“My favorite club is the driver, because first of all it goes the furthest.”
Eleven year old Noah Williams loves to golf.
“I think its like a good quiet game. You don’t have to run bases like in baseball…and you don’t have to get like tackled in football. I just think it’s peaceful.”
But unlike the peaceful game of golf, the beginning of Noah’s life was quite the opposite. Before he was even born, doctors detected a serious heart defect. His first of three open heart surgeries at just nine days old. And by his second birthday —
“I had to get a pace maker because my heart didn’t work the way it was supposed to.”
Many of us can’t say we’ve endured life’s hardships by the time we turn eleven.
“I was asleep for more than 3 weeks. Then I was at the hospital for at least like 3 to 4 months.”
Finding the golf course, a place where none of that mattered.
“I got to start golfing here…”
Where he made a lifelong friend.
“And as soon as I swung that golf club, Paul was impressed.”
Catching the attention of PGA Pro Paul Milholland.
“He inspired me. It was contagious to be around him and want to be around him.”
As their friendship evolved, so did a new tradition. Three thirty, every Wednesday at the golf course.
“It’s just 45 minutes to an hour of the two of us to get out, be together, play golf, talk about life, talk about what’s he doing, what food he likes, what shows he’s watching, it’s just the two of us together.”
And the stronger Noah got, the better he played.
“He actually beat me on his actual score. So I said Noah, you can’t tell anybody this bc nobody can believe that you just beat the actual score on a par 3.
he goes, I won’t say a word the first thing he tells his mom ‘I just beat Paul, actual score.’ That was a great day, he beat me and he’ll never let me forget about it.”
After all — he did learn from the best.
“I’ve learned to always keep my eye on the ball, keep your feet in place, and turn my hips and finish on my right.”
But Paul makes sure to keep Noah humble.
“He hits the driver really well, his irons getting better, his putting is horrible and we’re working on his putting a little bit. That’s something that we need to work on.” Laughing as he tells me.
Each day Noah regains his strength, putt-ing his way through life and the course, just fine.
Noah’s piece of advice to kids going through a tough time —
“Keep doing their hardest, to try to get better, and even though you can’t do the things you like to do, you can just find something you can do.”
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