Chasing a Dream

By Thomas Gibbons
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Updated: July 17, 2015

Everyone has a dream. You are willing to do whatever it takes to reach your dream? There will be people that support you, and there may be people who don’t think you can achieve it. It is up to you as the individual to block out the negativity and chase your dream. There is one person who is chasing his dream and will not let anything stop him; even that he has no left leg. This man is Chad Pfeifer.

Chad Pfeifer had his left leg amputated above the knee in 2007 after an explosion hit his patrol vehicle and derailed his life. Since the accident, he has looked to golf as a relaxation method. Cpl. Chad Pfeifer was mending at an Army Hospital in San Antonio Texas when another soldier sauntered into Pfeifer’s room to say hi, and cheer up the new guy. The man suggested that as soon as Pfeifer was up for it, they could do something outside. Golf maybe. Not long after, Pfeifer and his new found friend, found his new found love, golf. Pfeifer, 33, has been an avid golfer since getting his prosthetic and now plays full time out of the Golf Club of Estrella in Goodyear, Arizona.

It has been a dream of Chad’s to reach the PGA tour. The Web.com Tour is said to be your “ticket” into the PGA tour and he hopes to earn his ticket. “I’ll be nervous on the first tee and probably the first hole, but the nerves don’t really bother me,” he said. “If I hit a bad shot, I’ve been through worse.”

This is not Chad’s first rodeo. He’s racked up wins at George W. Bush’s Warrior Open for wounded veterans and the 2011 National Amputee Golf Championship. He’s also played in the Gateway Tour and eGolf Tour tournaments and competed on the Golf Channel’s “The Big Break.”

Along with the golf wins, Chad’s victories also come off the greens. Chad gave his life for our country. He fought so that we can be free and I look up to him for that. It’s hard to go out in the field of battle and have the feeling you may not make it out alive. Chad also is winning as a father being a great dad to both his 3 year old and 15 month old sons. He knows that they will be rooting for him when it’s go time.

This is truly an amazing story. From losing a leg to competing for a spot on the PGA tour, Chad has overcome so much. His dream was to play PGA golf and look where he is now. He is so close to achieving his dream and showing others that you can succeed no matter what life throws at you. He is truly a hero to his family and many others and proves that no matter what happens; your dream can be achieved.

Chad is playing in the American Century Golf Championship this Friday through Sunday. It is at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nevada and will be broadcast on NBCSN on Friday from 1-4pm and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3:00pm.