29/08/2026
HOLE 18 ❤️
Here we are. The final hole.
We deliberately kept Hole 18 for Paula — Karl’s wife.
On November 3rd, Paula’s life was tipped upside down. Ripped apart. Completely shattered.
Karl and Paula’s love was something special. Not something you see every day. They were incredibly compatible in so many ways — Paula, the worrier, and Karl, the man who rarely let anything get to him.
Karl looked after Paula. I know many husbands look after their wives, but with Karl, it was different. His whole demeanour changed when she rang. He softened in her presence. He would wrap her up in his arms, protect her and simply look after her.
When I say Karl was Paula’s world, I genuinely mean it.
He was her world. Her soul. Her life. Her everything.
And he still is. He always will be.
I have never posted about Karl and Paula’s relationship, or Paula’s grief, before. Not because it isn’t important — quite the opposite. I’ve found it too difficult.
Difficult to witness such a beautiful, thoughtful, caring and kind soul have her entire world shattered in an instant.
From those very first hours, to speaking at Karl’s funeral, to witnessing her break her heart at Karl’s grave on his birthday — I am completely in awe of the incredible wife Paula is, and continues to be, to Karl.
In every moment, Karl is honoured.
His grave is a shrine to their love.
I don’t know where Paula has found the strength to keep going. Perhaps it comes from the love that Karl and Paula shared, the spiritual connection they have, and the incredibly happy memories they created together.
On the day we lost Karl, Paula gained three brothers, two sisters, and another Mum and Dad.
From watering her flowers while she’s away to walking through fire, there is absolutely nothing our family wouldn’t do to help Paula navigate a life she never imagined having to live without Karl.
They say that grief is the price we pay for love.
But even the language we use sometimes feels wholly inadequate.
Loss.
Such a gentle word. Too kind. Too soft.
Because what Paula is experiencing is not simply a loss. Loss suggests something misplaced, something that can perhaps one day be found again.
This is violent. Destructive. All-consuming.
It tears through the very fabric of the life you knew and leaves behind wreckage you somehow have to learn to exist within.
And when I say Paula’s loss is great, that doesn’t even come close to describing what it truly is.
It is huge. Colossal. Devastating. Earth-shattering. Mind-numbing.
Yet somehow, amongst the wreckage that is grief, there is Paula.
And her beauty and her poise throughout it all is something to behold.
I genuinely do not know where she finds the strength. But perhaps strength isn’t always about being brave or standing tall. Perhaps sometimes strength is simply continuing. Getting up. Putting one foot in front of the other. Continuing to love when the person you love is no longer physically there to hold.
Because that is what Paula does.
Paula lives to honour Karl.
In the way she speaks about him. In the way she remembers him. In the way she protects their memories. In every decision, every thought and every moment.
And there is something so incredibly beautiful about that.
Karl was Paula’s world.
And somehow, despite that world being shattered, she continues to carry him within it.
So yes, this golf day is about Karl. We will continue to honour him, say his name, tell his stories and make sure he is never forgotten.
But it is also about Paula.
It is about honouring their marriage. Their connection. Their extraordinary love for one another.
The circle remains complete.
It’s just smaller. ❤️
