rigorous. Doesn't everyone get an A these days, and if not an A, then at least a pass? But pars and birdies; these need to be earned!
So I’ve made golf entirely available to my boys. At great expense, they’ve all been members of a golf club. They’ve had good equipment, which I am happy to carry for them while offering free advice which they largely and sensibly ignore. And this is working - kind of.
They aren't very keen. Like most teenagers, they prefer a screen to a fairway, but they can all play, the solid rudiments of the swing are ingrained, and I remind them that in the years to come they will thank me.
Whether it’s a corporate golf day or a just a social game with a bunch of lads or dads, when they rip one down the middle or hole out, they’ll remember their dad fondly.
And maybe even at a celebrity golf day that they’re invited along to, either as a paying player or, dare I say it, as a 'celebrity'. And on this note, I figure that over the next decade, if things continue in a similar vein for my eldest son, Tom, then he’ll never have to apologise on the first tee either.
Dom and Tom Holland are both proud supporters of Anthony Nolan. Dom's novel about golf, Open Links, is available from Amazon and our Ebay store - buy it here.
Open Links has been described as ‘the most entertaining and heart-tugging "round" of your life’, ‘a seriously good read’, and ‘supremely well written’ – and is available now for fathers, sons, mums, daughters, and loved ones.