Health In Action

'Sugars' help Nitties turn corner

By Brent Read

October 27, 2006

JAMES Nitties can scarcely believe he turned 24 this week.

He feels old, not because of an arthritic condition that has plagued him for 18 months, but because it only seems like yesterday that he was a star in the junior ranks alongside fellow standouts Michael Sim and Nick Flanagan.

"It feels like it's gone so quick since I played junior golf," Nitties said yesterday after shooting a two-under-par 70 in the opening round of the Queensland Open at Ipswich Golf Club.

"Time flies."

In recent years, it has flown rather painfully for the Melbourne-born Nitties.

It all started with an arthritic condition in his hip, which stopped him walking for eight weeks, stripped him of 13kg and virtually ruined his 2005.

Nitties missed a host of Nationwide Tour events in the US and laboured at qualifying school for the main US Tour.The problem continued into this year, slowly making its way to his foot and forcing Nitties to take painkillers before each round while he played on the third-tier Hooters Tour in the US.

In recent weeks, however, Nitties has seen the clouds breaking.

He has stopped taking painkillers and, on the advice of New Zealand pro Steve Alker, started taking twice-daily doses of Ambrotose, described as a blend of plant saccharides that support the immune system.

"I spoke to him (Alker) at the start of this year," Nitties said.

"He had what I had but just in the foot. I was a bit dubious at first. I only started taking it two weeks ago. Hopefully, it clears everything up and and it won't come back."

Despite his well-documented problems, Nitties still managed to secure his first win as a pro on the Hooters Tour, which he describes as the most competitive mini-tour in the world.

The tour is bereft of million-dollar purses and takes in courses such as Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Choctaw, Mississippi

It is also a place where major winners John Daly, Tom Lehman and Jim Furyk once plied their trade.

"When it all comes down to it, life is still pretty good," Nitties said.

"I'm feeling good mentally and physically. I'm firing to around 95 per cent.

"I have put on a lot of weight and my foot that has been giving me trouble for the last three months is feeling better."

He is virtually pain-free for the first time in recent memory and his game is getting back to where it should be.

"I have no regrets or anything," he said.

"I am doing what I love."

The Australian

Friday 27 October 2006