In this episode, Tommy sits down with Kris Lynch, founder of Golf Yourself Healthy and host of the Golf Yourself Happy podcast, for one of the most personal conversations Links for Life has hosted. Kris shares the story of his son Innes, who was born still in February 2023, and how that loss became the inspiration behind a platform helping golfers use the game as a path to mental and emotional health. This is a tender, honest episode about grief, golf as therapy, and the choice to embrace the rough instead of running from it.
What You'll Hear in This Episode:
Kris's journey from Scotland to London to Wales and his complicated early relationship with golf
Why Kris took redundancy from an 11-year banking career to go full-time on his coaching platform
The story of his son Innes and the surge of inspiration that founded Golf Yourself Healthy
The Scottish Gaelic meaning of Innes and the symbolism behind the Golf Yourself Healthy logo
The tagline "embrace the rough and cherish the fairway" and what it really means
A PGA study on golf elitism that showed half of UK golfers don't identify as golfers
The HAPPY framework, habits, acceptance, presence, purpose, and your call to action
Tommy and Kris on the good hard story and why we often climb someone else's ladder
Timestamps:
(0:00) Intro & Kris' Story
(24:08) Embrace the rough, cherish the fairway
(31:32) Living an integrated life
(40:52) Founding Golf Yourself Healthy
(48:47) The HAPPY framework explained
(52:42) How to connect with Kris
Resources / Next Steps:
Visit Kris at golfyourselfhealthy.com
Follow the Golf Yourself Happy podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube
Email Kris directly at
[email protected] to connect or explore coaching
Pick up Treasures in the Dark by Katherine Wolf, referenced in the conversation