Meet the former college golfer turning golf into a space where mental health is at the fore
The task of new online platform Florio is simple: get more golfers talking, listening, and looking out for each other.
Golf is famously a mental game, one that can produce moments of soaring triumph and equally cavernous lows in even the most level-headed of players.
As such, it's widely cited as a sport that forms a great metaphor for the wider game of life, where issues like self-doubt, resilience and the ability to deal with both triumph and disaster regularly rear their head.
Golf, while invariably a pretty positive sport where one can find a sense of community, may just form a vital entry point in helping a more traditionally closed-off demographic open up. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 in the UK, however the clubhouse is often one of the few places many of these men feel they can truly open up.
Its for this reason Danny Clark, former NCAA college golfer and management consultant founded Florio: a non-profit aimed at making the sport of golf a space where real, constructive conversations about mental health among both men and women can take place
"I believe golf can play a real role in tackling this crisis, by getting more of us talking, listening, and looking out for each other," says Clark. "Golf is a melting pot for the demographic most at risk, giving the sport a unique chance to reach them where they already feel at home."
The latest initiative from Florio is Healthy Minds GC: an online space hosting written and audio stories based around golfers' relationship with mental health. The site's podcast, Fairways and Feelings, has hosted guests like Marco Penge, Stewart Appleby and Jean Van de Velde, each opening up about how mental health has affected their lives on and off the course.
"The response has been huge and is already sparking real conversations, with golfers reaching out to us with positivity and an eagerness to share their stories."
Florio is also developing a pilot project empowering club leaders to foster conversations about mental health at the grassroots level. Under the scheme, each club involved will nominate a Mental Health Captain who will be given resources, tools, and practical training to create more open spaces for sharing and help their fellow members who may be struggling.
You can check out the entire Healthy Minds GC offering here
Brad Nash is Reviews Editor at GolfMagic, having joined the team in June 2025 to look after all things reviews, soft goods testing and equipment alongside Equipment Editor Tom. Primarily a writer, you may see him pop up in videos or on the GolfMagic socials from time to time.
