It was terrible news when we found out that our columnist and iconic golf coach Pete Cowen had been struck down with COVID-19. The 69-year-old, thankfully, overcame the disease and here speaks exclusively to Worldwide Golf’s Scott Grayston and one of his senior Peter Cowen Academy Dubai coaches, Alastair Brown, about what the experience was like and how at one stage it got so bad he asked his wife to give him a pill to end his pain.
“It was a bit rough for a while,” says Cowen who coaches a host of Major stars including Brooks Koepka, Henrik Stenson and Gary Woodland. “I was isolated for 21 days so I think I’ve done my fair bit to make sure it’s gone. It was rough for about 10 days but I’m alright now.
“I asked my wife to give me a pill one night. I said, ‘I’ve had enough’ because I had about 10 percent of my body strength left and I didn’t think I could do it. She said: ‘Don’t be so stupid!’ That’s when she called the ambulance, then all the medics came.
Watch the exclusive interview at the top of this article
“They told me that I had all the symptoms and they wanted to take me to hospital but I wouldn’t go because I didn’t know what would happen in there. They said they would sit you down in a corridor for a while and they might do some tests but the only thing they’re going to do is give you paracetamol and fluids, then your own immune system has got to battle it. I thought I may as well do that here (at home). They told me to call them straight away if I have a problem and they’ll come straight for me.
“For the first 10 days I was out of it. I only ate two slices of toast for the first 14 days and I lost 15lbs. There was no food coming into the room, just fluids and I had my TV – that was it.
“For 24 hours, I coughed every two minutes and I couldn’t stop. Trying to breathe and cough at the same time is actually more difficult than hitting a golf shot!
“I think anybody that has got problems with their lungs is going to really struggle with this coronavirus. Therefore, if you’ve got other medical problems, asthma or something like that, you really are going to struggle and you’ll probably have to go to hospital.
Everybody would agree in golf that it’s wonderful to see Cowen fit and healthy again.
