Golfer with one arm achieves a hole in one: “Golf made me want to live” after his accident

Golfers as young as 103 have been known to make holes in one, but have you ever heard of someone with only one arm doing it?

An Irish golfer recently recorded his first hole-in-one after learning to play golf following an accident that left him with one arm.

This physically disabled golfer is celebrating his first hole in one, achieved after learning to play the sport following the accident that cost him an arm.

Patrick Duke defied 100,000-1 odds by hitting the perfect shot on the fourth hole at Overstone Park in Northamptonshire, England.

At age 67, playing with friends on the 120-yard par-3, Patrick hit his first ace using a seven-iron.

The achievement is even more notable considering how new he is to the game, having learned to play after his accident in 2012.

Pat credits golf with “saving his life” over the past 7 years while he faced serious physical and mental health challenges.

“I’m not very good at golf, but it has saved my life,” Pat told news agency SWNS.

«Golf is not my thing: I weigh 127 kilos and am 1.88 meters tall; my sports have always been rugby, Gaelic football, soccer and cricket.

«I also worked all my life since I was 15, so I was very active until a work accident changed my life. There were times when I couldn’t see a way out, but then a friend asked me if I had ever played golf.

«I took some lessons with a professional and told him to treat me as a blank canvas and that I would do what he told me.

“He said what works for me wouldn’t work for others, so I developed my own technique.”

He managed to birdie the previous hole a few weeks earlier, but this had always been a problem for Pat.

«Eight out of ten times the ball ends up in the water, and that gets into your head. My sticks almost ended up in the lake there on several occasions.

“So I thought, this time I’m going to aim directly for the flag instead of the green.”

“If someone else used a seven iron on that hole, they would have missed the flag by about 90 yards.

«As soon as I hit it, I knew I had done well. Kevin was telling me, ‘that’s on point.’

«We saw her getting closer and closer. It actually landed about 30cm beyond the hole and rolled backwards, I got some recoil but I have no idea how.

«The people on the fifth hole passing by applauded. Kevin threw his club into the air; “I couldn’t believe it, I was amazed.”

At that moment, he said to his playing partner Kevin, “Can you imagine being beaten by a one-armed man?”

“I was told that the chances of someone with a disability achieving a hole in one were 0.001% or 1 in 100,000.”

Pat had worked in the road paving industry for over 30 years before his jacket became caught in a machine, ultimately leading to the loss of his arm. He later developed post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

«I was in a really bad place. “I had suicidal thoughts and lost confidence, self-esteem and relationships.”

Pat first tried golf in 2018 after being introduced to Overstone Park PGA Professional Brian Mudge. He quickly found both confidence and community at the club.

«The people I have met have been phenomenal. It gave me confidence and a reason to leave the house.

«If only one person could see this, even if it’s not golf, I just want people to know that there can be a life after something like this.

«Coming from having suicidal thoughts, losing all self-esteem, no courage, no confidence, no nothing, and then finding golf and friendship, I think everything happens for a reason.

«If I can do it, anyone can.

“Golf gave me confidence, friendship and the will to live.”