Reach For Your Dreams

Posted September 27, 2007, 3:43 pm in Golf by Growing Bolder


Like so many of us out there, Dennis Walters grew up loving the game of golf. But unlike most of us, he actually had the potential to make it his career! He was a rising star in the collegiate level and seemed to be on the verge of qualifying for the PGA Tour.

But in 1974 his life as he knew it came crashing down. He was getting in a few extra holes, riding along on an old style three-wheeled golf cart when a freak accident robbed him of his dream. Dennis told Growing Bolder that he doesn't remember exactly how it happened, but the cart flipped and threw him into a tree.

He dislocated a vertebrae that pinched his spinal cord. When he woke up in the hospital he was told he was paralyzed from the waist down. He would never walk again.

"So, it was looking pretty bleak for my dream of becoming a professional golfer," said Walters. "But I just couldn't get myself to give up. Still, almost every person I met told me it was impossible for me to play golf because I couldn't stand up. And they were right. So I learned how to hit a golf ball sitting down. Then, I came up with the idea of putting a swivel seat on the side of a golf cart. And I've traveled the country for over 30 years telling my story, using my own personal example to encourage others to reach for their dreams, strive for excellence and do something they never thought they could."

He does more than 100 shows every year. That's about 2,500 performances in all. The show is about great golf, great fun and there's a point to it.

As a trick-shot artist, you'll find few who will amaze you more than Dennis. In his shows he hits 3 balls at once and hits them as they roll through fire. He uses a club made out of fishing rods, one made from one of his old crutches and he even hits with a radiator hose from a car.

And what other golfer uses his dog as an opening act? Benji Hogan answers math questions by barking the correct answer, and then he tees up the ball so Dennis can take over from there. It's a message few forget. One that comes across loud and clear.

"If you have a dream and it doesn't work out, get another one! I think if you're willing to work hard, persevere and hang in there you could probably be a success at anything. Because when you think about it, there are very few things that are actually impossible. What I try to do is use the game of golf to encourage people to do better in the game of life. It's a universal message. It applies to everyone whether you're young or old, able or disabled, big or small, it doesn't really matter. My dream was golf, and I encourage people to reach for their dreams."

Now, Dennis is about to embark on a new challenge, one that will place him in front of an entirely new audience. He's going on behalf of PGA of America to visit wounded soldiers. He'll reintroduce them to the game of golf, but in a slightly different way depending on their physical limitations.

Dennis believes the game can help them because it's a form of recreation you can play for a lifetime, and it seems to be an excellent form of mental and physical therapy.

"When I was laying in that hospital bed 33 years ago I though I was never going to get out of it. But here I am on tour for the last 31 years. Now, this is not the tour I had in mind and there are a lot of things I've found that i can't do, but I was never going to give up the game of golf. That was the most important thing for me."

Want to know more? Click the play button below his photo on the right to listen to Growing Bolder's conversation with Dennis.


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