Douglas Fillary was a professional golfer in his early days, and he played in over 400 inter-club matches over a 60-year period. He won the club championship 19 times (known as the scratch prize). The last time he won, he was 71 years old and still carrying his own shoulder bag at the age of 77.

Then came the first stroke on 1st July 2021 and nearly three years of fighting his conditions, including paralysis, brain damage, acute diabetes and sepsis 3 times. He continued to fight until May 9th 2024, when his body could no longer tolerate the struggles.

As his son, I was inspired to care for him every day I wasn't working abroad. I loved our bond and his humour, and until the very last day, we communicated honestly about his predicament. I still have the childhood hobby of finding golf balls, which he taught me how to do at 11 years old.

We will now ignite this with a campaign in his name to raise money for a life-changing and instant condition. We will host a golf charity day, sell donated golf balls for at least six months in Doug's and Stroke Association's name, and accept donations from anyone aware of the plight of stroke victims everywhere.

When a stroke strikes, part of your brain shuts down. And so does a part of you. Life changes instantly, and recovery is tough. But the brain can adapt. Our specialist support, research and campaigning are only possible with the courage and determination of the stroke community. With more donations and support from you, we can rebuild even more lives.

If you have golf balls to donate, we'll be selling them to raise money under this campaign from 1st July 2024 until 31st December 2025, which would have been dad's 82nd birthday.

We want to see the golfing community think hard about their time left on the course and help others off of it.