A decade ago Darren Wood couldn’t walk, let alone hold a golf club. Now he’s course champion at Warrnambool’s Mini Golf By The Sea.
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Mr Wood shot 33, including six holes-in-one, to record the lowest score ever in the course’s 28-year history.
It’s a remarkable effort for Mr Wood, who in 2005 was involved in a horrific motorcycle accident that left him with a brain injury and limited mobility.
He first took up mini golf to help with his rehabilitation and mum Val said it had worked wonders.
“He couldn’t walk properly when he first started coming. It’s incredible. I put mini golf down to him walking again,” Mrs Wood said.
“He was in a wheelchair when he came back (from hospital). Mini golf helped him get his balance back.”
Mr Wood usually heads to mini golf twice a day Monday to Friday and credits the pastime with helping him get his life back on track.
“Mini golf helped to get me on my feet and get moving and steady. I just couldn’t walk properly after the accident and the mini golf has really helped, and plus I loved to try to see if I could get a hole-in-one,” he said.
Mr Wood is no stranger to the limelight, in 2008 he carded a mini-golf course record of 39. He also formed a close bond with late Mini Golf By The Sea owner John Holland, who had a club specially made for him. In return, Mr Wood spent 12 months crafting a giant paper mache golf ball, which now hangs in the clubhouse, in Mr Holland’s memory.
“I miss John, he was a good bloke,” Mr Wood said.
Mr Holland’s daughter Linda said Mr Wood’s achievements were “phenomenal”. “When Daz started coming after the accident he couldn’t walk, he had to be supported into the mini golf, he couldn’t actually walk unaided and to swing a golf club he would have fallen over,” she said.
“From that to not only being able to walk… to our course champion, it’s quite phenomenal really.
“You only have to speak to him and his family to see the benefits. He gets to socialise, he’s out in the fresh air and he learns skills.”