The Crazy Golf Pro: My Journey with Bipolar Disorder - Tellwell Talent

Overview

The Crazy Golf Pro is a Tellwell Talent memoir that blends the precision of competitive golf with a deeply personal journey through bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and OCD. The author rises to CPGA membership in 1989, only to face a life-altering manic episode that leads to a six-week stay in a psychiatric ward. The narrative follows a resilient path back to the golf course and into leadership as a head golf professional in Alberta in 1993, illustrating how determination and support systems can shape a continued career after crisis.

What unfolds is more than a medical history. Readers will sense the rhythm of a golfer’s days—the clang of clubheads, the quiet focus on a sunlit fairway, the sterile quiet of a ward, and the steady cadence of routines that ground daily life. The author’s voice moves between exhilaration in comeback moments and reflective calm in tougher seasons, inviting readers to consider how discipline, patience, and intimate partnerships influence life with mental health challenges.

What you’ll discover

• A candid, first-person account of professional golf life intersecting with bipolar disorder, OCD, and SAD, including both triumphs and setbacks.
• How treatment, medication, and steady routines can contribute to stability while acknowledging ongoing challenges.
• Stories of resilience drawn from long-term partnership and the vital role of supportive relationships.

Key themes and experiences

• A six-week stay in a psychiatric ward during a first manic episode and the lessons learned there.
• The shift to a sustainable wellness routine, aided by a stable daily rhythm and medication adjustments made in 2000.
• Twenty years of wellness anchored by a low-stress lifestyle and a devoted partner, Ellen, sharing life’s journey.
• Encountering spirituality and an exploratory “mania spirit theory,” treated as part of a broader search for meaning.
• Insight into living with multiple mental health diagnoses while continuing to pursue passion and professional goals.

The memoir also highlights real-life settings—from the competitive world of golf to Riverview Psychiatric Hospital in Port Coquitlam, and the calm discipline of a long marital partnership. It presents experiences with care and nuance, avoiding prescriptive claims while describing possibilities that readers might consider in their own paths toward balance.

Who this is for

• Sports fans who want a respectful, human portrait of life in high-stakes competition alongside mental health challenges.
• Readers seeking a personal account of resilience, daily routines, and the impact of supportive partners and community.
• Anyone curious about how spirituality and personal belief systems intersect with mental health on a real-life journey.

Note: This memoir aims to broaden empathy and understanding around mental health experiences. It offers perspective and human insight rather than medical guidance, inviting readers to reflect on resilience, discipline, and the value of steady support in daily life.